Outstanding TAs & Excellence Fellows honored for 2026

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (09/24/2026) – At the Department of Chemistry’s Kickoff Seminar on September 10th, 24 Chemistry students were recognized with awards for their excellence and hard work in the 2025-2026 academic year.

Fellowships

2026-2027 Excellence Fellowships

Nine graduate students were honored with Department of Chemistry Excellence Fellowships, which recognize outstanding rising fourth-year students who have demonstrated academic excellence. Each excellence fellowship winner receives a $5,000 award and a 50% RA appointment in Fall and Spring semesters in the 2026-2027 academic year. The Excellence Fellowships are made possible by philanthropic contributions from the Chemistry alumni and donor community.

• Claire Arnold – Lester C. and Joan M. Krogh Endowed Fellowship
• Madhur Bhatt – Newman and Lillian Bortnick Fellowship
• Victor Drewanz – John Wertz Fellowship in Chemistry
• Isabella Jacobsen – Wayland E. Noland Excellence Fellowship in Organic Chemistry
• Timmy Nguyen – Izaak M. Kolthoff Fellowship
• Anjana Painamattathu – Robert and Jill DeMaster Fellowship 
• Luis Padilla  – Wayland E. Noland Excellence Fellowship in Chemistry
• Luc Wetherbee – Kenneth E. & Marion S. Owens Endowed Fellowship in Chemistry
• Felicia Yu – PPG Graduate Student Fellowship

Richard D. Amelar and Arthur S. Lodge Fellowship for Outstanding Collaborative Research in Materials

This award is given to a student whose research interests encompass the overlapping scope of chemistry and chemical engineering and materials science. Plinio Rosales, a Chemical Engineering PhD candidate from the Reineke Group, was honored as the 2026-2027 recipient.

Outstanding TAs

14 students were recognized for their dedication and distinction in Teaching Assistant roles for the 2025-2026 academic year. 

Robert L. Ferm Outstanding Graduate TA Award

Kari Chamberlain, Mira Deshpande, Kevin Schill, and Marissa Zamora were awarded the Robert L. Ferm Outstanding Graduate TA Award. Students from their classes submitted nominations for the awardees:

• Kari Chamberlain – “My TA this semester was the best. Her communication skills and availability made this class feel less stressful. She was always willing to help, and while helping, she would teach us how to do it as well. So that, in a way, we aren't just receiving the answer but also learning while grasping the concept. Her teaching ability was the best part because whenever she showed an example, she made it very simple and easy to understand.”
• Mira Deshpande – “As a first year graduate student Mira immediately showed she was dependable and supportive of her students. This was her first time teaching this course which is not an easy task. Her students appreciated how approachable, supportive, and patient she is and she did a great job guiding students to the answer instead of telling them and also created a positive learning environment where students felt comfortable to make and learn from mistakes. From a logistical side of things, Mira was instrumental to the success of the lab last year, she went well above and beyond subbing for other TAs, communicating when things might not have worked in lab so they can improve and all around being a fantastic TA. We are lucky to have her on the team!”
• Kevin Schill – “Despite teaching the 8am lab Kevin is always full of energy which even more impressively has remained over the course of the semester. He takes time to draw out all important aspects of the lab on the board beforehand which really helps understanding. He is very helpful to all the groups during lab and still finds plenty of time to get to know us.”
• Marissa Zamora – “Marissa has been an outstanding help during lab all semester. She shows up every day with a great attitude and energy that makes lab truly enjoyable, and provides a mood boost that kicks off the day on a positive note. She does a great job of making herself available for questions during lab, and answers them in ways that strengthen connections between topics and clarify the experiments at hand. She's also highly available outside of lab, with quick response times to emails all day long and a willingness to meet in person at various times for more in-depth questions. Overall, she's been a great TA who has made the course more enjoyable, enhanced understanding of the content covered, and has gone above and beyond what I would normally expect from a TA.”

Robert C. Brasted Outstanding Undergraduate TA Award 

Tommy Murphy and Lauren Yu were awarded the Robert C. Brasted Outstanding Undergraduate TA Award. Students from their classes submitted nominations for the awardees:

• Tommy Murphy – “Tommy is great at helping students understand the material. He explains it in a manner that's easy to follow, and he is always willing to answer questions even if we ourselves think they might seem a little 'dumb'. He is an awesome TA and I would recommend him to anyone taking this lab, I wish he was a lecture professor too.”
• Lauren Yu – ”She was a great communicator and made lab fun. She always was very easy going, so she is very approachable. Even when our group or other groups made mistakes, she was quick with a solution. She's also incredibly patient with all of her students and their learning/completion paces.”

Honorable Mention, Outstanding Graduate TAs

• Rilee Martzloff
• Becca MacGillvray
• Lauren Way
• Miranda Stewart
• Phillip Damke
• Olivia Hjelm
• Sara Dooley
• Fatima Martinez

Congratulations to all of the awardees!