Join us as we celebrate student success virtually
with our Graduating Students and 2021 Award Winners!
2021 Award Winners

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Professional Awards
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Undergraduate - Departmental Summer Research Awards
- Taylor Adkins – Henry and Eleanor Firminhac Chemistry Scholarship, Martha Gunhild Week Scholarship, Robert and Diane Paulick Undergraduate Scholarship
- Cade Harkner – Student Support in Chemistry
- Jacob Henry – Edward J. Panek Memorial Scholarship, Ackerman Scholarship
- Evan Jensen – Dempsky Chemistry Scholarship
- Lora Luo – Eugene and Patricia Kreger Herscher Scholarship, Henry and Eleanor Firminhac Chemistry Scholarship
- Jasmine Machhi – Eugene and Patricia Kreger Herscher Scholarship
- Scott McInerney – Wayland E. Noland Research Fellowship, Robert Franklin Taylor Scholarship
- Keegan Miller – Edwin M. and Kathryn M. Larsen Scholarship, Chemistry Department Scholarship
- Paul Onnuch – Walter W. and Young-Ja C. Toy Scholarship, Ackerman Scholarship
- Alex Pavelic – Student Support in Chemistry
- Jared Pratt – George J. and Arleen D. Ziarnik Scholarship, Student Support in Chemistry
- Xindi Tang – William J. Maeck Scholarship in Chemistry, Eugene and Patricia Kreger Herscher Scholarship
- Dennis Tulus – Robert and Diane Paulick Undergraduate Scholarship, Henry and Eleanor Firminhac Chemistry Scholarship
Undergraduate - Departmental Academic Year Awards
- Raven Coil-Ott, Student Support in Chemistry
- Josette Coulthurst – Margaret McLean Bender Scholarship
- Jacob Darien – Student Support in Chemistry
- Anna Jansson – Mabel Duthey Reiner Scholarship, James Y. and Harriet P. Tong Scholarship in Chemistry
- Aadhishre Kasat – Don Brouse Memorial Scholarship, Henry and Eleanor Firminhac Chemistry Scholarship
- Riley Lehman – Dempsky Chemistry Scholarship
- Renxi Li – Robert Franklin Taylor Scholarship
- Ruojia Li – Dempsky Chemistry Scholarship
- Jasmine Machhi – Eugene and Patricia Kreger Herscher Scholarship
- Scott McInerney – Robert Franklin Taylor Scholarship, Ackerman Scholarship
- Keegan Miller – Chemistry Department Scholarship, Dempsky Chemistry Scholarship
- Paul Onnuch – Richard J. Boomer Student Support Fund in Chemistry, Ackerman Scholarship
- Qiuwen Quan – Henry and Eleanor Firminhac Chemistry Scholarship
- Lauren Savage – Eugene and Patricia Kreger Herscher Scholarship
- Falcon Soedarsono – Ackerman Scholarship
- Maxwell Unger – Student Support in Chemistry
- Gordon Winkler – Richard Fischer Scholarship, James J. Leddy Scholarship, Chemistry Department Scholarship
- Casey Winter – Student Support in Chemistry, Ieva L. Reich Undergraduate Scholarship
- Angie Xu – Andrew Dorsey Memorial Scholarship, James Y. and Harriet P. Tong Scholarship in Chemistry, George J. and Arleen D. Ziarnik Scholarship
Undergraduate - General Chemistry Awards
- Bella Boeckenstedt – Francis Craig Krauskopf Memorial Award
- Olivia Dobson – John W. and Elizabeth A. Moore Award for Excellence – 109
- Nora Ibrahim – Francis Craig Krauskopf Memorial Award
- Zaneta Luo – Francis Craig Krauskopf Memorial Award
- Sneha Maheshwari – Francis Craig Krauskopf Memorial Award
