{"id":232809,"date":"2026-04-22T15:03:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T01:03:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=232809"},"modified":"2026-05-08T17:09:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T03:09:25","slug":"murillo-top-phd-fellowship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/22\/murillo-top-phd-fellowship\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> electrical engineering student awarded top PhD<\/abbr> fellowship"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Andrea Murillo in the College of Engineering FabLab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa<\/span> senior electrical engineering<\/a> student has earned one of Stanford University\u2019s most competitive graduate awards, underscoring the growing impact of UH<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/span>\u2019s engineering programs.<\/p>\n

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Andrea Murillo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Andrea Murillo, who is graduating this spring, has been admitted to the PhD<\/abbr> program in electrical engineering at Stanford and is believed to be the first UH<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/span> recipient of the Stanford Graduate Fellowship, an award given annually to about 100 incoming doctoral students across the university. The fellowship provides up to three years of funding, including tuition and stipend support, to top scholars in science and engineering fields.<\/p>\n

Murillo\u2019s path at UH<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/span> reflects a multidisciplinary journey shaped by hands-on research and mentorship. She began her undergraduate journey as a mechanical engineering major before transitioning to computer engineering and ultimately electrical engineering in the electrophysics track, where she found her passion in mixed-signal circuit design.<\/p>\n

Through work in several research labs, including projects on embedded systems, TinyML<\/abbr> (Tiny Machine Learning), and integrated circuit design, Murillo discovered a passion for building more efficient hardware. She plans to continue that work at Stanford, focusing on circuit design and new technologies that can make electronics faster and use less energy.<\/p>\n

Meet more amazing UH<\/abbr> graduates<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

“My experiences at UH<\/abbr> helped me discover not just what I enjoy studying, but how I want to contribute to the field,” said Murillo, who is an international student from Mexico. “The support from faculty, mentors and my peers gave me the confidence to pursue graduate school and aim for opportunities like this.”<\/p>\n

Community leadership<\/h2>\n
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Andrea Murillo conducting research in the College of Engineering FabLab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Beyond the classroom, Murillo has been active in the College of Engineering<\/a> community as a leader in the FabLab maker space<\/a>, a member of engineering student organizations and a Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship<\/a> leader who won an award at the 2024 Honolulu Tech Week hackathon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Her achievement highlights the role of UH<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/span> in preparing students for advanced study and contributing to innovation in high-demand fields such as electrical engineering and artificial intelligence hardware.<\/p>\n

“By leveraging the full breadth of opportunities at UH<\/abbr>, Andrea developed a profound understanding of the grand challenges facing contemporary hardware design. Reflecting her unwavering commitment to excellence, she has secured a place in one of the country\u2019s most prestigious doctoral programs,” said UH<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/span> Professor Boris Murmann<\/a>, who mentored Murillo and was on the faculty at Stanford for 20 years.<\/p>\n

Murillo is expected to begin her doctoral studies this fall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Murillo\u2019s path at UH<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/span> reflects a multidisciplinary journey shaped by hands-on research and mentorship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":232810,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[179,234,1592,182,1466,1467,9],"class_list":["post-232809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-college-of-engineering","tag-commencement","tag-electrical-and-computer-engineering","tag-engineering","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-manoa-excellence-in-research","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t