NSF Grad Research Fellowship History

Some interesting history about the fellowship award that I just got. I did not know this was the oldest award. 

From their website

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program is the country's oldest fellowship program directly supporting graduate students in STEM fields. Since 1952, NSF has selected more than 46,500 students to receive graduate research fellowships, out of more than 500,000 applicants. Forty of the GRFs have gone on to become Nobel laureates, and more than 440 have become members of the National Academy of Sciences.

The GRFP has a long history of investing in students with demonstrated potential for significant achievements in science and engineering. The investments have paid off well: Among more than 200 Nobel laureates who have had NSF support, 40 were selected as Graduate Research Fellows. GRFs are also well-represented among government leaders, business executives, writers, and members of the National Academy of Sciences--from Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, to Google co-founder Sergey Brin, to Freakonomics co-author Steven Levitt.