Fifty-Three UW Female Faculty, Staff, Students and Alumnae Honored at UW’s Own It! Awards

Fifty-three women at the University of Wyoming were recognized at the sixth annual Own It! Awards ceremony Feb. 21.

Sponsored by Wyoming’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), Wyoming INBRE (IDeA Networks for Biomedical Research Excellence) and the Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium, Own It! strives to recognize women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) at UW. The celebration serves to help increase the visibility of an often-overlooked group in STEM, which can be fundamental in encouraging women to participate in science.

“Own It! was created to specifically recognize women in STEM on campus and in the larger Wyoming community who have done great things in STEM over the past year, so they could own their achievements and we could really highlight them for their successes in research, outreach, leadership, mentoring and figuring out how to balance it all,” says Shawna McBride, director of the Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium. “This year’s nominees, all 53 of them, are all amazing women who have accomplished so many great things in STEM, and Own It! gives us a chance to celebrate them.”

At the awards ceremony, female faculty, staff, students and alumnae -- with connections to multiple UW colleges and department -- were recognized.

Winners, with the category, department or major, and hometowns for students, are: 

Overall: A woman who is deserving of celebration

-- Oreoluwa Adesina, chemistry, hometown unavailable.

-- Brenda Alexander, professor, Department of Animal Science.

-- Tasnim Ara, chemistry, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

-- Nicole Bedford, assistant professor, Department of Zoology and Physiology.

-- Karagh Brummond, director of engagement and outreach, Science Initiative, and assistant instructional professor, Honors College.

-- Megan Candelaria, associate director, Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium.

-- Elizabeth Case, assistant professor, veterinary sciences, and director, Biocontainment Facility.

-- Diana Caulton, assistant professor, Department of Atmospheric Science.

-- Rhiannon Jakopak, Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources.

-- Quiana Jeffs, zoology and physiology, Program in Neuroscience, hometown unavailable.

-- Holly Krutka, executive director, School of Energy Resources.

-- Skylar Hodgins, School of Pharmacy, Casper.

-- Hannah Hood, electrical engineering, Cheyenne.

-- Jenna Goodrich, computer science, Cheyenne.

-- Muskan Kuinkel, civil and architectural engineering, Kathmandu, Nepal.

-- Ema Lujan, zoology, Raleigh, N.C.

-- Chandelle MacDonald, master technician, Stable Isotope Facility.

-- Erin McDonald, chemistry, Colorado Springs, Colo.

-- Amy Navratil, Hank Gardner/Marilyn Fiske Associate Professor of Physiology.

-- Eunsook Park, assistant professor, Department of Molecular Biology.

-- Ashleigh Pilkerton, zoology and physiology, Albany, Ore.

-- Pallavi Pokharel, Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, hometown unavailable.

-- Anna Robertson, research scientist, Department of Atmospheric Science.

-- Anna Steele, chemical engineering, Cheyenne.

-- Sylvia Thiong'o, animal and veterinary sciences, Nairobi, Kenya.

 

Research: A woman who has made significant contributions to her field of research

-- JuliAnne Allgood, neuroscience Ph.D. student, South Jordan, Utah.

-- Ana Clara Bobadilla, assistant professor, pharmaceutical sciences, School of Pharmacy.

-- Alathea Davies, chemistry, Uniontown, Wash.

-- Natalie Foss, computer science, Colorado Springs, Colo.

-- Masoumeh Mahmoudi Gahrouei, graduate teaching assistant, Department of Chemistry.

-- ChooiKim Lau, research scientist, School of Energy Resources.

-- RongSong Liu, professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics.

-- Michaela Kuzniar, animal science, Hanover, Ill.

-- Vahideh Mirchi, postdoctoral research associate, Department of Energy and Petroleum Engineering.

-- Erin Schwalbe, microbiology, Reno, Nev.

-- Ci Song, atmospheric science, hometown unavailable.

-- Annie Walgren, molecular biology, Laramie.

-- Geethma Werapitiya, atmospheric science, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

 

Service: A woman who demonstrates service, leadership and mentoring among her peer group

-- Annie Bergman, director, Student Program, Wyoming INBRE.

-- Rebecca Collins, botany, Loveland, Colo.

-- Madison Davis, animal and veterinary sciences, Manitou Beach, Saskatchewan.

-- Kami Danaei, associate dean/academic director, School of Energy Resources.

-- Magda Garbowski, postdoctoral researcher, Department of Botany.

-- Kendall Klos, School of Energy Resources, Johnsburg, Ill.

-- Krutka, executive director, School of Energy Resources.

-- Becky Linn, clinical associate professor, School of Pharmacy.

-- Shawna McBride, director, Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium.

-- Lindsey Mitchell, Haub School and College of Arts and Sciences, Colorado Springs, Colo.

-- Elizabeth Quigley, zoology and physiology, Ada, Okla.

-- Christine Reed, director, outreach, and Energy Resources Council secretary, School of Energy Resources Director’s Office.

-- Rachel Reese, Energy Resource Management and Development 3+3 Program, Johnstown, Colo.

-- Michele Turner, grants manager, Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium.

-- Kassandra Willingham, assistant lecturer, Department of Molecular Biology. 

For more information and to see highlights of each featured woman, visit http://wyomingspacegrant.org/wimse/own-it-2023/.