The 2025 UW Department of Earth and Space Sciences Awards Ceremony was held on Thursday, May 8 at 3:30 PM in JHN 102, hosted by ESS Chair David Schmidt. There were numerous honors, awards, and scholarships given during this ceremony before adjourning to a reception in the Johnson Hall Courtyard.
ESS Special Awards
ESS Emerging Leader Award
This award recognizes an ESS graduate who has earned their highest degree within the last 10 years and is a role model for current and future professionals through leadership, innovation and dedication in their field of practice. This award highlights the positive impact ESS graduates make on their local community, country and the world early in their career.
- Dr. Ann Bauer
ESS Distinguished Graduate Awards
This is a lifetime achievement award recognizing truly outstanding individuals who have had an inspirational impact and who have made significant contributions to their profession and their community. Criteria for the award include scientific achievements, leadership and service, impact on education and outreach, recognition and influence, and engagement with the UW, College and ESS communities.
- Dr. Wes Ward
- Dr. Bill Dietrich
- Dr. Cathy Whitlock
Julian D. Barksdale Distinguished Service Award
This award honors a current student, graduate, faculty or staff member in ESS for their exceptional contributions in support of either the Department’s or the University’s mission.
- Anna Ledeczi
- Professor Emerita Jody Bourgeois
Bassett Teaching Excellence Award
This award honors a faculty or staff member in ESS for their exceptional contributions to the Department’s teaching mission.
- Assistant Professor Cailey Condit
Douglas Merrill Prize for Excellence (Undergraduate Student)
The Douglas Merrill Prize for Excellence is presented to a graduating senior undergraduate student who has demonstrated exceptional academic and personal achievement throughout their undergraduate career.
- Brielle Herrin
Howard Coombs Excellence in Teaching Fellowship (Graduate Student)
The Coombs Fellowship fund is based on academic achievement and is an award in recognition of excellence in teaching.
- Hope Sisley
David A. Johnston Prize for Research Excellence (Graduate Student)
This award is given to graduate students in the Ph.D. program who have demonstrated superior academic ability and creativity in research.
- Lucas Fifer
- Emma Heitmann
- Jason Ott
- Trent Thomas
ESS Undergraduate Scholarships
Undergraduate Field Scholarships and Awards
These funds help to defray the costs of summer field courses for our students. Support comes from several donor funds — including the Julian & Marajane Barksdale Endowed Support Fund, the Edward and Joanne Barboza Endowed Scholarship, and the Undergraduate Field and Research Fund.
- Chloe Anderson
- Esperanza Gonzalez-Toribio
- Brielle Herrin
- Eli Hess
- Maria Holnicka-Szulc
- Alyssa Iverson
- Zhenhua Li
- Filip Novak
- Nikolas Saathoff
- Hailey Smith
- Jakub Ward
- Jade Wells
Livingston Wernecke Memorial Scholarship (Undergraduate Student)
Our oldest scholarship in the department, the Livingston Wernecke Memorial Scholarship covers undergraduate resident tuition for one quarter in addition to other educational expenses.
- Chloe Anderson
- Dahlia Gietka
Afton Woolley Crooks and James William Crooks Endowed Scholarship in Geological Sciences (Undergraduate Student)
This award, endowed by Ms. Afton Crooks in memory of her husband Jimmy, supports a full academic year of resident undergraduate tuition for each recipient.
- Alyssa Iverson
- Deven Loska
- Sophia Robillard
- Lesly Silva
ESS Graduate Student Research Support Awards
These awards are supported by the following funds: Cowan Field Fund, Inquisitive Student Support Fund, Anthony Qamar Endowed Memorial Fund, Stephen G. Warren Endowed Fund for Graduate Students in Earth and Space Sciences, Robert and Mary Crosson Endowed Graduate Student Support Fund, Kenneth C. Robbins Fellowship, and the Rodney & Carol DeGeest Endowed Fund.
- Nicole Aikin
- Kunmanee Bubphamanee
- Danqiu Chen
- Sophie Johnson
- Autum Downey
- Xuefei Fan
- Jessica Ghent
- Gabriel Goncalves-Santana
- Luan Heywood
- Ula Jones
- Lauren Kafadarian
- Manuela Koepfli
- Ben Lloyd
- Andrea Nodal
- Henry Yuan
ESS Graduate Fellowship Awards
These funds provide one quarter of fellowship support for research in pursuit of a graduate degree. Support comes from several donor funds: Dr. Jody Bourgeois Endowed Fellowship in Sedimentary Geology, Robert G. and Nadine E. Bassett Endowed Fund, Dorothy Stephens Fellowship, Peter Misch Fellowship, George Edward Goodspeed Fellowship, Joseph A. Vance Fellowship, Harry Wheeler Fellowship, Marie Ferrell Endowment, and the Richard E. Fuller Endowed Fund.
- Tamara Aranguiz-Rago
- Kunmanee Bubphamanee
- Danqiu Chen
- Autum Downey
- Emma Heitmann
- Chi-Ying Huang
- Peter Lindquist
- Jason Ott
- Daniel Otto
- Pete Wynn
USGS-ESS Partners Fellowships for Earthquake Hazard Research
One set of graduate student research awards are funded by the US Geological Survey and provide a quarter of fellowship to each awardee. This funding supports research projects on topics related to earthquake hazards.
- Alysa Fintel
- Veronica Gaete-Elgueta
- Julia Grossman
- Akash Kharita
- Manuela Koepfli
- Anna Ledeczi
- Yiyu Ni
- Anna Pearson