Dr. Andy Nieto Memorial Excellence Scholarship

The Dr. Andy Nieto Memorial Excellence Scholarship was created in loving memory of Dr. Andy Nieto. This scholarship supports first generation undergraduate students in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

Dr. Nieto was a Florida International University Mechanical and Materials Engineering alumnus, where he received the prestigious Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award in 2013 for his pioneering works on graphene reinforced ceramic matrix composites. After FIU, he earned his doctorate in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of California, Davis in 2016, and thereafter conducted his postdoctoral research as an ORAU fellow at the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) prior to working as an Assistant Professor at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey. Dr. Nieto was also the recipient of the prestigious ONR-Young Investigator Award in 2021.

He was a brilliant scientist whose legacy continues with his exemplary research in the field of materials science and engineering including nanostructured carbon reinforced composites, nano-mechanics, sand-phobic thermal/environmental barrier coatings, nanocomposites, and additive processing. In addition to his scholarly contributions, Dr. Nieto will be remembered by the profound impact he had on his students and the devotion he had for his family.