Each year during the Department of Chemistry's May Convocation ceremony, several awards are presented to graduating undergraduate and graduate students. All of the awards were established by a gift to the department, and some are in memory of an individual. All of the awards include a $1,000 monetary gift to the recipients and recognize specific student achievements, including scholarship, research, teaching and more.
This year, six undergraduate students and one graduate student were honored during the May 18, 2025, ceremony, and a special guest, alumnus Dr. Ray Janevicius (BS, '74), presented the John David Barnwell Memorial Award, which Janevicius established in 1999 in memory of his fellow alumnus and friend, John Barnwell. The award recognizes a student who exemplifies academic excellence, upholds a high personal standard of ethics and scholarship, demonstrates a passion for teaching, and exhibits fluency in the arts.
Undergraduate Awards
Michelle Bishka — John C. Bailar Award for excellence in undergraduate research
This year, the John C. Bailar Award recipient worked in the laboratory of Prof. Scott Silverman and is Michelle Bishka, a Specialized Chemistry major who participated for three and a half years in undergraduate research on DNAzymes that use small-molecule substrates. She was coauthor of a manuscript, mentor to multiple other lab members, a general chemistry lab Teaching Assistant, an active member of the ACS student chapter, and president of the campus undergraduate neuroscience journal, Brain Matters. Her research advisor, Prof. Silverman, describes Bishka as "one of the most tenacious, productive, inventive, and scientifically fearless students at any level that he has ever had in his lab." Bishka will attend the University of Chicago, refocusing her research to earn her Ph.D. in physical chemistry.
Yilun Li — Reynold C. Fuson Award for excellence in undergraduate research
This year, the Reynold C. Fuson Award recipient worked in the laboratory of Prof. Scott Denmark, Fuson Professor of Chemistry, and is Yilun Li, a Specialized Chemistry major whose research was on synthetic organic chemistry, specifically, the chiral disulfonimide-catalyzed atroposelective iodination of pyrimidines. His research advisor Prof. Denmark said Yilun demonstrated impressive abilities to conceptualize experiments to validate hypotheses, troubleshoot problems independently, and master new experimental and computational techniques through self-directed learning. Yilun had a 4.0 GPA and soon after graduating will have a first-author publication on his research. Yilun will attend Princeton University to earn his Ph.D. in organic chemistry.
Maria Massa — Carl S. Marvel Award for excellence in undergraduate research
This year, the Carl S. Marvel Award recipient worked in the laboratory of Prof. Scott Silverman and is Maria Massa, a Specialized Chemistry major with a 3.98 GPA whose undergraduate research for three and a half years was on DNAzymes that modify DNA and RNA oligonucleotides. She was co-first author of a manuscript and served for four semesters as the Merit Teaching Assistant for the sophomore organic courses, CHEM 236 and CHEM 436. Her research advisor Prof. Silverman said Massa is a research pioneer in his lab, inspiring many others with her accomplishments, dedication, and boundless enthusiasm. Massa will attend Princeton University to earn her chemistry Ph.D. in the area of chemical biology.
Pramod Prabhu — Worth H. Rodebush Award
This year, the Worth H. Rodebush Award recipient was nominated by Prof. Mei Shen and is Pramod Prabhu. In the past three years in the Shen lab, Prabhu has shown great scholarship in data analysis and presentation as well as experimental design, Shen said. He has a 3.96 GPA and has been an excellent mentor to younger undergraduate students in the Shen lab. After a gap year, Prabhu plans to attend medical school.
Martha Kubakh — Dr. Eugene Kent Borchart Memorial Award in Chemistry
This year, the Dr. Eugene Kent Borchart Memorial Award in Chemistry recipient was nominated by Prof. Joaquin Rodriguez-Lopez and is Martha Kubakh, a James Scholar and Specialized Chemistry major, with a minor in Sustainability, Energy & Environment and a GPA of 3.98. Kubakh performed research for three years in the Rodriguez-Lopez lab on dual-ion batteries, studying how different carbons intercalate anions, as well as research in the Braun lab on solid-state batteries. During her summers she was an electrochemistry intern at a company. She was vice-chair of the campus Energy Illinois Climate Action Plan (ICAP) team, focusing on the energy efficiency of buildings and lecturing at campus-wide events. Kubakh will attend UC Berkeley to earn her Ph.D. in chemistry.
Curt Althaus — John David Barnwell Memorial Award
This year, the John David Barnwell Memorial Award recipient was nominated by Prof. Joaquin Rodriguez-Lopez and is Curtis Althaus. Prof. Rodriguez-Lopez notes that Althaus is not only an outstanding researcher, but a great human being who values the love of life, helping others, and aiming high in his professional aspirations. With a 3.97 GPA as a double major in chemistry and astrophysics, he has led a multi-year individual project where he has explored how lithium solvation and desolvation impact its electrochemical kinetics using microelectrodes in a dry box. Curtis has also found the time to become a world- class expert in atomic force microscopy as an intern at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, to be a Latin dance instructor and the artistic director of the Dance2XS Caliente group, to be a special-needs instructor at the YMCA, and to coach dancing and track and field. He was also part of the 2024 UIUC Homecoming Court, is an accomplished student researcher, who has twice earned the Astronaut Foundation Scholarship and received multiple accolades in chemistry. Althaus will attend Caltech to obtain his Ph.D. in chemistry.
Graduate Award
Casey Olen — ACS Presidential P3 Medal
This year’s recipient of the ACS Presidential P3 Medal was nominated by his advisor Prof. Scott Denmark and is Dr. Casey Olen. In his Ph.D. studies, Olen applied cheminformatics and machine learning to advance synthetic organic chemistry. He led the Denmark lab’s collaboration with the Process Research Group at Merck, using a cheminformatic workflow to optimize a specific synthetic reaction used to synthesize a commercial product. This research resulted in a major collaborative publication, with Olen as first author of the joint work between the academic and industrial labs, exemplifying the key partnership aspect of the P3 Medal. Olen will join the Process Research Group at Pfizer, to begin his industrial career as a Ph.D. chemist.