Thanks to our generous donors, 47 undergraduate students will have the opportunity to conduct cutting-edge research in our faculty labs as research fellows.
The 2025 Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Research Fellowships were presented to our students at our annual Departmental Awards Ceremony on June 9, 2025. Congratulations to all the recipients listed below!
One of the unique benefits of attending UCLA as an undergraduate is the opportunity to participate in meaningful research guided by eminent faculty. This is also an essential step on the path to graduate school and beyond. However, research opportunities are often limited by the availability of funds to support the hourly cost of an undergraduate intern. These fellowships make it possible for budding scientists to gain invaluable research experience and pursue their dreams.
We are incredibly grateful to our donors whose generous gifts make these fellowships possible.
CHEMISTRY & BIOCHEMISTRY ALUMNI RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIP
Sponsored by the Bruman and Boschan families, and other alumni donors.
Andrew Huang (not pictured)
DANIEL ATKINSON AND CHARLES WEST UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
This award honors Professors Daniel Atkinson and Charles West, the two UCLA chemistry faculty who were largely responsible for the development of biochemistry within the department. This award honors the significant contributions of both men to research, education, and the strength of the UCLA academic community.
Andrew Bondoc (Quinlan group) and Olivia Pacheco (S. Clarke group). Not pictured: Kathryn McGovern (Quinlan group).
DANIEL KIVELSON UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
The family of UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry professor Dr. Daniel Kivelson (1929-2003) established these fellowships in his honor so that his legacy would live on and help educate young scientists.
Timothy Chau (Barber group), Asta Li (Caram group), and Jiayi “Bonnie” Qian (Alexandrova group)
DOLORES CANNON SOUTHAM UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
These awards are named in memory of Dolores Cannon Southam, who as a UCLA undergraduate student, worked for Professor Chris Foote. These awards are given to students in recognition of their outstanding achievement in research.
Felisha Kuo (Liu group)
EVELYN PAN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
Established by Walter and Shirley Wang, these fellowships honor Shirley’s mother, Evelyn Pan.
Claire Chang, Tyler Hsu, Linchen “Ethan” Li, Allison Lorber, and Ye Wen. Not pictured: Kehan Jiao (Neuhauser group)
JAMES BLAINE RAMSEY UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
This fellowship is named in honor of Professor Emeritus James Blaine Ramsey (1892-1965) and is awarded to outstanding undergraduate students in the UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry.
Zachary Ching (Gelbart group), Dylan Davidoff (P. Weiss group), and Anam Jamshaid (Shafaat group).
JANIS OKIDA HASHIMOTO UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
This fellowship was made possible by a generous gift from Elizabeth Whitney, in honor of Janis Okida Hashimoto.
Wesley Jeng (Petrovic group), Lawrence Lundblad (Petrovic group), Nicholas Machin (Rodriguez group), and Henley Roy (Petrovic group)
PAUL BOYER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
These fellowships were established in 2018 by Prof. Richard Cross (Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York) to honor his former postdoctoral mentor Nobel Laureate Professor Paul D. Boyer.
Caroline Canavan (Backus group), Tanya Chhabria (Kappel group), Sandy Lanch (Torres group), Rebecca Lee (Chen group). Not pictured: Katherine Jaramillo, Jerry Li (Kappel group), and Dennis Nguyen.
DR. RAVI AND APARNA BIKKINA FAMILY UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
These scholarships were established in 2017 by Ravi ’94 and Aparna Bikkina to support scholarships for chemistry and biochemistry students.
Siddharth Das (Schmitt group) and Rohan Thadwal (Athavale Group)
ROBERT AND CAROLE FORAN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
Dr. Robert and Carole Foran’s generous commitment to the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry in honor of Professor Kenneth Trueblood makes these fellowships possible.
Bijan Ahrablou (P. Weiss group) and Pawat Wachiratienchai (Shafaat group)
ROBERT E. BISKOWSKI UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
These fellowships were established in 2019 by the Estate of Geraldine Biskowski
Kenny Garcia. Not pictured: Kieran Pearson (Diaconescu group)
SAUL WINSTEIN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
This fellowship honors Professor Saul Winstein (1912-1969), who was one of the leading physical organic chemists of the 1950s and ‘60s, employing the tools of physical chemistry to explore reactions in solution, and his wife, Sylvia Winstein, also a UCLA alumna, was a long-time supporter of the department until she passed away in 2009.
Sydney Choi (Tang group), Jessica Darfler (Athavale group), Jayanti Singla, and Thaddeus Stephanski-Hall. Not pictured: Idaly Maldonado
SUSAN ELIZABETH BAUMGARTEN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
Susan Baumgarten (B.S. ’73, M.S. ’76, M.B.A. ’79) established this fellowship in 2019 to support chemistry and biochemistry undergraduate students.
Tiffany Thai (DeWeese group)
THEODORE GEISSMAN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
This award honors Professor Theodore (Ted) Geissman, an organic chemistry faculty member who passed away in 1978.
Bedelia Law (Kwon group). Not pictured: Yongjin Lee
WEILLER FAMILY UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
Bruce and Shari Weiller and their family endowed this scholarship to support outstanding undergraduate students majoring in chemistry.
Hanna Auchynnik (Spokoyny group) and Aila Shibao (Liu group)
WHITCOME UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
This fellowship honors the late Dr. Philip Whitcome who received his Ph.D. in 1974 from UCLA and went on to a successful career in the biotechnology industry.
Chloe Schnell (Lawson group) and Jonathan Shirley (Damoiseaux and Koehler groups)
The department is extremely grateful to our generous donors and alumni whose support makes these many fellowship programs possible.
To contribute to our student departmental award funds or to establish a new named award or fellowship, please contact the Chair’s office, chair@chem.ucla.edu, (310) 825-3958. Your gift of any size will directly impact one of our world-class students and aspiring scientists!
Penny Jennings, UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, penjen@g.ucla.edu.
