Each year we recognize our graduate students for their accomplishments in research and teaching, two of the primary missions of our university.
The 2020 Chemistry & Biochemistry Graduate Awards have been announced. Congratulations to all the recipients listed below! These awards are normally presented to students at the department’s annual awards ceremony and at Commencement, both of which have been postponed until later in the 2020-21 academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We will be honoring our graduating students through virtual celebrations in June. Learn more here.
We are incredibly grateful to our donors whose generous gifts make these awards possible.
RALPH & CHARLENE BAUER AWARDS
These awards were established in 1988 by Dr. Ralph Bauer (B.S. ’52, Ph.D. ’58), recipient of our 2020 Alumni Legacy Award, and his wife Charlene. They are given to students who have advanced to candidacy and have excelled in research, teaching, and service.
(Clockwise from top left) Sarah Anthony (Garg lab), Daniel Baumann (Duan lab), Timothy Boit (Garg lab), David Boyer (Rodriguez lab), Rachael Day (Sletten lab), Anna Kataki (Sletten lab), Sophia King (Tobert lab), Ga Young Lee (Sletten lab), Joseph Ong (Torres lab), and KJ Winchell (Tolbert lab).
COMMENCEMENT AWARDS
These awards are given to students who are graduating in 2020 and are awarded based on research excellence and productivity leading to an outstanding dissertation.
Boehringer Ingelheim-UCLA Dissertation Award for Excellence in Organic Chemistry
Jacob Dander (Garg lab)
Donald J. Cram Dissertation Award
Michael Yamano (Garg lab)
Jim and Barbara Tsay Dissertation Award
Chengzhang Wan (Duan lab) and KJ Winchell (Tolbert lab)
Majeti-Alapati Dissertation Award
Jordan Dotson (Garcia-Garibay/Garg labs) and Andrew Smaligo (Kwon lab)
Pfizer-UCLA Dissertation Award for Excellence in Organic Synthesis
Robert Susick (Garg lab)
Roberts A. Smith Dissertation Award
Michelle Bradley (C. Clarke lab)
Saul and Sylvia Winstein Dissertation Award
Katherine Bay (Houk lab)
Theodore A. Geissman Dissertation Award
Emily Cosco (Sletten lab)
Thomas and Ruth F. Jacobs Dissertation Award
Yolanda Li (Rubin lab), Wai Mak (Kaner) and Chuanzhen Zhao (P. Weiss lab)
UCLA Chemists Association Dissertation Award in Inorganic Chemistry
Stephanie Aguilar (Kaner lab)
UCLA Chemists Association Dissertation Award in Materials Chemistry
Jason Belling (P. Weiss lab)
JIM AND BARBARA TSAY EXCELLENCE IN SECOND YEAR RESEARCH AND ACADEMICS AWARDS
The Jim and Barbara Tsay Excellence in Second Year Research and Academics Awards are given to third-year graduate students who performed exceptionally in courses, teaching, and research throughout their first and second years and have advanced to candidacy. Preference is given to students who have published one or more research papers from their graduate studies and maintained a core GPA ≤ 3.70.
(Clockwise from top left) Kierstyn Anderson (Spokoyny lab), Jason Chari (Garg lab), Yao Gong (P. Weiss lab), Zach Hern (Diaconescu lab), Irene Lim (Sletten lab), Sepand Nistanaki (Nelson lab), Chenxiang Wang (Kaner lab), and Benjamin Wigman (Nelson lab).
MICHAEL E. JUNG EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AWARDS
The Michael E. Jung Excellence in Teaching Awards are given to students who have excelled as teaching assistants (TAs) as reflected in undergraduate student evaluations and faculty nomination letters.
(Clockwise from top left) Katherine Bay (Houk lab), Nick Bernier (Spokoyny lab), Timothy Boit (Garg lab), Michelle Bradley (C. Clarke lab), Rachael Day (Sletten lab), Mary Waddington Grumbles (Spokoyny lab), Jesus Iniguez (Liu lab), Cooper Jamieson (Houk/Tang labs), Wonhyeuk Jung (Loo lab), Natalie Kashanchi (Tolbert lab), Rachel Knapp (Garg lab), Milauni Mehta (Garg lab), Emily Murzinski (Harran lab), Lisa Pangilinan (Kaner lab), Ambarneil Saha (Rodriguez lab) (not pictured), Ashley Shin (Caram lab), Luke Sisto (Harran lab), Katie Spence (Garg lab), Dane Stanfield (Schwartz lab), Cheylene Tanimoto (Gelbart lab), and Chloe Williams (Nelson lab).
EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH AWARDS
The Excellence in Research Awards are given to students who have advanced to candidacy. These awards are based on research excellence and productivity.
Dafni Amirsakis Memorial Excellence in Research Award
Roselyn Rodrigues (Liu lab)
Daniel E. Atkinson and Charles A. West Excellence in Research Award
Scott McConnell (Clubb lab)
Don C. Atkins Excellence in Research Award
Cooper Jamieson (Houk lab)
Donald J. Cram Excellence in Research Award
Daniel Estabrook (Sletten lab) and Joseph Jaye (Sletten lab)
Ernest F. Hare, Jr. Excellence in Research Award
Christopher Jones (Nelson lab) and Amy Lai (Diaconescu lab)
George Gregory Excellence in Research Award
Ruxi Dai (Diaconescu lab) and Ieva Liepuoniute (Houk lab)
John Stauffer Excellence in Research Award
Liubo Li (Harran lab) and Wenfei Li (Neuhauser lab)
Majeti-Alapati Excellence in Research Award
Sydnee Green (Nelson lab), Marcus Jellen (García-Garibay lab) and Stanislav Popov (Nelson lab)
Maria Rebecca and Maureen Bellettini Excellence in Research Award
Fang-Chu Lin (Zink lab)
Roberts A. Smith Excellence in Research Award
Calina Glynn (Rodriguez lab)
Thomas and Ruth Jacobs Excellence in Research Award
Harrison Mills (Spokoyny lab)
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To contribute to the Graduate Student Awards Program or to establish a new named award or fellowship, please contact Joy Kruger at 310-206-8023 or jkruger@support.ucla.edu. Your gift of any size will directly impact one of our world-class students and aspiring scientists!
Penny Jennings, UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, penny@chem.ucla.edu.
