The Department of Chemistry is pleased to announce the following prizes for outstanding work by graduate students.
PH.D. IN CHEMISTRY PROGRAM
These awards, in their inaugural year, recognize doctoral research and carry a $1,000 prize which were disbursed in spring 2022. They were funded by departmental fellowships and endowed funds established by philanthropic support of the Department of Chemistry by faculty, friends, and alumni.
Niels H. Andersen Prize for Best Thesis in Organic Chemistry
Calvin Leonen earned his Ph.D. in 2021 for his work with Professor Champak Chatterjee on “Deciphering the biochemical crosstalk of histone sumoylation in human chromatin.” He now works as a postdoctoral associate with Professor Hironori Funabiki at the Rockefeller University.
George H. Cady Prize for Best Thesis in Inorganic Chemistry
Tyler Milstein earned his Ph.D. in 2022 for his work with Professor Daniel Gamelin on “Quantum Cutting via Broadband Sensitization in Ytterbium-Doped Lead Halide Perovskites.” He is now a molecular engineer at Roche Diagnostics where he will focus on developing their DNA sequencing by expansion (SBX) technology.
Gary and Sue Christian Prize for Best Thesis in Analytical Chemistry
Peter Defnet earned his Ph.D. in 2021 for his work with Professor Bo Zhang on the development and use of novel electroanalytical/microscopy tools and methods for understanding the transient electrochemical behavior of single nanoparticles. He is now a process engineer at Intel.
B. Seymour Rabinovitch Prize for Best Thesis in Physical Chemistry
Yun (Demi) Liu earned her Ph.D. in 2021 for her work with Professor David Ginger titled “Spectroscopic Study of Charge-Transfer States in Organic Semiconductors.” She is now an associate at McKinsey and Company where she advises and supports clients to create sustainable impact in advanced electronics, healthcare, and telecommunication.
M.S. IN APPLED CHEMICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM
These awards, in their inaugural year, recognize master’s program research and carry a $500 prize which were disbursed in spring 2022. They were funded by the Lloyd E. and Florence M. West Fellowship in Chemistry which Dr. West and his wife Florence endowed to give back to the university where Dr. West cultivated the necessary tools for his distinguished career and rewarding life. Dr. West completed his Ph.D. in 1939 under the direction of Professor Rex Robinson, and it is in Professor Robinson's memory that the Wests dedicated their fellowship.
Lloyd E. and Florence M. West Prize for Best Thesis
Anika McManamen will earn her master’s in applied chemical science and technology in June 2022. Her thesis work in the group of Assistant Professor Ashleigh Theberge is titled “Capillary Flow Characterization and Application in Saliva Sampling.” Anika will begin her Ph.D. studies in biomedical engineering at Columbia University in the fall where she has been named a Columbia University Blavatnik Presidential Fellow, the "most prestigious and distinguished fellowship awarded by Columbia Engineering."
Lloyd E. and Florence M. West Prize for Excellence in Research
Wan-chen Tu has demonstrated Excellence in Research in the group of Assistant Professor Ashleigh Theberge working on a novel at-home saliva sampling device for respiratory and autoimmune diseases diagnosis. Wan-chen will begin her Ph.D. studies in chemistry at the University of Washington in the fall.