Incoming STEM PhD Students Selected by SURA for 2026 Graduate Awards
Washington, D.C. – The Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) has selected four student researchers as recipients of the 2026 SURA Graduate Awards: Courtney Boyd, Ahanab Anab, Haobo Cui, and Liam Babcock.
The award recognizes incoming doctoral students in STEM disciplines who have demonstrated exceptional academic and research talent at universities in the SURA consortium. With this award, SURA provides these students with $5,000 to enhance their professional development and reduce financial barriers to success in their PhD programs.
Boyd, who holds an MS in computer science from Virginia State University, began her PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at Norfolk State University this fall. In addition to leading drone-based STEM education programming, Boyd has focused her research on autonomous systems and artificial intelligence (AI), developing a humanoid AI robot for staff and healthcare training as well as a digital twin system linking virtual and physical robots through virtual reality.
Anab is pursuing his PhD in computer science at Georgia State University, where he recently earned his MS in computer science. In his research, Anab has applied data science and AI to a range of real-world datasets, developing webcam-based systems for stress signal detection, emotion recognition, and real-time sign language translation. In his doctoral research, Anab plans to continue developing AI-enabled digital health technologies.
Cui completed his MS in mathematics and statistics at Georgia State University and is continuing his doctoral studies in the same department, where he will focus on applications to machine learning and data science. In his master’s research, Cui designed new multivariate modeling approaches for high-dimensional datasets, culminating in a first-author paper under review. He was one of two students selected for the machine learning concentration.
Babcock completed his BS in biology at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and recently matriculated into the PhD program in pharmaceutical engineering at the Richmond-based university. Named the 2026 Outstanding Undergraduate Student in Cellular, Molecular, and Developmental Biology at VCU, Babcock led several research projects while pursuing his undergraduate degree, focusing on novel therapeutics for chronic pain, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer.
Boyd, Anab, Cui, and Babcock will be recognized this month at the 2026 SURA Annual Members Meeting at Jefferson Lab for their academic achievements.
“SURA’s role is to strengthen the people and institutions that drive the research enterprise,” said SURA President and CEO Dr. Sean Hearne. “By supporting these students as they begin their doctoral training, we are investing directly in promising STEM talent while building on the outstanding preparation and mentorship provided by our member universities.”
Courtney Boyd
Previous Degree & Institution: MS in Computer Science, Virginia State University
PhD Program & Institution: Materials Science and Engineering, Norfolk State University
Research Interests: Fusion energy, semiconductors, artificial intelligence
Career Goals: To lead independent research and development (R&D) projects. Boyd is interested in entrepreneurship, patenting, and partnerships with DOE national labs like Jefferson Lab.
Inspiration to Pursue a STEM PhD: As an Emerging Technology Faculty-Grant Coordinator at Richard Bland College, Boyd taught computer science classes that incorporated hands-on lab experiences like programming mechanical dogs. Boyd recalls the impact she felt upon watching her students program these robotic animals: “I just loved seeing that spark, that click moment where students realize, ‘Okay, code is powerful.’”
Haobo Cui
Previous Degree & Institution: MS in Mathematics and Statistics, Georgia State University
PhD Program & Institution: Mathematics and Statistics, Concentration in Machine Learning and Data Science, Georgia State University
Research Interests: Statistical theory, machine learning optimization, applied data science
Career Goals: To integrate theoretical statistics and machine learning across real world applications in an industry setting. Cui hopes to pursue an industry internship during his PhD to support these goals.
Inspiration to Pursue a STEM PhD: In his first exposure to statistics and computer science, Cui worked on an undergraduate thesis analyzing heart disease data. Since then, Cui pivoted from biology research to math and statistics. In reflecting on this experience, Cui advises, “Set clear short-term goals for the stage you’re in, find a direction you’re truly interested in, and put in the work.”
Ahanab Anab
Previous Degree & Institution: MS in Computer Science, Georgia State University
PhD Program & Institution: Computer Science, Georgia State University
Research Interests: Human-computer interaction, digital health, artificial intelligence
Career Goals: To become an independent researcher advancing human health with AI. Anab aspires to create personalized wearable health monitoring and feedback systems with readily comprehensible interfaces.
Inspiration to Pursue a STEM PhD: Anab built a “Remote Heart Rate and Stress Measurement Prototype,” a remote sensing system that can signal a rise in stress markers, which may be used in a work or office environment to regulate stress responses. “Right now, we are in the final step of validating these data, and I think the meaningful output we get will create real impact,” Anab shared.
Liam Babcock
Previous Degree & Institution: BS in Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University
PhD Program & Institution: Pharmaceutical Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University
Research Interests: Nanoparticle and microparticle drug delivery, pain, cancer
Career Goals: To become a professor with a research lab focused on developing nanoparticle and microparticle therapeutics. He also hopes to mentor future generations of STEM researchers.
Inspiration to Pursue a STEM PhD: During his undergraduate research, Babcock worked with very low doses of a nanoparticle drug formulation for chronic pain. Watching the effects of this treatment in animals led him to his current PhD work. “Seeing the dosing work in real time made me go, wow. It was just incredible to see a drug work at such low doses in an animal.”
About SURA
Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) advances the nation’s scientific enterprise through research operations and workforce solutions in partnership with government agencies, national laboratories, and its member universities.
Media Contact:
Anna Rader Groves
SURA Senior Advisor, Government Relations and Communications
Email: arader@sura.org
Artificial intelligence (AI) was used to edit for grammar, clarity, and coherence. All AI-generated suggestions were reviewed and approved by the author.