Awards & Honors, Student Experience

Student Award Recipients for 2020-21

By Dean Paul Koch
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A woman wears a graduation cap that reads "I did it" in bold blue lettering, surrounded by glitter and stars.
The contributions that each one of you is making to science here on campus and beyond are inspirational. You and your fellow students in the sciences are carrying forward a long tradition of inquiry and critical thinking in pursuit of a better world. Your research and scholarship are the reason we at UC Santa Cruz do what we do, and I encourage you to continue to follow your curiosity with passion and discipline.
​Dean Paul Koch
The Division of the Sciences is proud to recognize our students’ excellence in scholarship and research. The award recipients for the 2020-2021 academic year are listed below. Congratulations to all our awardees on their tremendous accomplishments!

Awarded in Fall 2020

Undergraduate Research in Science & Technology Award (2020-21 AY)

Tobin Berger-Cahn (Biomolecular Engineering)
Sruthi Shriam (Biomolecular Engineering)
Daniel Nguyen (Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology)
Miles Miller (Physics)
Ramtin Poustinchi (Microbiology & Environmental Toxicology)
Jami Clayton (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology)

Awarded in Spring 2021

Chancellor’s Dissertation Year Fellowship

Rachel Maxwell (Earth & Planetary Sciences)
Max Siebert (Astronomy & Astrophysics)
Namrata Roy (Astronomy & Astrophysics)
Shanwen Wang (Chemistry & Biochemistry)
Ana Valenzuela Toro (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology)
Corrigan Horton (Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology)
Anna Russo (Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology)
Daniel Davies (Physics)

Deans’ and Chancellor’s Award

Olivia Ross (Physics) | Steck & Chancellor’s Award
Sneha Jariwala (Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology) | Chancellor’s Award
Ishana Shuka (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology) | Chancellor’s Award
Andrew Lopez (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology)
Erika Strasburger (Physics)
Edward Wu (Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology)
Dane Cross (Physics)
Michael Scudder (Earth Sciences)
Carlos Rivas (Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology)
Rodrigo Angulo (Physics)
Jose Jobel & Paige Kelly (Physics)

Elmer A. Fridley Award in the Physical Sciences

Nolan Smyth (Physics)

Future Leaders in Coastal Science Award

Allison Laubach (Ocean Sciences) | Graduate Student
Jenna Martinez (Earth Sciences) | Undergraduate Student

Gunderson Family Student Research Award in Coastal Sustainability

Jennifer Waldo (Marine Biology)

Kathryn D. Sullivan Award in Earth & Marine Sciences

Luis Bautista Castillo (Physics)

Kathryn D. Sullivan Research Impact Award in Earth & Marine Sciences

Kimberly Delong (Ocean Sciences) | Graduate Student
Brooke Santos (Earth Sciences) | Undergraduate Student

Jennifer Pensky (Earth Sciences) | Graduate Student
Raymond Hess (Earth Sciences) | Undergraduate Student

Jeremiah Tsyporin (Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology) | Graduate Student
Ariella Steward (Neuroscience & Chemistry) | Undergraduate Student

Kenneth & Ann Thimann Scholarship

Elizabeth Yunerman (Physics)

President’s Dissertation Year Fellowship

Erica Gonzalez (Astronomy & Astrophysics)
Brenna Mockler (Astronomy & Astrophysics)
Forrest Nichols (Chemistry & Biochemistry)
May Roberts (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology)
Regina Spranger (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology)
Londen Johnson (Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology)
Oartze Hunter (Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology)

Undergraduate Research in Science & Technology Award (Summer 2021)

Kathryn Anderson (Biology & Environmental Sciences)
Irene Franco (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Stephen Hwang (Biomolecular Engineering & Informatics)
Scott MacDonald (Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology)
Jennifer Waldo (Marine Biology)
Ava Webber (Physics)
Teresa Wicks (Sociology)
Amy Wu (Environmental Sciences)