Two Doctoral Students Awarded DOE Fellowships
July 14, 2025
By Katya Hrichak
Two Cornell doctoral student were awarded fellowships by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Pascal Caraccioli Salinas, a doctoral student in geological sciences, received the DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (CSGF), and Joshua Luoma, a doctoral candidate in applied physics, received the DOE National Nuclear Security Administration Laboratory Residency Graduate Fellowship (LRGF).
“This is an amazing opportunity to connect to researchers across the U.S. who have similar interests,” said Caraccioli Salinas. “One very valuable thing I’ve learned at Cornell is the importance of making connections with research communities outside my discipline and understanding work beyond my own bubble. The DOE CSGF will allow me to connect with researchers I might not have encountered otherwise.”
Through the CSGF, Caraccioli Salinas will continue his research on hydrothermal and geothermal systems at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center in Berkeley, California. He will also intern at a national laboratory for 12 weeks.
The LRGF will similarly allow Luoma collaboration opportunities. He will continue his work studying plasmas generated by high intensity lasers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California, while simultaneously expanding his professional network.
“The national lab environment offers unparalleled experimental and computational resources alongside a large community of experts in fields like plasma physics, optics, and material science,” he said. “This opportunity has enhanced my research and expanded my knowledge about laser plasma physics.”
Caraccioli Salinas joins additional Cornell CSGF fellows: applied mathematics doctoral student Caira Anderson, computer science doctoral student Julian Bellavita, applied mathematics doctoral student Ibrohim Nosirov, computer science doctoral candidate Miruno Oprescu, and ecology and evolutionary biology doctoral candidate Cameron Scholl.