About the Awards & Awards Ceremony
Every year the Office of Undergraduate Research celebrates awardees with the Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award, the Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award, and presents certificates to scholarship recipients. This event fosters a healthy research culture as one that includes recognition.
Awards Ceremony 2024
OUR Awards Ceremony Program
This event was made possible by the leadership and support of the University of Utah, Undergraduate Studies, Vice President for Research, and the 18 colleges who partner with the Office of Undergraduate Research. We are also grateful for the donations provided by: Ruby Snap and the J. Willard Marriott Library.
Special thank you to our donors:
- The supporters of our scholarships: Dee Foundation, Francis Family Fund, and Parent Fund.
- The supporters of our events: Maschoff Brennan and Northrup Grumman.
10:30AM Opening Remarks – Associate Dean Annie Fukushima
10:40AM Inspiration - Provost Mitzi Montoya
10:40AM Illuminations – VPR Erin Rothwell
11:00AM Undergraduate Research Scholarship recipients: 2023 - 2024 recipients of the Francis Family Fund Scholarships, Dee Scholarship, and Parent Fund Scholarship.
11:15AM Monson Essay Prize winner: Pablo Cruz-Ayala (Prof. John Erickson)
11:20AM Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher & Research Mentor Awards by college
Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Awardees
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ARCHITECTURE + PLANNING
Tae Eun Ko (Mentor: Professor Andy Hong)CULTURAL & SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION
Jorge Jimenez (Mentor: Professor Edmond Fong)EDUCATION
Michael Molenaar (Mentor: Professor Frankie Laanan and Jason Burrow-Sanchez)ENGINEERING
Ethan Gallup (Mentors: Professors Kody Powell)
Andrew Tolton (Mentor: Professor Zlatan Aksamija)FINE ARTS
Alix Wright (Mentor: Professor Mosses Williams)HEALTH
Maren Curtis (Mentor: Professor Adriana M Coletta)HONORS
Nehal Bakshi (Mentor: Professor Melissa Watt)HUMANITIES
Pierce Christoffersen and Kalista Leggitt (Mentor: Professor Matt Haber)MEDICINE
Alejandra Michelle Huerta Hernandez (Mentor: Professor Jennie Hill)MINES & EARTH SCIENCES
Autumn Hartley (Mentor: Professor Sarah Lambart)NURSING
Michaella Halweg (Mentor: Professor Rebekah Perkins)PHARMACY
Kylee McManus (Mentor: Professor Shreya Goel)SCIENCE
Dua Azhar (Mentor: Professor Sophie Caron)SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
Andrew Clothier (Mentor: Professor Tabitha Benney)
Haley Parsons (Mentor: Professor Katie Baucom)SOCIAL WORK
Xochitl Juarez (Mentor: Professor Theresa Martinez) -
ARCHITECTURE + PLANNING
Charlotte Garris (Mentor: Professor Keith Bartholomew)BUSINESS
Ryan McBride (Mentor: Professor Vandana Ramachandran)CULTURAL & SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION
Natalia Garrido (Mentor: Professor Claudia Geist)DENTISTRY
Eliza Diggins (Mentor: Professor Melodie Weller)EDUCATION
Tessa Cahoon (Mentor: Professor Mary Burbank)ENGINEERING
Adriana Payan-Medina (Mentors: Professors Julio C. Facelli and Ramkiran Gouripeddi)
Michael Alessandro Keyser (Mentor: Professor Pierre-Emmanuel Gaillardon)FINE ARTS
Lauren Carn (Mentor: Professor Lynn Deboeck)HEALTH
Elena Yee (Mentor: Professor Micah Drummond)HONORS
Katie Sanyal (Mentor: Professor Michael Gills)HUMANITIES
Eliana Massey (Mentor: Professor Matthew Basso)MEDICINE
Samuel Hendry (Mentor: Professor Matthew Mulvey)MINES & EARTH SCIENCES
