The University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Department of Chemistry held its annual Student Awards Ceremony on Thursday, April 23, 2026, celebrating 72 undergraduate students and 52 graduate students. Because of generous donations from many benefactors, the Department of Chemistry awarded a total of $415,750 in awards, scholarships, and student support.
Professor Tehshik Yoon, associate chair for the graduate program, noted that these awards are a moment to honor the generosity of the alumni, former faculty and staff, parents, and friends whose support sustains the life of our department. “Their financial contributions provide more than just funding; they demonstrate a deep commitment to our future by investing in our students’ development as researchers and scholars.”
Professor J.R. Schmidt, associate chair for the undergraduate program, announced that eighteen undergraduate students were awarded summer scholarships, primarily to support research. Twenty-four undergraduate students received scholarships for support during the academic year.
Additional undergraduate awards, presented by Instructor and Instructional Coordinator Jeremy Weaver, Lecture Demonstrator Jim Maynard, and Instructor and Instructional Coordinator Liana Lamont include the Alpha Chi Sigma Alumni Endowed Scholarship intended to support undergraduate students in chemistry, biochemistry, and chemical engineering at the UW–Madison, American Chemical Society local and national awards, The Lindsey T. Plank and Richard H. Putze Memorial Scholarship for students involved in chemical demonstrations, awards honoring excellence in general chemistry named for John and Elizabeth Moore, and the Stephen D. Morton Research Award for mentorship. At the campus level, four undergraduate chemistry students earned Hilldale Undergraduate/Faculty Research Fellowships, and one undergraduate chemistry student earned a Sophomore Research Fellowship.
Professor Tehshik Yoon named 29 Department of Chemistry graduate students fellowships or scholarships for student support or research. Seven graduate students earned Graduate Research Excellence Awards funded by the generous support of Wayland E. Noland and Charles P. and Martha L. Casey.
Fall fellowship recipients for 2025 were also recognized at the event, including one recipient of the Pei Wang Fellowship, two recipients of the Charles P. and Martha L. Casey Award for Inorganic Recruits, a recipient of the Belle Crowe Fellowship, and two awardees of the K.V. and Sare Reddy Fellowship.
Becca Fenselau, co-president of the Graduate Student Faculty Liaison Committee (GSFLC), named the winners of the GSFLC Mentor Award. This award was given to five graduate students and four faculty/staff members.
Poster winners from the undergraduate research poster session were:
Sam Carey (Cavagnero Group) Mentor: Anubhab Halder
Slava Cherempei (Schomaker Group) Mentor: Tuan Anh Trinh
Leticia Lontoh (Moore Group/USDA) – Mentor: Dr. Roderquita Moore
Mina Meyer-Najmi (Wickens Group) Mentor: Peter Verardi
Cameron Pajot (Stahl Group) Mentor: Dylan Walsh
The spring awards are coordinated by the Undergraduate Fellowships and Scholarships Committee which includes co-chairs Thomas Brunold and Pamela Doolittle, Associate Chair of the Undergraduate Program J.R. Schmidt, and committee members Katie McCullough, Susan Schueneman, Zoe Todd, and Bryan Wakefield, Additional Reviewers for the undergraduate program were Jeff Bartz, Tommaso Bianconi, Stephen Block, Rie Takagi Fredrickson, Heike Hofstetter, Liana Lamont, Gil Nathanson, Jenna Tashiro, David Toland, and Daniel Weix. The graduate awards are coordinated by the Graduate Program Oversight Committee, which includes Staff Co-Chair, Director of Graduate Program Francisca Jofre, Faculty Co-Chair, Associate Chair of Graduate Program Tehshik Yoon, Grad Program Coordinator Erin Grunewald, Tim Bertram, Helen Blackwell, Sam Pazicni, Thomas Brunold, Kyoung-Shin Choi, AJ Boydston, Dan Weix, and Etienne Garand. Project and event support was provided by Kayla Driscoll, Patrick Egan, Erin Hale, Kimberly Hazen, Maddy Henkel, Andrew Hinz, Becca Moy, and Rosemary Wonnell.