2026 Graduate Student Departmental Awards

Posted on July 8, 2026

Thanks to our generous donors, 74 talented graduate students received departmental awards this year in recognition of their accomplishments in teaching, academics, research, and/or service.

The 2026 Chemistry & Biochemistry graduate student departmental awards were presented at our annual Departmental Awards Ceremony on June 9, 2026.

Congratulations to all the recipients listed below!

We are incredibly grateful to our donors whose generous gifts make these awards possible.

CHARLES J. PEDERSEN EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH AWARD
This award was established in 1988 with a gift from DuPont. Dr. Charles Pedersen won the 1987 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Professors Donald J. Cram (UCLA) and Jean-Marie Lehn (Université Louis Pasteur) for their work on highly selective molecules.

2026 Charles J. Redersen Excellence in Research Awards
[Picture of Tucker Allen (Neuhauser group) and Yisi Chen (Liu group) on a UCLA-themed background]

Tucker Allen (Neuhauser group), Yisi Chen (Liu group)

DAFNI AMIRSAKIS MEMORIAL AWARD
Established in 2016 to honor UCLA alumna and staff member Dr. Dafni Amirsakis, this award is given to a graduate student who has many of Dafni’s wonderful characteristics.

Elizabeth Croll (Kwon group)

DR. YUH GUO PAN EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH AWARD
Eugenia Pan (BA Psychology ’79) and her family endowed this award in 2020 to benefit organic chemistry graduate students in honor of her late husband, Dr. Yuh Guo Pan (MA Chem ’77, Ph.D. Chem ’80, Jung Group).

Christina Rivera (Garg group)

HERBERT NEWBY MCCOY MENTORSHIP AWARDS
These awards are given to graduate students and postdoctoral scholars who have spent the entire last year serving as peer mentors to members of our first-year graduate class as part of the IGNITE program.

2026 Herbert Newby McCoy Mentorship Awards
[Picture of Stephanie Jimenez (Schwartz group), Ryan Lai (Maynard group), Katherine McCarthy (Chen group), Aldo Munoz (Rodriguez group), Nithesh Perumal (Backus group), Silvana Reid (Tang group), Pathorn (Henry) Teptarakulkarn (Shafaat group), Lina Zarnitsa (Nava group) on a UCLA-themed background]

Stephanie Jimenez (Schwartz group), Ryan Lai (Maynard group), Katherine McCarthy (Chen group), Aldo Munoz (Rodriguez group), Nithesh Perumal (Backus group), Silvana Reid (Tang group), Pathorn (Henry) Teptarakulkarn (Shafaat group), Lina Zarnitsa (Nava group)

IMMANUEL WILK AWARDS FOR MENTORSHIP, INCLUSION, AND SERVICE
This award is given to graduate students who have engaged in a broad range of activities, including public science education, science outreach to schools, undergraduate mentorship, and service to the department.

2026 Immanuel Wilk Award for Mentorship, Inclusion, and Service [Picture of Bohan Chen (Zhang/Loo groups), Katarina Cohen (Schmitt group), Natalie Leon (Lawson group), Rebecca McAlpine (Tolbert group), Daniel Min (Doyle group), Daniela Prochazkova (Conway group), Miguel Reyna (Tolbert group), Ethan Savage (Tolbert group), Michelle Thaxton (Lawson group) on a UCLA-themed background]

Bohan Chen (Zhang/Loo groups), Katarina Cohen (Schmitt group), Natalie Leon (Lawson group), Rebecca McAlpine (Tolbert group), Daniel Min (Doyle group), Daniela Prochazkova (Conway group), Miguel Reyna (Tolbert group), Ethan Savage (Tolbert group), Michelle Thaxton (Lawson group)

IMMANUEL WILK LEADERSHIP AWARD
This award goes to a graduate student who has been pivotal to the success of the IGNITE program.

