08/31/2026
As we celebrate 25 years of the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, we're looking back at the milestones that shaped CURF—and the generations of Penn students whose paths it has helped launch.
Founded in 2001 and initially housed within the Arts, Research, and Culture House (ARCH), CURF began with a mission to expand opportunities for undergraduate research and nationally competitive fellowships at Penn. Twenty-five years later, it has grown into a campus-wide hub for undergraduate research, scholars programs, and fellowship advising, connecting students with mentors, funding transformative experiences, and supporting Penn students and alumni as they pursue opportunities around the globe.
CURF's impact was evident from the very beginning. In its inaugural year, Amanda Codd (COL '01) and Bart Szewczyk (WH '01) became Penn's first Gates Cambridge Scholars. Lipika Goyal (COL '01) earned Penn's first Rhodes Scholarship in a decade, while Ari Alexander (COL '01) received a Marshall Scholarship—the first time since 1983 that Penn students had earned both a Rhodes and a Marshall Scholarship in the same year.
Twenty-five years later, and now located in College Hall, CURF continues to help Penn students turn curiosity into discovery, ideas into research, and ambition into opportunity.
