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GRADUATE STUDENT FALL AWARDS:

2019 Outstanding Graduate Award

Brittney Petel (Matson Group) & Antonio Tinoco Valencia (Fasan Group)

The Outstanding Graduate Award was established in 2016 at the request of an alumnus who wanted to recognize excellence in research, leadership, and service by a senior graduate student. Winners show not only a passion for learning and a steadfast diligence in the research lab, but also a dedication to teaching and mentoring, and a commitment to helping his/her community. The award consists of a medal, a cash prize and the winner's name on a plaque to be placed in the Chemistry Department Office. 

2019 W.D. Walters Teaching Awards

Brittany Abraham (Nilsson Group), David Brewster (Knowles Group), Albert Nam (Fasan Group)  and Elena Quigley (Nilsson Group)
The W.D. Walters Teaching Award recognizes outstanding undergraduate teaching by graduate teaching assistants. This award memorializes the late Professor W.D. Walters and the standards of excellence and achievement exemplified by him. It also recognizes our appreciation for the commitment and achievements of the awardees and consists of a certificate and cash prize.

 2019 Fellowship Award Recipients

Esther M. Conwell Graduate Fellowship

Jacob Shelton (Knowles Group)

Dr. Conwell, a former faculty member of the Rochester Chemistry Department, first came to the University of Rochester in 1942 to pursue a Ph.D. in physics. She was a pioneering scientist who is most famous for her studies of the properties of semiconductors and organic conductors.  Among her many honors, Dr. Conwell received the National Medal of Honor in 2010 for "her broad contributions to understanding electron and hole transport in semiconducting materials, which helped to enable commercial applications of semiconductor and organic electronic devices, and for extending her analysis to studying the electronic properties of DNA."  The Conwell fellowship is intended to honor the contributions of graduate students in physical chemistry who have excelled in their graduate careers.

Moses Passer Fellowship

Andrew Bortz (Fasan Group)

This endowed fellowship fund was established by Mrs. Dorothy Rosenberg-Passer in 2009 in memory of her husband, Dr. Moses Passer, who received his bachelor of science degree in chemistry from the University of Rochester in 1945 and his doctorate in organic chemistry from Cornell in 1948.  After a distinguished career as professor of chemistry at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Dr. Passer became an executive at the American Chemical Society in Washington, DC, and served as director of education at the ACS for more than two decades.

Arnold Weissberger Fellowship

Sutirtha Chowdhury (Huo Group), Joshua DeMuth (Neidig Group), Alex Fertig (Matson), Connor Holt (Frontier Group) and Jacob Iannuzzelli (Fasan Group)

The purpose of the Weissberger Fellowship in Chemistry is to reward and encourage outstanding promise for productive scientific careers by advanced PhD students.  Each Fellow receives a substantial supplement for basic support and funds to travel to a major scientific meeting to report the results of his or her research.  The fellowship is awarded on the basis of outstanding research achievement and potential for continued growth, ideals which Arnold Weissberger exemplified during his lifetime and which he recognized and encouraged in others.

Robert and Marian Flaherty DeRight Fellowship

Jose Alvarez-Hernandez (Bren Group) and Leopoldo Mejía Restrepo (Franco Group)

Dr. and Mrs. DeRight received their bachelor’s degrees from the University of Rochester in 1931, in chemistry and romance languages, respectively. Dr.DeRight continued his studies at the University to earn a master of science in Physical Chemistry in 1932 as well as his PhD in 1935 in Physical Chemistry with subordinate subjects in Mathematics and Physics. He was a valued member of the American Chemical Society, and both he and his wife were active in alumni affairs at the University of Rochester. This fellowship was established in 1984 by Mrs. DeRight as a memorial to her husband. It provides a graduate fellowship in the Department of Chemistry for a term of one year.

Samuel A. & Ellen F. Lattimore Fellowship

Emily Edwards (Bren Group) and Karla Sanchez (Knowles Group)

The Samuel A. & Ellen F. Lattimore Fellowship honors Professor Samuel A. Lattimore and his wife, benefactors of the University of Rochester from its earliest days.  The fellowship was established by a gift from the estate of Eleanor Larrebee Lattimore.  Professor Lattimore was associated with the University of Rochester for more than 40 years and began his career at Rochester teaching chemistry, being his chief concern, but also geology, zoology, and physics.  He was chair of the Department of Chemistry from 1867-1908.  The fellowship is designed to support outstanding graduate students in the Department of Chemistry and gives special consideration to women applicants.

Isaac Sherman Clarke Fellowship

Aleksa Radovic (Neidig Group)and Jakub Vaith (Paradine Group)

The Sherman-Clarke Fellowship is a merit fellowship awarded to graduate levels students based on coursework and Teaching Assistant performance.

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT FALL AWARDS:

2019 Junior Scholar Awards

Yimin “Talia” Chen, Jisoo Woo, Julian Maceren, Jana Jelusic, Andrew Sopchak, Paul Sinclair and Michela Maiola. 

The Junior Scholar Award recognizes undergraduate students who in their junior year showed outstanding accomplishment and promise for a professional career in chemistry. Recipients receive a certificate and cash prize.

The 2019 Catherine Block Memorial Fund Prize recipient is Yimin “Talia” Chen. The Catherine Block Memorial Fund Prize was established in memory of Catherine Block, an exceptional Chemistry student here at the University. It is awarded each year to a woman in the junior class in recognition of her outstanding ability and achievement in the field of science. Selection is based on recommendations by the respective departments, which are evaluated by a committee appointed by the Dean of the College. Chemistry recipients are recognized at the Dept. Fall Awards Ceremony, and receive a letter from the Dean, and a cash prize from the college.