Maya Cornejo (Koehler group)

SAMANTHA T. MENSAH DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION AWARD
The awards honor graduate student Samantha “Sammy” T. Mensah who passed away on February 22, 2023. Sammy did many remarkable things during her time at UCLA, including co-founding BlackInChem in 2020.

Miguel Reyna (Tolbert group)

JIM AND BARBARA TSAY EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH AWARD
These awards were made possible by a generous endowment established in 2009 by Dr. Shyr-Jin “Jim” Tsay (Ph.D. ’77), recipient of our 2019 Alumni Legacy Award, and his wife, Barbara.

2026 Jim and Barbara Tsay Excellence in Research Award [Picture of Pujan Ajmera (Alexandrova group) and Shawn Chiu (Alexandrova group) on a UCLA-themed background.]

Pujan Ajmera (Alexandrova group), Shawn Chiu (Alexandrova group)

JOHN M. JORDAN EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH AWARD
This award was established in 2006 by Evelyn Walker to honor her son, Dr. John Alan Walker (Ph.D. chemistry ’83), who passed away in 2005.

2026 John M. Jordan Excellence in Research Award [Picture of Matthew Krieger (Koehler group) and Bradley Kroes (Kaner group) on a UCLA-themed background.]

Matthew Krieger (Koehler group), Bradley Kroes (Kaner group)

JOHN STAUFFER EXCELLENCE IN SECOND-YEAR ACADEMICS AND RESEARCH AWARDS
This award was established by the John Stauffer Charitable Trust in 1997.

2026 John Stauffer Excellence in Second-Year Academics and Research Awards [Picture of Alexia Andrikopoulos (Schmitt group), Justin Bossenbroek (Athavale group), Braden Chaffin (Doyle group), Allison Clark (Garg group), Neyci Gutierrez Valencia (Doyle group), Ben Janda (Garg group), Katie Vineall (Schmitt group), and Janet Zhong (Feigon group) on a UCLA-themed background.]

Alexia Andrikopoulos (Schmitt group), Justin Bossenbroek (Athavale group), Braden Chaffin (Doyle group), Allison Clark (Garg group), Neyci Gutierrez Valencia (Doyle group), Ben Janda (Garg group), Katie Vineall (Schmitt group), and Janet Zhong (Feigon group)

MAJETI-ALAPATI EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH AWARD
Drs. Satyan (PhD ’69) and Vimala Majeti (PhD ’71), former students of Professor Christopher Foote, established this award in 2001, with matching funds from Procter & Gamble, to support deserving graduate students.

2026 Majeti-Alapati Excellence in Research Award [Picture of Nathan Incandela (Conway/Houk groups) and Alexander Maertens (Doyle/Houk groups) on a UCLA-themed background.]

Nathan Incandela (Conway/Houk groups), Alexander Maertens (Doyle/Houk groups)

MICHAEL E. JUNG EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AWARDS
These awards are given to students who have excelled as teaching assistants (TAs), as reflected in undergraduate student evaluations and faculty nomination letters. The award honors Professor Michael Jung, who is one of our department’s greatest educators.

2026 Michael E. Jung Excellence in Teaching Awards [Picture of Gray Carson (Kaner group), Rehan Chagla (Conway group), Izaiah Cole (Lawson group), Isabelle Davis (Kaner group), Teagan Dean (Schmitt/Teslaa groups), Noah Gilbertson (Garg group), Hang Chi (Calvin) Ho (Doyle group), Jasmine Keane (Tolbert group), Jae Lee (Caram group), Aimee Long (Garg group), Mark Mancini (Tolbert group), Ben Miller (Maynard group), Shervin Nia (Zhou group), Kyle Schultz (Athavale group), Matt Scurria (Conway/Gutierrez groups), AuDuyen Trinh (Nava group), Jason Tuermer-Lee (Kwon group), Roland Ullrich (Tolbert group), and Lissy Wood (Bouchard group) on a UCLA-themed background]

