The top graduating seniors in the College of Science were honored at the annual Dean’s Awards Luncheon on Friday, May 15 in the Jordan Hall of Science. Gregory Crawford, William K. Warren Dean of the College of Science, presented the Dean’s Award and Dean’s Research Award and the chairs of each department recognized the top students in each of their majors. In addition, Anthony Hyder, professor of physics, was awarded the Shilts/Leonard Teaching Award.
Dean’s Award
The Dean’s Award was established in 1980 and is presented to a graduating senior in the College of Science in recognition of exemplary personal character, leadership, service, and outstanding scholarship. This year’s Dean’s Award was given to Jeffrey Hansen and Anna Kottkamp.
Jeffrey Hansen
Jeff Hansen
Biological sciences major Jeffrey Hansen had an impressive record of leadership in the College of Science and Department of Biological Sciences during his time at Notre Dame.
Hansen co-founded a program called Dinners for Increased Scholarly Communication (DISC). The dinners, typically targeted towards freshman science intents, provide the opportunity for students to interact with professors and upperclassmen. The goal of the dinners is to increase communication and engagement in the sciences.
Hansen was also one of four members in the University Innovation Fellows (UIF) program. Sponsored by Epicenter and directed by Stanford University, the UIF program aims to empower students leaders across the country to increase engagement with entrepreneurship, innovation, design thinking, and venture creation at their home universities. Hansen and his team hosted several events throughout the academic year to discuss their ideas, including Mobile miNDspace, a moveable whiteboard that would travel around campus and encourage collaborative responses to innovative questions, and the Council for Academic Leadership and Innovation, a team of students and faculty who would collaborate to break down barriers to interdisciplinary education and promote a culture of innovation.
In addition to creating new programing on campus, Jeff had extensive research experience working with Beth Archie, the Clare Booth Luce Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences. Off campus, Hansen spent his summers conducting research at the National Institutes of Health, Indiana University School of Medicine, and the University of Virginia.
Hansen will enter the M.D./Ph.D. program at Washington University in St. Louis in the fall.
Anna Kottkamp
Anna Kottkamp
Anna Kottkamp, an environmental sciences major, international development studies minor, and member of the Glynn Family Honors Program, maintained a perfect grade point average at Notre Dame.
Kottkamp was an undergraduate researcher with Jennifer Tank, Ludmilla F., Stephen J., and Robert T. Galla Professor of Biological Sciences, and participated in a watershed scale study about the impact of cover crops on agricultural streams. Her work has been accepted for presentation at the Society of Freshwater Sciences annual conference in June.
In addition, Kottkamp had extensive international experience and spent two summers abroad in South America. During the summer of 2013, she traveled to Peru for a nine-week internship at the Manu Biosphere Reserve where she helped design an environmental education curriculum. Last summer, she received an Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program grant to conduct a case study on an organization that works with small-scale farmers in Bolivia.
Kottkamp was also a member of the varsity women’s rowing team. She joined the team as a walk-on with no competitive rowing experience and went on to earn a full athletic scholarship. She will pursue a year of postgraduate service with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest in Oregon and plans to enroll in an environmental sciences graduate program.
In addition to the earning the Dean’s Award, Kottkamp was named the University’s 2015 Valedictorian. View her valedictory address.
Dean’s Research Award
The Dean’s Research Award is presented in recognition of exceptional research within and across the traditional boundaries of scholarly disciplines to a graduating senior who embraces, facilitates, and fosters an environment of scientific inquiry. Sienna Durbin and Anna Stephenson earned this year’s Dean’s Research Award.
Sienna Durbin
Sienna Durbin
Biological sciences major and Latino studies minor Sienna Durbin was an active researcher during her time at Notre Dame. During the fall of her sophomore year, Durbin began working with Zachary Schafer, Coleman Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, examining the role of antioxidant enzymes in mediating the survival of breast cancer cells.
Durbin is a co-author on a paper that was published in Cancer Research, a top peer-reviewed journal, and is a co-author on another manuscript that is being in preparation for publication. Durbin plans to pursue a year of postgraduate service in Boston and then attend medical school.
Anna Stephenson
Anna Stephenson
Anna Stephenson was an honors track physics major with advanced physics and applied physics concentrations. She began research her freshman year and has worked with Kenjiro Gomes, the Freimann Assistant Professor of Physics and Jacek Furdyna, the Aurora and Thomas Marquez Professor of Information Theory and Computer Technology, in the area of semiconductor nanowires.
In addition to her research on campus, Stephenson spent the summer after her sophomore year at Stanford, working with scanning tunneling microscopy. In the summer of 2014, she worked at the Rowland Institute at Harvard on the subject of microfluidics.
Stephenson’s work has resulted in five conference presentations and two manuscripts that are in preparation for publication. She received a very prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and will attend graduate school next fall at Harvard University.