- Easton Prazak – Francis Craig Krauskopf Memorial Award
- Abi Schmeiser – John W. and Elizabeth A. Moore Award for Excellence – 109
- Laura Stern – Francis Craig Krauskopf Memorial Award
Undergraduate - WI ACS Local Section Awards
Wisconsin ACS Local Section Undergraduate Award for Excellence in Chemistry winners are:
- Morgan Gugger – Analytical/Materials
- Takahiro Ishikuri – At Large
- Nicholas Juntunen (Brunold) – Inorganic
- Chi-Min Ni (Nathanson) – Physical
- Dylan Snider – Organic
- Jiayin Tang – ChemBio
Undergraduate - Additional Awards
- Iris Chavarria – Ackerman East High Scholarship
- Kurt Davis – ACS-Hach Land Grant Undergraduate Scholarship
- Han Geng – ACS Division of Inorganic Chemistry Undergraduate Award for a graduating senior
- Arturo Guadarrama Santibanez – Ackerman East High Scholarship
- Jacob Mau – Alpha Chi Sigma Scholarship
- Anuchit “Armor” Rupanya – ACS Division of Physical Chemistry Undergraduate Award for a graduating senior
- Alayna Tucker – Ackerman East High Scholarship
- Max Unger, ACS-Hach Land Grant Undergraduate Scholarship
- Sophia Zappia (Schomaker) – ACS Division of Organic Chemistry Undergraduate Award for a graduating senior
Virtual Chemistry Undergraduate Research Symposium Awards
Award Winners:
- Anna Allen (mentors: Valeria Guzman-Luna, Andrew Fuchs, and Prof. Silvia Cavagnero)
- Jasmine Machhi (mentors: Miranda Mecha and Prof. Silvia Cavagnero)
- Deseree Dufek (mentors: Adam Kleman and Prof. Sam Gellman)
- Dylan Snider (mentors: Xianyuan Zhao and Prof. Gil Nathanson)
- Xi Chen (mentors: Rachel Hutchinson, Ningkun Zhou and Prof. Silvia Cavagnero)
Honorable Mention:
- Erin McCann (mentors: Xin Yao, Yue Gui, Prof. Lian Yu)
- Kevin England (mentors: Justin Dang, Siyu Li, Valeria Guzman-Luna, Prof. Silvia Cavagnero)
Mentorship Awards
- Kate Nicastri (Schomaker) mentor with Jared Pratt as mentee, Stephen D. Morton Research Award
- Trenton Peters-Clarke (Coon) mentor with Qiuwen Quan as mentee, Stephen D. Morton Research Award
- Ruslan Gibadullin (Gellman), Ina S. and Stanley B. Mirviss Memorial Fund in Chemistry
- Jiani Niu (Gellman) PPG Mentoring Award
Graduate Departmental Awards
- Guadalupe Aguirre – Figueroa (Blackwell) – Pei Wang Fellowship
- Sophya Alamudun (Choi) – Pei Wang Fellowship
- Jaya Borgatta (Hamers) – Michael W. McCoy Memorial Scholarship
- Shaneen Britton Acevedo (Cavagnero) – Pei Wang Fellowship
- David Bruns (Stahl) – Sam C. Slifkin Award in Chemistry
- Kevin Buck (Ge) – Pei Wang Fellowship
- Meghan Campbell – Kellogg TA Award
- Colleen Chernowsky (Wickens) – William B. Dickinson Fellowship in Organic Chemistry
- Rachel Czerwinski (Goldsmith, Shakhashiri)- Kellogg TA Award
- Kimberly Deglopper (Stowe) – Kellogg TA Award
- Mahzad Dehghany (Schomaker) – William B. Dickinson Fellowship in Organic Chemistry
- Megan Deshaye (Stowe) – Pei Wang Fellowship
- Lauren Ehehalt (Weix) – Pei Wang Fellowship
- Madison Fellows (McMahon) – Kellogg TA Award
- Rebeca Fernandez (Brunold) – Harold Hay Fellowship
- Matthew Genzink (Yoon) – Kellogg TA Award
- Ruslan Gibadullin (Gellman) – Ralph F. Hirschmann – Daniel H. Rich Fellowship in Bio-organic Chemistry
- Matthew Hautzinger (Jin) – Kellogg TA Award
- Levi Hogan (Goldsmith, Shakhashiri) – Roger J. Carlson Graduate Award