Gray Carson (Kaner group), Rehan Chagla (Conway group), Izaiah Cole (Lawson group), Isabelle Davis (Kaner group), Teagan Dean (Schmitt/Teslaa groups), Noah Gilbertson (Garg group), Hang Chi (Calvin) Ho (Doyle group), Jasmine Keane (Tolbert group), Jae Lee (Caram group), Aimee Long (Garg group), Mark Mancini (Tolbert group), Ben Miller (Maynard group), Shervin Nia (Zhou group), Kyle Schultz (Athavale group), Matt Scurria (Conway/Gutierrez groups), AuDuyen Trinh (Nava group), Jason Tuermer-Lee (Kwon group), Roland Ullrich (Tolbert group), and Lissy Wood (Bouchard group)

RALPH & CHARLENE BAUER GRADUATE STUDENT AWARDS
These awards were made possible by a generous endowment from Dr. Ralph Bauer (B.S. ’52, Ph.D. ’58) and Charlene Bauer (B.S. ’54) in 1988.

2026 Ralph & Charlene Bauer Graduate Student Awards [Picture of Erin Bucci (Doyle group), Flora Fan (Doyle group), Diego Garcia Vidales (Schwartz group), Wenyu Han (Tang group), Giulianna Miseo (Garg group), Vicki Rubio (Spokoyny group), Lilith A. Schwartz (Kamariza/Sletten groups), Abigail Slimp (Tolbert/Schwartz groups), and Zach Walters (Garg group) on a UCLA-themed background]

Erin Bucci (Doyle group), Flora Fan (Doyle group), Diego Garcia Vidales (Schwartz group), Wenyu Han (Tang group), Giulianna Miseo (Garg group), Vicki Rubio (Spokoyny group), Lilith A. Schwartz (Kamariza/Sletten groups), Abigail Slimp (Tolbert/Schwartz groups), and Zach Walters (Garg group)

ROBERTS A. SMITH EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH AWARD
In 2009, the Roberts A. Smith Graduate Award for the Study of Biochemistry was established with a generous endowment from funds contributed by Atsuko Fujimoto (PhD ’63, MD ’69) and her husband, Akira Fujimoto, and by Emeritus Professor Smith.

Jack Scully (Schmitt group)

CHRISTOPHER S. FOOTE SENIOR FELLOWS
The Christopher S. Foote Fellowship in Organic Chemistry was established in 2005 by his former co-workers and UCLA colleagues to honor UCLA organic professor Dr. Christopher S. Foote on his 70th birthday.

2026 Christopher S. Foote Senior Fellows [Picture of Branden Chaffin (Doyle group), Allison Clark (Garg group), Alexander Maertens (Doyle/Houk groups), Giulianna Miseo (Garg group), and Christina Rivera (Garg group) on a UCLA-themed background.]

Branden Chaffin (Doyle group), Allison Clark (Garg group), Alexander Maertens (Doyle/Houk groups), Giulianna Miseo (Garg group), and Christina Rivera (Garg group)

THOMAS L. AND RUTH F. JACOBS EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH AWARD
This award honors Professor Emeritus Thomas L. Jacobs, a dedicated organic chemist, scholar, and esteemed university servant who passed away in 1996.

Hashim Al Khunaizi (Spokoyny group)

UPJOHN EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH AWARD
This gift was established in 1988 to support graduate student awards in the UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry.

Nima Adhami (Spokoyny/Rodriguez groups) and Taras Khvorost (Alexandrova group)

The department is extremely grateful to our generous donors and alumni whose support makes these many award programs possible.

To learn how to contribute to our student departmental award funds or to establish a new named award or fellowship, please contact the Chair’s Office, cbchair@ucla.edu, (310) 825-3958. Your gift of any size will directly impact one of our world-class students and aspiring scientists!

If you find any errors in this article, please email Penny Jennings, UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, penjen@g.ucla.edu.