Nancy Sohlberg (Mentor: Professor Gannet Hallar)NURSING
Sydney Gilliland (Mentor: Professor Lauri Linder)PHARMACY
Oliver Hubbard (Mentor: Professor Hamid Ghandehari)SCIENCE
Alison Wang (Mentor: Professor Caroline Saouma)
Yexalen Barrera-Casas (Mentor: Professor Michael Morse)SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
Camden Alexander (Mentor: Professor Sara Grineski
Shaistah Din (Mentor: Professor Marissa Deiner) -
Samantha Eddy (Mentor: Professor Shundana Yusaf)
ARCHITECTURE + PLANNINGRachel Nelson (Mentor: Professor Sankar Srinivasan)
BUSINESSJoshua Christensen (Mentor: Professor Lisa Diamond)
CULTURAL & SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONSophia Boehler (Mentor: Professor Melodie Weller)
DENTISTRYSarah Orozco (Mentor: Professor Veronica Valdez)
EDUCATIONKatrina Le (Mentor: Professor Thomas Zangle)
ENGINEERINGComstock (Mentor: Professor Brian Snapp)
FINE ARTSAbby Laskey (Mentor: Professor Jeffrey Rose)
HEALTHCasey McFarland (Mentor: Professor Jennifer Alderden)
HONORSMcKay Muhlestein (Mentor: Professor Natalya Kuznetsova)
HUMANITIESKailee Ferret (Mentor: Professor Leslie Francis)
LAWAvery Abelhouzen (Mentor: Professor Joseph Yost)
MEDICINEAlex Dzubay (Mentor: Professor. Kristine Pankow and Jeff Moore)
MINES & EARTH SCIENCESKari Stoddard (Mentor: Professor Lisa Taylor Swanson)
NURSINGMacey Smith (Mentor: Professor Amy Barrios)
PHARMACYElijah Counterman (Mentor: Professor Sean Lawley)
SCIENCEEmmanuel Diaz (Mentor: Professor Katie Baucom)
SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES -
Joe Wassweiler (Mentor: Professor Cord Bowen)
ARCHITECTURE + PLANNINGCloe Butler (Mentor: Professor Ana Carolina Antunes)
CULTURAL & SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONMatthew Hesterman (Mentor: Professor Melodie Weller)
DENTISTRYKayla Kelsey (Mentor: Professor Sharlene Kithara)
EDUCATIONJoseph Lyman (Mentor: Professor Sriram Krishnamoorthy)
ENGINEERINGBen Stanford (Mentors: Professor Kimberly Jew & Professor Tim Slover)
FINE ARTSJacob Razzouk (Mentor: Professor Jessie King)
HEALTHLydia Fries (Mentor: Professor Matthew Sigman)
HONORSSelena Wirthlin (Mentor: Professor Bryan Jones)
MEDICINEJerry R. Howard II (Mentor: Professor Krista Carlson)
MINES & EARTH SCIENCESKylie Bethards (Mentor: Professor Lauri Linder)
NURSINGBlair Armstrong (Mentor: Professor Hamid Ghandehari)
PHARMACYSahar Kanishka (Mentor: Professor James Gagnon)
SCIENCEAngela Pham (Mentor: Professor Anu Asnaani)
SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCESKimberly Tobar (Mentor: Professor Jason Castillo)
SOCIAL WORK -
Hakan Ashaboglu (Mentor: Professor Trent Smith)
ARCHITECTURE + PLANNINGJacqueline Mumford (Mentor: Professor Robert Allen)
BUSINESSChristine Workman Martinez (Mentor: Professor Wanda S. Pillow)
CULTURAL & SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONBraden Fallon (Mentor: Professor Melodie Weller)
DENTISTRYDanielle Sheremeta (Mentor: Professor Claire Son)
EDUCATIONTakara Truong (Mentor: Professor Mark Minor)
ENGINEERINGAlicia Ross (Mentor: Professor Satu Hummasti)
FINE ARTSNate Rose (Mentor: Professor Adriana Coletta)
HEALTHBen Battistone (Mentor: Professor Ginger Smoak)
HONORSCaitlin Silianoff (Mentor: Christopher Mead)
HUMANITIESMadeline Harker (Mentor: Professor Amos Guiora)
LAWJames Carrington (Mentor: Professor Minna-Roh Johnson)
MEDICINEChristopher Rapp (Mentor: Professor Gannet Hallar)
MINES & EARTH SCIENCESBruno Gonzales (Mentor: Professor Michelle Litchman)
