Cole Franks first USC winner of prestigious grant in five years
Recent Honors College graduate William “Cole” Franks has been awarded the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship (NDSEG), which he will use to earn a doctorate in math.
The fellowship is awarded to applicants pursuing doctoral degrees in one of fifteen supported science, technology, math and engineering (STEM) disciplines. Sponsored by the Department of Defense, students are encouraged to use the fellowship to aid national defense with their research.
Out of a large number of applicants nationwide, only 10 percent are awarded the grant. Franks is the first winner at USC in five years.
“We have had only four winners before Cole, but none since 2008,” said Jennifer Bess of the Office of Fellowships and Scholars. “It’s one of the biggest graduate fellowships out there. I think it’s a testament to the type of education students are receiving here, opportunities available through USC, and a great recognition of the focus and talent of our science students.”
Franks intends to use his fellowship at Rutgers University, where he will earn his doctorate. It will pay for his tuition, mandatory fees, medical insurance and a monthly stipend.
“It was a hard decision, but Rutgers became my first choice when I visited and felt welcomed by the professors and comfortable with the current graduate students,” Franks said. “Rutgers is also more physics based than my other choices,”
Franks was inspired to pursue physics early on, and found his passion in math when he entered college.
“When I was a kid I used to sketch a lot in notebooks which is useful for physics,” Franks said. “But I really started enjoying the subjects when I became good at math in high school. I was originally a biology major going into college, but after freshman year I realized that math was my real passion,”
He was also motivated by friends and professors within his field of study.
“Within the math and physics departments, in each class you have the opportunity to do really well and learn a lot. The professors were all very helpful and willing to speak outside the classroom,” Franks said.
One professor in particular, Jerry Griggs, with whom Franks conducted graph theory research, was someone Franks looked to as a mentor.
“[Griggs] had been more hands off in the lab, letting me do most of the stuff on my own, but I found reading his papers and looking to him for advice to be incredibly helpful,” Franks said.
With his doctorate, Franks hopes to continue his passion by conducting math and theoretical physics research.
“I’m both interested in theoretical physics, which has a lot of mathematical aspects, and discrete math research, which has more to do with computer science and networks,” Franks said. “Ideally, I would love to became a professor and do research full time in these fields.”