Annual Ceremony Honors Grad Students
The Department of Chemistry honored graduate students at its Annual Graduate Student Awards ceremony held Friday, May 24 with Erik Sorensen, Director of Graduate Studies, presiding.
The ceremony took place as part of the Princeton Chemistry Reunion program in Taylor Auditorium.
By tradition, the awards fall into three categories: First-Year Academic Achievements, which recognize those who have excelled academically in their first year; Merit Awards, which are nominated by faculty; and Teaching Awards, which are commendations for those who excelled as mentors in the lab or in chemistry courses. Awardees appear below. Congratulations to all.
First-Year Academic Achievement
These first-year fellowships are gifted to the Department by alumni in recognition of academic excellence.
The Norman G. and Elizabeth Brink Graduate Fellowship in Chemistry
Adam Bass (Chirik Lab)
The Stephen P.A. Fodor *85 Graduate Fellowship in Chemistry
Amy Benedetto (Sorensen Lab)
The Stanley A. Lefkowitz *70 Graduate Fellowship in Chemistry
Lauren Harstad (MacMillan Lab)
The David V. Milligan ’62 Graduate Fellowship in Chemistry
Lande Hu (Sorensen Lab)
The George B. Rathmann *51 Graduate Fellowship in Chemistry
Marissa Abbott (Seyedsayamdost Lab)
The Nat C. Robertson *42 Graduate Fellowship in Chemistry
Tae Kim (MacMillan Lab)
Merit Awards
2024 Ada and Myer Packer Memorial Fellowship
The Packer is awarded to a senior graduate student who shows significant promise in the field of physical chemistry and spectroscopy.
Sarah Gernhart (Yang Lab)
The Arthur A. Patchett ’51 Graduate Fellowship in Chemistry
This award, provided by a donation from Dr. Arthur Patchett ’51, a former executive of Merck and Co. and an alumnus of Princeton, is granted to an organic student who has excelled at Princeton.
Jingwei Ji (Kleiner Lab)
The BMS Endowed Graduate Fellowship in Synthetic Organic Chemistry
Awarded to a senior graduate student focused on organic synthesis. The winner of this prize will give a seminar at a symposium hosted by BMS.
Sophie Bender (Hyster Lab)
The Third-Year Seminar Hubbell ’47 Prize
These awards are given by the judging committee in recognition of exceptional third-year seminar presentations.
Alberto Castanedo (Knowles Lab)
Jacob Metcalfe (Webb Lab)
Department Citation for Academic Achievement
This prize is awarded to a top second- or third-year student based on grades, research ratings, and faculty letters as recognized by the DGS.
Qiaolin Yan (Knowles Lab)
Teaching Awards
The Margaret & Herman Sokol Fellowship in Chemistry
This award recognizes outstanding work as a teaching assistant for a student interested in a career in teaching and research.
Kaylee Cappuccio, CHM 201 & 202 (Muir Lab)
The Hubert Alyea ’24 Teaching Award
Granted in memory of Hubert Alyea, a renowned chemist and beloved Princeton instructor, in recognition of outstanding dedication and enthusiasm for undergraduate teaching.
Dhruv Dhingani, CHM 201 & 215 (Kleiner Lab)
Pickering Teaching Awards
Named in honor of Miles Pickering, who served as Director of our Chemistry Undergraduate Labs from 1981 until his death in 1991, recognizing excellence in undergraduate teaching in precepts and in the lab.
For their work as lab TAs:
Zane Boyer CHM 301 & 304 (MacMillan Lab)
Jessica Gaetgens, CHM 207 (Scholes Lab)
Jon Meinhardt, CHM 301 & 304 (Knowles Lab)
Murray Skolnick, CHM 215 (Torquato Lab)
Yu Wang, CHM 301 & 304 (Sorensen Lab)
For their work as Precept TAs:
Andrew Feng, CHM 301 & 304 (Knowles Lab)
Yuchen Li, CHM 201 (Seyedsayamdost Lab)
Zoe Merz, CHM 202 (Muir Lab)
Tianyi Zhang, CHM 301 & 304 (Chirik Lab)
Amr Sobeh, CHM 373 (Rabitz Lab)