Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Award
This annual award from the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) celebrates undergraduate students' outstanding contributions and dedication to research. These awards will recognize students who have demonstrated excellence in research through their dedication and contribution to a research project, problem-solving and creativity, perseverance through challenges, and professional growth through the research experience. Each UWF department is invited to submit their nomination to receive this award.
Each department can determine their own criteria for selection. Departments are encouraged to consider nominating students in their senior year. Award recipients will receive a certificate of recognition.
One representative from each department is welcome to submit their nominations in early spring (anticipate an early February deadline). OUR will send an invitation with the submission form for the next award cycle.
Here are the 2026 College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities recipients of the Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Award.
| Student | Faculty Mentor | Department |
|---|---|---|
| Lilly Verhage | Dr. John Worth | Anthropology |
| Liberty Moench | Dr. Erin Stone | History and Philosophy |
| Kelsey Valante | Connie Smith | Theatre |
2025 College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities recipients of the Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Award.
| Student | Faculty Mentor | Department |
|---|---|---|
| Mikayla Schad | Dr. John Worth & Christina Bolte | Anthropology |
| Bethany Jollie | Carrie Fonder | Art and Design |
| Seven Freitag | Dr. Marie Champagne | History and Philosophy |
Here are the 2026 Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering recipients of the Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Award.
| Student | Faculty Mentor | Department |
|---|---|---|
| Katherine Lundgren | Dr. Alexis Janosik | Biology |
| Mikayla Swatscheno | Dr. Jacob Tracy | Chemistry |
| Andrew Benyacko | Dr. Sikha Bagui | Computer Science |
| Donald Moree | Dr. Bhuvaneswari Ramachandran and Sam Russel | Dr. Muhammad Harunur Rashid Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| Jordan Harrison | Dr. Kwame Owusu-Daaku | Earth and Environmental Sciences |
| Parker Brown | Dr. Jiaming Fu | Mechanical Engineering |
| Arav Jain | Dr. Aaron Wade | Physics |
2025 Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering recipients of the Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Award.
| Student | Faculty Mentor | Department |
|---|---|---|
| Heaven Brandt | Dr. Peter Cavnar | Biology |
| Declan McGurk | Dr. Tanay Kesharwani | Chemistry |
| Germano Correa Silva De Carvalho | Dr. Sikha Bagui | Computer Science |
| Drake Fulton | Dr. Bhuvaneswari Ramachandran | Dr. Muhammad Harunur Rashid Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| Joe Agin | Dr. Phillip Schmutz | Earth and Environmental Sciences |
| FNU Shrishti | Dr. Achraf Cohen | Mathematics and Statistics |
| Sam Kammerer | Dr. Maher Amer | Mechanical Engineering |
| Madalyn Chavarria | Dr. Aaron Wade | Physics |
| Leo Young | Dr. Frank Gilliam | Special Award for Interdisciplinary Research Project |
Here are the 2026 Usha Kundu, MD College of Health recipients of the Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Award.
| Student | Faculty Mentor | Department |
|---|---|---|
| Simone Symister-Salmon | Dr. Colette Davis | Medical Laboratory Sciences |
| Joseph Tomasello | Dr. John Todorovich | Movement Sciences and Health |
| Autumn Savage | Dr. Kimberly Day | Psychology |
| Jacob George | Dr. Karishma Chhabria | Public Health |
| Scott Burke | Dr. MaKenna Woods | Social Work |
2025 Usha Kundu, MD College of Health recipients of the Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Award.
| Student | Faculty Mentor | Department |
|---|---|---|
| Lora Reid | Dr. Melanie Sutton | Health Sciences and Administration |
| Vy Le | Dr. Youngil Lee | Medical Laboratory Sciences |
| Taylor Brandon | Dr. Youngil Lee | Movement Sciences and Health |
| Elizabeth Black | Dr. Vanessa Rainey & Dr. James Arruda | Psychology |
| Claudia Li | Dr. Karishma Chhabria | Public Health |
| Elias (Eli) Ray | Dr. Matt Knierim | Social Work |
Here are the 2026 School of Education recipients of the Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Award.
| Student | Faculty Mentor | Department |
|---|---|---|
| Kayleigh Watkins | Dr. Timothy Morse | Teaching, Research, and Leadership |
No 2026 recipients.
Here are the 2025 Lewis Bear Jr. College of Business recipients of the Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Award.
| Student | Faculty Mentor | Department |
|---|---|---|
| Summer Simmone | Dr. Xuan Tran | Commerce |
| Aaron Korel | Dr. Kwan-Chen Ma | Finance |