NURSINGNam Nguyen (Mentor: Professor Christopher Reilly)
PHARMACYConnor Terry Weatherly (Mentors: Professor Henry White & Professor Shelley Minteer)
SCIENCEShaniah Morning Star Chee (Mentor: Professor Brian Codding)
SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCESHector Robles (Mentor: Professor Jason Castillo)
SOCIAL WORK -
Michael Jarzin (Mentor: Professor Sarah Hinners)
ARCHITECTURE + PLANNINGCarly Ho (Mentor: Professor Nitin Bakshi)
BUSINESSEstefanie Aguilar Padilla (Mentor: Professor Erin Castro)
CULTURAL AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONYasmeen Siripathane (Mentor: Professor Annette Fleckenstein)
DENTISTRYErin Feeley (Mentor: Professor Erin Castro)
EDUCATIONAbbie Ireland (Mentor: Professor Trudy Oliver)
ENGINEERINGVictoria Holmes (Mentor: Professor Kate Mattingly)
FINE ARTSSamira Gholami (Mentor: Professor Anandh Velayutham)
HEALTHCamrey Tuttle (Mentor: Professor Sara Simonsen)
HONORSMaya Kobe-Rundio (Mentor: Professor Robin E Jensen)
HUMANITIESReuben Ryan Cano (Mentor: Professor Dean Tantin)
MEDICINEAlexander Reifsnyder (Mentor: Professor Krista Carlson)
MINES & EARTH SCIENCESKristen Stucki (Mentor: Professor Gwen Latendresse)
NURSINGZack Harmer (Mentor: Professor Eric Schmidt)
PHARMACYJourney Bly (Mentor: Professor Leslie Knapp)
SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCEMaile Marriott (Mentor: Professor Valeria Molinero)
SCIENCESadia Al-Hilo (Mentor: Professor Jeremiah Jaggers)
SOCIAL WORK -
Carissa Pollock (Mentor: Professor Ryan Smith)
ARCHITECTURE + PLANNINGTaylor Dove (Mentor: Professor Davidson Heath)
BUSINESSValeria Jimenez (Mentors: Professor Edmund Fong & Professor Jesus Valero)
CULTURAL & SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONElaine Cooke (Mentor: Professor Melodie Weller)
DENTISTRYCarlie Haacke (Mentor: Professor Lauren Liang)
EDUCATIONJayden Plumb (Mentor: Professor Ashley Spear)
ENGINEERINGCece Otto (Mentor: Professor Robert Scott Smith)
FINE ARTSNikol Yonemura (Mentor: Professor Micah Drummond)
HEALTHGemma Clark (Mentor: Professor Jennifer Weidhaas)
HONORSLydia Morley (Mentor: Professor Matt Haber)
HUMANITIESAbbie Ireland (Mentor: Professor Trudy Oliver)
MEDICINESilvia Padilla (Mentor: Professor Michael Simpson)
MINES & EARTH SCIENCESJia "Janny" Liu (Mentor: Professor Jacqueline Eaton)
NURSINGZachary Barber (Mentor: Professor Hamid Ghandehari)
PHARMACYElom Amematsro (Mentor: Professor Sophie Caron)
SCIENCEHannah Samowitz (Mentor: Professor Monisha Pasupathi)
SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCESLauren Brocious (Mentor: Professor Caren Frost)
SOCIAL WORK -
Sara Ference (Mentor: Professor Elpitha Tsoutsounakis)
ARCHITECTURE + PLANNINGHeidi Qin (Mentor: Professor Dolores Delgado Bernal)
CULTURAL AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONCarol Castañeda (Mentor: Professor Mary Burbank)
EDUCATIONBenjamin Gilmore (Mentor: Professor Taylor Sparks)
ENGINEERINGAli Mitchell (Mentor: Professor Monty Paret)
FINE ARTSShantae George (Mentor: Professor Heather Hayes)
HEALTHSamantha Duzy (Mentor: Professor Michael Gills)
HONORSEve Olson (Mentor: Professor Rachel Hayes-Harb)
HUMANITIESCaroline Wang (Mentor: Professor Catherine Loc-Carillo)
MEDICINENicholas Thiros (Mentor: Professor Diego Fernandez)
MINES & EARTH SCIENCESKyle McDougle (Mentor: Professor Lauren Clark)
NURSINGAnnwin Chen (Mentor: Professor Amy Barrios)
PHARMACYAmanda Bischoff (Mentor: Professor Matthew Sigman)
SCIENCEKai Sin (Mentor: Professor Aikio Kamimura)
SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCESRose Gomez (Mentor: Professor Jason Castillo)
SOCIAL WORK -
Michael Hoehn (Mentor: Professor Erin Carraher)
ARCHITECTURE + PLANNINGPeter Curtis (Mentor: Professor Christopher German)
DENTISTRYMercedes Jorgensen (Mentor: Professor Lauren Liang)
EDUCATIONKristina Lundgren (Mentor: Professor Taylor Sparks)
ENGINEERINGCynthia Chen (Mentors: Professor Catherine Mayes & Professor Jane Hatter)
FINE ARTSCecilia Cardozo (Mentor: Professor Stacy Manwaring)
HEALTHJulie Imig (Mentor: Professor Inese Ivans)
HONORSHillary Hermansen (Mentor: Professor Christopher Lewis)
HUMANITIESKathryn Lami (Mentor: Professor Sihem Boudina)
MEDICINEBenjamin White (Mentor: Professor Jeffrey Moore)
MINES & EARTH SCIENCESChristina Triptow (Mentor: Professor Katherine P. Supiano)
NURSINGSeychelle Marcus (Mentor: Professor Christopher Reilly)
PHARMACYEthan Lake (Mentors: Professor Oleg Starykh, Professor Yong-Shi Wu & Professor Zheng Zheng)
SCIENCEBrianna Bartholomew (Mentors: Professor Elizabeth Cashdan & Professor Leslie A. Knapp)
SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCESElizabeth Gamarra (Mentor: Professor Joanna Bettmann Schaefer)
SOCIAL WORK -
Katherine Nix (Mentor: Professor Stephen Goldsmith)
ARCHITECTURE + PLANNINGZhao Jin (Mentors: Professor Elizabeth Tashjian & Professor Cihan Bilginsoy)
BUSINESSAndrew Johansen (Mentors: Professor Lisa McFadden & Professor Annette Fleckenstein)
DENTISTRYTyler McDaniel (Mentor: Professor Erin Castro)
EDUCATIONJosh Kunz (Mentors: Professor Sneha Kasera, Professor Robert Ricci & Professor Kobus Van der Merwe)
ENGINEERINGChance Clouse (Mentor: Professor Maureen O’Hara Ure)
FINE ARTSBrett Cutler (Mentors: Professor Thunder Jalili & Professor Anandh Babu Pon Velayutham)
HEALTHDiona Giannopoulos (Mentor: Professor Michael Gills)
HONORSKajsa Vlasic (Mentors: Professor Michael Gills & Professor Disa Gambera)
HUMANITIESAliya Khan (Mentor: Professor Leslie Francis)
LAWAndrew Jo (Mentor: Professor David Krizaj)
MEDICINEMax Giannetta (Mentor: Professor Lowell Miyagi)
MINES & EARTH SCIENCESAndy Rivera (Mentors: Professor Kristin Cloyes & Professor Linda Edelman)
NURSINGJosh Conarton (Mentor: Professor Hamid Ghandehari)
PHARMACYAlexandra Kent (Mentor: Professor Jennifer Heemstra)
SCIENCEMartin Puga Jr. (Mentor: Professor Rebecca Utz)
SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCESElizabeth Gamarra (Mentor: Professor Dena Ned)
SOCIAL WORK
Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Awardees
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Andy Hong, Ph.D
ARCHITECTURE + PLANNINGLisa Diamond, Ph.D
CULTURAL & SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONLauren Liang, Ph.D
EDUCATIONJacob George, Ph.D
ENGINEERINGHubbel Palmer
FINE ARTSWill Holland, Ph.D
HEALTHMaureen Mathison, Ph.D
HUMANITIESMelissa Watt, Ph.D
MEDICINESarah Lambart, Ph.D
MINES & EARTH SCIENCESSara Simonsen, Ph.D
NURSINGHamid Ghandehari, Ph.D
PHARMACYSophie Caron, Ph.D
SCIENCEShane Macfarlan, Ph.D
SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCESLindsay Gezinski, Ph.D
SOCIAL WORK -
Sarah Hinners, Ph.D
ARCHITECTURE + PLANNINGVandana Ramachandran, Ph.D
BUSINESSAnnie Isabel Fukushima, Ph.D
CULTURAL & SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONMelodie Weller, Ph.D
DENTISTRYMary D. Burbank Ph.D
EDUCATIONCynthia Furse, Ph.D
ENGINEERINGAlexandra Harbold
FINE ARTSJ. David Symons, Ph.D
HEALTHMichael Gills, Ph.D
HONORSRachel Hayes-Harb, Ph.D
HUMANITIESYan-Ting Shiu, Ph.D
