2 ASU students nominated for prestigious Churchill scholarship

The Lorraine W. Frank Office of National Scholarships Advisement has announced that two outstanding seniors, Tamara Grujicic and Megan Duncan, have been nominated by Arizona State University for the 2026 Winston Churchill Scholarship, one of the nation’s most competitive postgraduate awards for study in science, mathematics and engineering.

Established in 1963 at the request of Sir Winston Churchill, the scholarship provides full support for one year of master’s study at the University of Cambridge in the sciences, engineering, and mathematics. Each year, only 16 U.S. graduating seniors and recent graduates are selected based on exceptional academic and research achievement, proven capacity for original scholarship, and personal qualities of perseverance and leadership.

Arizona State University is among a select group of U.S. institutions invited to nominate students for the Churchill Scholarship. ASU first joined this group in 2014, and its most recent recipient, chemical engineering major Christopher Balzer, was named a Churchill Scholar in 2017.

Tamara Grujicic, a computer science major and English minor in Barrett, The Honors College, will pursue the MPhil in Advanced Computer Science in Cambridge’s Department of Computer Science and Technology. Her research explores human-computer interaction and adaptive feedback systems designed to improve focus and wellbeing. If selected, Grujicic will conduct research under Professor Hatice Gunes, head of the Affective Intelligence and Robotics Laboratory, on the development of technologies that align machine learning with human needs and ethical design.

At ASU, Grujicic has distinguished herself as an engineering project manager intern at Intel, where she led an international team improving data systems for quality engineering. She is also a C. Kimball Rose Medallion Merit Scholar, Barrett Medallion Scholar, and a teaching assistant for programming languages. A competitive recurve archer, she brings to her research the same precision, focus and discipline that define her athletic training.

Megan Duncan, a materials science and engineering major, will pursue the MPhil in Materials Science and Metallurgy in Cambridge’s Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy. She has already received an invitation to join the research group of Professor Emilie Ringe, a world leader in sustainable nanomaterials and electron microscopy. Duncan’s proposed research will focus on the synthesis and nanoscale characterization of materials for clean energy applications, advancing the performance and stability of solar and catalytic systems.

Duncan has built an exceptional record of international research experience. She was awarded both a DAAD-RISE Scholarship to conduct nanomaterials research in Germany and a National Science Foundation International Research Experience for Students fellowship in Australia, where she investigated the atomic-scale origins of solar cell efficiency. She serves on the leadership board of ASU’s Materials Advantage chapter, works as a teaching assistant in computational methods, and has been recognized repeatedly for academic excellence and leadership.

“These two nominees exemplify the intellectual independence, creativity, and global perspective that the Churchill Scholarship was created to support,” said Kyle Mox, associate dean for national scholarships and director of ONSA. “Tamara and Megan are not only outstanding scholars and researchers — they are leaders who demonstrate how curiosity and integrity can drive innovation.”

Both students will advance to the national competition this fall. Finalists will be announced in December, and the 2026 Churchill Scholars will be named early next year.