- Dylan Holst (Wickens) – William B. Dickinson Fellowship in Organic Chemistry
- Bob Hu (Schomaker) – William B. Dickinson Fellowship in Organic Chemistry
- Zack Jones (Hamers) – Roger J. Carlson Graduate Award
- Zihui Li (Li) – Harold Hay Fellowship
- Yumin Lian (Schwartz) – Alida and Ronald Anderson Graduate Student Support Fund
- Xin Lim (Fredrickson) – Kellogg TA Award
- Jesse Martinez (Stahl) – Pei Wang Fellowship
- Jericha Mill (Li) – Kellogg TA Award
- Rachel Miller (Smith) – Gary Parr Memorial Award
- Rob Millikin (Smith) – Ralph F. Hirschmann – Daniel H. Rich Fellowship in Bio-organic Chemistry
- Feng Pan (Goldsmith) – K.V. and Sara Reddy Award in Physical Chemistry
- Kyndal Pike (Smith) – Pei Wang Fellowship
- Elyse Plachinski (Yoon) – Pei Wang Fellowship
- La’Darious Quinn (Lynn) – Pei Wang Fellowship
- David Roberts (Jin) – Gary Parr Memorial Award
- Matthew Ryan (Zanni) – Pei Wang Fellowship
- Daniel SantaLucia (Berry) – Paul J. Bender Memorial Award
- Lia Serrano (Coon) – Pei Wang Fellowship
- Summer Sherman (Garand) – Farrington Daniels Ethical Leadership Award
- Houston Smith (McMahon) – Kellogg TA Award
- Natalia Spitha (Wright) – Kellogg TA Award
- Matt Styles (Blackwell) – Harold Hay Fellowship
- Rachel Tritt (Boydston) – Harlan L. and Margaret L. Goering Organic Chemistry Fellowship
- Aristidis Vasilopoulos – Paul J. Bender Memorial Award
- Korbin West (Blackwell) – Harold Hay Fellowship
- Hanming Yang (Cavagnero) – K.V. and Sara Reddy Award in Physical Chemistry
- Maixee Yang (Li) – Pei Wang Fellowship
- Jordan York (Blackwell) – Pei Wang Fellowship
Graduate Research Excellence Awards
- Katie Buxton Henke – Richard and Joan Hartl Excellence in Research Award – Analytical
- Sijie Chen (Stahl) – Charles P. and Martha L. Casey Excellence in Research Award – Organic
- Allwin McDonald – Richard and Joan Hartl Excellence in Research Award – Chemical Biology
- Chase Salazar – Charles P. and Martha L. Casey Excellence in Research Award – Inorganic
- Maria Zdanovskaia – Leah Cohodas Berk Award for Excellence in Chemistry Research
- Yuzhou Zhao – Richard and Joan Hartl Excellence in Research Award – Materials
- Xianyuan Zhao – Richard and Joan Hartl Excellence in Research Award – Physical
Graduate Additional Awards
- Michelle Akana – PPG Summer Fellowship
- Tom Polaske – PPG Summer Fellowship
- Cody Schilling – PPG Summer Fellowship
- Patrick Sullivan – PPG Summer Fellowship
Wisconsin Initiative for Science Literacy Award for Communicating Ph.D. Research to the Public
Wisconsin Initiative for Science Literacy Award for Communicating Ph.D. Research to the Public
- Sachin Muley, Ph.D. 2021 “Structure-property correlations in metallic glass and amorphous carbon films”
- David Schlais, Ph.D. 2021 “Modeling and Designing Secure Tightly-Coupled Accelerators in CPUs”
- Catherine N. Steffel, Ph.D. 2021 “Quantitative Ultrasound Imaging Parameters for Evaluation of Carotid Atherosclerotic Plaque”
- Camille Bishop, Ph.D. 2020 “Vapor deposition rate modifies order in highly structured glasses”
- Jennifer R. Bratburd, Ph.D. 2020 “Host-microbiome interactions impacting pathogen and mutualist colonization within defensive symbioses”