MEDICINEGannet Hallar, Ph.D
MINES & EARTH SCIENCESLauri Linder, Ph.D, APRN, CPON, FAAN, FAPHON
NURSINGAmy M. Barrios, Ph.D
PHARMACYOfer Rog, Ph.D
SCIENCESara Elizabeth Grineski, Ph.D
SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
College Nomination Process
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Any currently-enrolled degree-seeking undergraduate student at the University of Utah is eligible for the award. Nominees DO NOT need to have participated in UROP. The student may be engaged in any type of research or creative scholarship on campus. We recommend that you consider all students working with your college’s/school’s faculty as eligible even if they are not majors in your college/school.
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Eligible OUR Mentor Awardees:
- Tenure-line or career-line faculty at the University of Utah are eligible for the award.
- Nominees must have mentored students in UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program) or SPUR (Summer Program for Undergraduate Research) in the past 3 years.
- The faculty mentor must be engaged in research or creative scholarship and teaching on campus.
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Each Spring, representatives from each college collect nominations and select the year's Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher and Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Awardees from their college (one faculty, one student). Recipients and their faculty research mentors are celebrated at an annual undergraduate research awards ceremony.
Effective for the awards ceremony 2025
Deadline for nominations by the college:
February 15, 2025
Nominations review and vote of approval:
- Undergraduate Research Advisory Council receives nomination packets for review on February 15
- Undergraduate Research Advisory convenes the last week of February to approve all nominations
Informing of the awardees
March 1st, recipients are informed by the Office of Undergraduate Research of the award and invited to the awards ceremony by the Office of Undergraduate Research.
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Every year the Office of Undergraduate Research recognizes one undergraduate student researcher from each college/school with the Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award. Partnering colleges/schools are responsible for selecting the awardee. We are pleased that for 2023, we are recognizing:
Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Awardees (OURA)
Faculty mentors are invited to nominate students, and awardees are selected by committee. The criteria for the Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award are:
- Record of sustained commitment to developing research skills and knowledge under the supervision of a faculty mentor
- Evidence of independent and critical thinking
- Active participation in research-related activities on campus
- Positive contributions to the research culture of the Department, College, and University
Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Awardees.
This is in collaboration with deans and college partners. The criteria for the Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Mentor Award are:
- Record of sustained commitment to undergraduate research mentoring
- Active participation in research-related activities on campus
- Positive contributions to the research and teaching culture of the Department, College, and University