Department of Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics
Outstanding Applied and Computational Mathematics Major Award
Madeline Bender, Madison, Alabama
Department of Biological Sciences
Outstanding Biology Student Leader Award
Elena Brindley, Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Jonathan Jou, Chicago, Illinois
Mr. and Mrs. Frank McDonald Undergraduate Research Award
Rachel Miceli, Queens, New York
Outstanding Environmental Scientist Award
Julia Hart, Mundelein, Illinois
Outstanding Biological Scientist Award
Sienna Durbin, Newton, Massachusetts
Eric Donahue, Brentwood, Tennessee
Mary Olivia Balmert, San Diego, California
Robert Braco, M.D., Honors Research Award
Samantha Piekos, Naperville, Illinois
Paul F. Ware, M.D., Excellence in Undergraduate Research Award
Jeffrey Hansen, Vienna, Virginia
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Outstanding Biochemist Award
Evan Merryman, South Bend, Indiana
Outstanding Biochemistry Research Award
Travis Marshall-Roth, Charlottesville, Virginia
Outstanding Chemist Award
Michael Ahlers, Le Mars, Iowa
Outstanding Chemistry Research Award
Daniel Kwasnieski, Middletown, Delaware
William R. Wischerath Outstanding Major Award
Kathleen Anthony, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Department of Mathematics
Robert P. Balles Notre Dame Mathematics Scholar
Andrew Baglini, Cumberland, Rhode Island
Robert P. Balles Notre Dame Mathematics Scholar – Honors
Jacob Haley, Mufreesboro, Tennessee
Geroge Kolettis Award in Mathematics
Jack Burkhart, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
General Electric Prize for Honors Mathematics Majors
Jack Burkhart, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Jacob Haley, Mufreesboro, Tennessee
Xiao Luciena Xiao, Tianjin, China
General Electric Prize for Mathematics Majors
Eric Celeste, Syracuse New York
Eric Krakowiak, Arlington Heights, Illinois
William Patrick McCormack, Los Angeles, California
William Raaf, Naperville, Illinois
Ningzhou Shen, Jiaxing, China
John Thomas Montgomery Scholarship in Mathematics
Xiao Luciena Xiao, Tianjin, China
Norman and Beatrice Haaser Scholarship in Mathematics
Andrew Baglini, Cumberland, Rhode Island
Jack Burkhart, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Jacob Haley, Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Eric Krakowiak, Arlington Heights, Illinois
Ningzhou Shen, Jiaxing China
Xiao Luciena Xiao, Tianjin, China
Department of Physics
Outstanding Senior Physics Major Award
William Patrick McCormack, Los Angeles, California
Anna Stephenson, Guymon, Oklahoma
Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award
Mitch McNanna, Hinckley, Illinois
Alexa Rakoski, Camas, Washington
Paul Chagnon Award for Service to the Department
Katrina Magno, Marlborough, Massachusetts
Preprofessional Studies
Lawrence H. Baldinger Award
Gabriella T. Gonzales, Florence, Kentucky
Matthew N. Metzinger, Youngstown, Ohio
Adam Z. Stepanovic, Munster, Indiana
Rev. Joseph L. Walter, C.S.C Award
Jason C. Hoard, Carmel, Indiana
Rachel E. Hughes, Salem, South Carolina
Samuel J. Chmell M.D. Award
Liam T. Kane, Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania
Christopher J. Tricarico, Merrick, New York
Patrick J. Niland, M.D. Award
Michael Cosiano, Findlay, Ohio
Michael D. Bass, Fort Worth, Texas
Science-Business Award
William Alex Cantrell, West Bloomfield, Michigan
Glynn Family Honors Program Science Graduates
Glynn Family Honors Program Science Graduates
Kathleen Anthony, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Stephen Bowen, Avon, Ohio
Claire Brady, Arlington Heights, Illinois
Sarah Burbank, Orlando, Florida
Madelynn Conlin, Arlington Heights, Illinois
Alexander Dang, Columbus, Ohio
Nicholas, Deason, Beltsville, Maryland
Margaret, Dickson, Naperville, Illinois
Eric Donahue, Brentwood, Tennessee
Sienna Durbin, Newton, Massachusetts
Lauren Firanek, Villa Park, Illinois
Stephany Fournier, North Port, Florida
Marissa Guo, Plainsboro, New Jersey
Katherine Hayman, Marblehead, Massachusetts
Elizabeth Heilmann, Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Vijay Higgins, Springfield, Ohio
Amy Johnson, St. Charles, Illinois
Jonathan Jou, Chicago, Illinois
Liam Kane, Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania
Benjamin Kass, Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Edward Kielb, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Anna Kottkamp, Wenatchee, Washington
David Lenz, Evanston, Illinois
Wenxin Liu, Okemos, Michigan
Megan Marshalla, Lake Zurich, Illinois
Matthew Mattera, Exton, Pennsylvania
Mitch McNanna, Hinckley, Illinois
Weston Niermeyer, Columbus, Ohio
Rebecca Noble, Needham, Massachusetts
Jennifer Noyola, Weston, Florida
Alexa Rakoski, Camas, Washington
Anna Katya Simon, Chicago, Illinois
Herbert Parker Stride, Lake Forest, Illinois
Weston Terrasse, Lake Forest, Illinois
Stephanie Wachs, Marietta, Georgia
Katherine Wood, Dallas, Texas
Daniel Wright, Pleasanton, California
Congratulations to the 2015 College of Science awardees!
Originally published by Stephanie Healey at science.nd.edu on May 19, 2015.