- Kyle Brown, Ph.D. 2020 “Novel Proteomic Approaches to Characterize Endogenous Membrane Proteins”
- Kellen DeLaney, Ph.D. 2020 “Mass Spectrometry Methods and Applications for Functional Characterization of the Crustacean Neuropeptidome”
- Taylor A. Evans, Ph.D. 2020 “Development of antimony-containing catalysts and semiconductors for (photo)electrochemical fuel production”
- Dacheng Fan, Ph.D. 2020 “Investigating the O-GlcNAc cycling enzymes: substrate recognition, enzymatic activity, and biological functions”
- Bridget Garnier, Ph.D. 2020 “Faulting in southern Guatemala and implications for the North America – forearc – Caribbean triple junction”
- Yun Hang, Ph.D. 2020 “New Light on Earth’s Energy Budget and Its Implication for Solar Energy Potential”
- Joshua M. Herzog, Ph.D. 2020 “Quantitative Temperature & Formaldehyde Concentration Imaging for High-Pressure Turbulent Fuel Jet Ignition”
- Nicole M. Lane Starr, Ph.D. 2020 “The Role of Oxylipins at the Intersection of Rhinovirus Infection and Asthma”
- Elizabeth Laudadio, Ph.D. 2020 “Chemical Transformations of Lithium Cobalt Oxide Nanoparticles in Model Environmental Systems”
- Vanessa Linke, Ph.D. 2020 “Linking Mass Spectrometry and Genetics for Studying the Various Biological Roles of Lipids”
- Margaret Lumley, Ph.D. 2020 “Development of Electrode Materials for Electrochemical Desalination and Solar Water Splitting”
- Mainak Mustafi, Ph.D. 2020 “Dynamics of EF-Tu/ternary complex in live E. coli using superresolution imaging”
- Mengyao Niu, Ph.D. 2020 “Whisper with Lipids: Fungal Oxylipins in Development and Host Interactions in Aspergillus fumigatus“
- Dinesh Pattabiraman, Ph.D. 2020 “Impact of Inverter Control on the Dynamic Performance of Power Systems with High Penetration of Inverter-based Resources”
- Megan Petti, Ph.D. 2020 “Development of Novel Surface Sensitive and Surface Specific Two-Dimensional Spectroscopies”
- Zach Rolfs, Ph.D. 2020 “Novel Strategies for Identifying Endogenous Peptides and Determining Protein Turnover Rates” Video: Zach talks about his experience writing this chapter
- Leah Schaffer, Ph.D. 2020 “Integrated Proteomic Strategies for Proteoform Discovery”
- Trisha Tucholski, Ph.D. 2020 “Defining the Human Heart Proteoform Landscape with Top-down Proteomics”
- Shannon Walsh, Ph.D. 2020 “Effects of age and mechanical loading on articular cartilage metabolism and corresponding consequences for tissue health”
- Kyle Wegner, Ph.D. 2020 “A Glitch in the Matrix: Exploring the Role of Prostatic Collagen in Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction”
- Yanyu Zhu, Ph.D. 2020 “Single-Cell Detection of Antimicrobial Peptide’s Attack on Live E. coli
by Super-Resolution Fluorescence Microscopy”
Graduate Student Faculty Liaison Committee Mentor Awards
The following faculty and students are winners of the GSFLC Mentorship Award:
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Messages of Congratulations!
Find more messages of congratulations, photos, publications, biographies
and future plans as you click on the names of students in the undergraduate and graduate sections.
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Memories of Madison
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