Celebrating Students, Faculty, and Staff - 2026 Chemistry Awards Ceremony
On April 15, 2026, we held the annual Awards Ceremony to celebrate our students, faculty, and staff. It was a celebration of hard work and the outstanding contributions of the Department of Chemistry.
Guest Speaker: Victor Gill, Founder & CEO of Trace Air Quality
Victor Gill and his family established the Gurmail Gill Legacy Endowed Scholarship in the Department of Chemistry. This endowment was established by the Gill family to honor Gurmail's life, her contributions to the University of Utah, and her love of learning. Victor is the Founder & CEO of Trace Air Quality, a predictive air quality analytics company built from University of Utah research with a mission to deliver the best air quality solutions by driving innovation in all aspects of understanding, adapting to, and managing air quality.
Victor is a serial entrepreneur and educator. He has worked on developing living and collaborating environments for creators & entrepreneurs. He holds a patent in connected and autonomous vehicle technology and has worked in computer vision for design recommendations. He has served as a board member, investor, and executive at several companies, including STRT, Blyncsy, and MasterControl in Salt Lake City, Stylyze in Seattle, and Arena Solutions in Silicon Valley.
In addition to his executive experience, Victor has been an energetic contributor in the academic world as a professor at the University of Utah. He has taught classes ranging from information systems to entrepreneurship and marketing. He also held the role of director of the University of Utah's startup accelerator. Victor earned his BS and MS in information systems from the University of Utah.
Thank You, Victor!
Undergraduate Awards
American Institute of Chemists Award: Emily Dalley, Wilder Dalton
Walter D. & Grace G. Bonner Memorial Awards: Joe Breslin, Calvin Kern, Alex Knorpp, Isaac Lee, Kaylee Meyers, Abby Niwa, Nate Patchen, Samantha Stinson, Oleksandr Synkovskyi, Brynn Tate
Honors in Chemistry Awards: William C.H. Bartlett, Owen Bascomb, Ella Bleak, Wilder Dalton, Diego Delgado, Zoie Frisby, Clarissa Goh, Safiya Hamud, Nathan Jackson, Julia Rzepecka, Brynn Tate, Ady Witzel
Royal Society of Chemistry’s Certificate of Undergraduate Excellence: Safiya Hamud
ACS Division Awards:
Analytical – Minh Nguyen / Biological – Brynn Tate / Inorganic – Clarissa Goh / Organic – Andre Gohier
Physical – Kaylee Meyers
The Ronald & Eileen Ragsdale Undergraduate Endowment Scholarships: Kate Anderson, Jillian Battista, Joe Brosz, Mason Hanna, Katherine Osterstock
Ryan DeLuca Scholarships: Andre Gohier, Spencer Stevenson
Reuben Kronstadt Tuition Scholarship: Geneva McClory
Laya F. Kesner Awards: Katelynn Best, Elisabeth Muhlestein, Kass Johnson, Jules Pan
Leon Watters Memorial Awards: Joseph Biesinger, Kai Bruno, Clarissa Goh, Andy Jeong, Lylli Rager, Grace Rasmuson, Megan Selmer
Armantrout Memorial Awards: Blue Byrne
Ferdinand A. & Ruth Anderson Peterson Scholarship: Ricardo Avendano Quintero
Melvin C. Cannon Scholarship: Giovanna Garcia
Gill Family Endowed Scholarship: Valerie Cuevas
Undergraduate Research Scholarships: Emily Dalley, Nora Langer, Audrey Mcmillian, Jett Nemelka, V Saxton, Annie Thompson, Lily Wheeler
Henry White Summer Research Scholarships: Hans Geist, Nora Langer, Philip Olesinski, Lucas Payne, Madi Salzman, Ashley Wright
Mack Thomas Rozelle Scholarships: Caroline Connolly, Parker Florence, Nina Liu, Cole Malvick, Sofia Moretti, Aaboli Samant, James Steele, Calvin Stevenson
Lloyd E. Malm Memorial Awards: Malia Adams, Lucy Flaming, Zach Hammer, Peter John, Ian Jake Kim, Christian Leve, Andy Lin, Brady Schultz
H. Breckenridge Honors Scholarships: Thomas Gardner, Hans Geist
Roy E. McDonald and Family Scholarship: Emily Norton
Chem Unity Mentor Awards: Joe Breslin, Maria Salazar
Teaching Assistants of the Year: Lydia Buxa, Garrett Collins, Min Doan, Lillie Fedewa, Christopher Janku, Michka Kiessel, Ethan Mouser, Elsie Perry, Gabriella Smitherman, Wesley Stephenson, Galilee Thompson
Kodak Service Awards: Kai Bruno, Isaac Graham, Sofia Perez, Samantha Stinson, Dakota Stringham, Sachiye Tyujin-Sung, Keri Vance
Graduate Awards
Cheves T. Walling Graduate Thesis Award: Josh Beeler
The Ronald & Eileen Ragsdale Curie Club Graduate Research Award: Hannah Weckel-Dahman
William E. Jack Life Science Graduate Thesis Award: Maddie Meyer Bodin
Joel Harris Graduate Fellowship in Analytical Chemistry: PJ Martin
Gary Keck Graduate Fellowship in Organic Chemistry: Emma Hale
Czarnik & Lee Curie Club Graduate Teaching Award: Meg Krapfl
Dale & Susan R. Poulter Graduate Student Travel Endowment in Chemistry: Yexalen Barrera-Casas
First-Year Excellence Award: Lydia Buxa, Lillie Fedewa
Faculty Awards
University of Utah Founder of the Year Award: Vahe Bandarian
University of Utah Career Services Career Mentor of the Year Award: Bethany Buck
American Chemical Society 2025 Stanley C. Israel Great Lakes Region Award for Advancing Diversity in Chemical Sciences: Gina Frey
American Chemical Society 2025 Stanley C. Israel Rocky Mountain Region for Advancing Diversity in Chemical Sciences: Gina Frey
Robert W Parry Teaching Award: Gina Frey
University of Utah Distinguished Teaching Award: Michael Grünwald
Penn State Robert T. Simpson Memorial Lecture in Molecular Medicine Award: Ming Hammond
WW Epstein Outstanding Educator Award: Ashlie Kinross
University of Utah S.T.A.R. Mentor Fellowship Award: Jacob Lessard
Royal Society of Chemistry Invited RSC Polymer Chemistry Emerging Investigator Award: Jacob Lessard
Royal Society of Chemistry Invited RSC Journal of Materials Chemistry C Emerging Investigator Award: Jacob Lessard
Royal Society of Chemistry Emerging Investigator for the Journal of Applied Polymer Science and MRS Communications Award: Jacob Lessard
Research Corporation for Science Advancement Scialog Fellow Award: Long Luo
JASMS Journal for the American Society for Mass Spectrometry Outstanding Reviewer Award: Gabe Nagy
American Chemical Society Arthur F. Findeis Award for Achievements by a Young Analytical Scientist: Gabe Nagy
University of Utah College of Science Outstanding Research Mentor Award: Andrew Roberts
American Chemical Society Utah Award for Outstanding Educator at a Research Institution: Jennifer Shumaker-Parry
Journal of Organic Chemistry Outstanding Publication of the Year Award: Matt Sigman
University of Utah Rosenblatt Prize: Henry White
Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA) Bridge Award: Luisa Whittaker-Brooks
Staff Service Recognition
Campbell Staff Award: Jil Brandol
Staff Service Recognition: 15 Years: Nelly Divricean
