Tag: Awards & Honors
Congratulations to the 2025 recipients of the Chemistry and Biochemistry Graduate Student Teaching Awards: Sylvia Kennerly, Marie Kerns, Natalie Lakanen, Keyan Li, Rohan Myers, and Dario Nunez.
The Chemistry and Biochemistry Graduate Student Teaching Awards for Excellence in the Teaching of Chemistry were established in 2013 to honor our graduate students’ important contributions to the instructional mission of the Department.
Award recipients are nominated by the faculty with whom they have worked during the past academic year and recognizes graduate student educators that have greatly exceeded the normal expectations of a Teaching Assistant.
We asked this year’s awardees to share a few words about their teaching experience and what inspires them.
Sylvia Kennerly
“Teaching is an act of creativity and empathy, seeing the world through someone else’s eyes. That shared perspective is what inspires me every time I talk to a student.”
“We especially need imagination in science. It is not all mathematics, nor all logic, but it is somewhat beauty and poetry.” — Maria Mitchell, Astronomer
Marie Kerns
“One of the things I love most about teaching is students asking me questions in new ways that I’ve never thought of before, making me learn new things myself!”
Natalie Lakanen
“My favorite thing about teaching: Watching students experience how interesting science can be!”
Keyan Li
“It is an honor to receive this year’s teaching award alongside other outstanding graduate teaching fellows. Serving as the TA for the Chemical Biology course last fall was a particularly rewarding experience—witnessing students’ excitement and curiosity about the field’s current challenges and opportunities made it especially meaningful.”
Rohan Myers
“To me, science and teaching are fundamentally rooted in storytelling. Telling a great story that gets people to learn and gets people to care is the cornerstone of both fields. Because, at the end of the day, I believe the goal is not just to deliver information: it’s to do so in a way that helps someone understand the world and provides them with the desire to do something about it.”
Dario Nunez
“I always tell my students that by the time I grow old, I will have spent the majority of my life learning how to learn. Sharing this philosophy with them presents the idea that learning is a skill they continuously hone and adapt to fit a variety of different scenarios. This encourages them to not feel uncomfortable when confronting new problems or challenges, but to take agency in their learning so that they can progress towards a solution.”
UO Chemistry graduate student Audrey Klein has been selected to receive a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Audrey is a 2nd year doctoral student in the Rapp Lab.
Audrey’s Research: The Rapp lab is interested in Ruthenium polypyridyl complexes for their unique ability to undergo rapid ligand cleavage using visible light, rather than UV light which is commonly used in photocleavage of organic compounds. Audrey’s project uses a light sensitive metal complex to create photodegradable hydrogels which will be used to 3D print scaffolds for tissue culture. This novel printing method combines volumetric printing with subtractive manufacturing to achieve higher printing resolution for channels.
About the Award: The purpose of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is to help ensure the quality, vitality, and strength of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing full-time research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) or in STEM education. The GRFP provides three years of support over a five-year fellowship period for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant research achievements in STEM or STEM education.
UO Chemistry and Biochemistry faculty Carl Brozek has been selected as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar for 2025-2026 at Kyoto University in Kyoto, Japan.
Read more in UO News: Fulbright selects four UO faculty members for research projects around the world
Fulbright Scholar Awards are prestigious fellowships that offer scholars unique opportunities teach and conduct research around the world, playing a critical role in U.S. public diplomacy. Fulbright program benefits extend beyond the individual recipient, with research and surveys confirming that Fulbright experiences lead to greater international co-publication, continued exchange, and stronger cross-cultural communication.
CAS Collegiate Faculty Award
Professor Michael Pluth was one of two natural sciences professors receive the CAS Collegiate Faculty Award, the highest honor the College of Arts and Sciences awards to active tenure-track faculty members.
The award recognizes faculty who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and made outstanding contributions to their field—as well as to the broader UO community.
Read more about his award on the CAS website.
UO Sustainability Award
Project sponsors Mike Pluth and Hal Sadofsky received the UO Sustainability Award for Campus Design in recognition of their work on the Huestis Hall remodel.
The award is sponsored jointly by Campus Planning and Design and Construction and recognizes units or individuals who have demonstrated leadership and creativity in support of the Oregon Model for Sustainable Development.
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Seminar
2025 Alumni Achievement Award
Jeremiah Marsden, Former President Cascade Chemistry & Owner, Claim 52 Brewing
Wednesday, June 11, 2025 • 3:15 pm
Beetham Family Seminar Room, Knight Campus, Room 127
Event hosts: Vickie DeRose and Mike Haley
4:15-5:oo pm • Light Refreshments
From Bench to Boardroom to Brewery
As a student it can be difficult to picture where your degree will take you. This talk provides a story of opportunities taken and lessons learned in growing and selling a successful chemistry business.
