The 2026 UW Department of Earth and Space Sciences Awards Ceremony was held on Friday, 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. Julia Kelson

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. Donna Whitney

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.

• Tamara Aranguiz-Rago
• Professor Emeritus Ed Waddington

Bassett Teaching Excellence Award

This award honors a faculty or staff member in ESS for their exceptional contributions to the Department’s teaching mission.

• Affiliate Professor Brian Atwater

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.

• Filip Novak

Undergraduate Service Award

The Undergraduate Service Award honors a current undergraduate student in ESS for their exceptional contributions in service to the department’s mission.

• Sophia Robillard

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.

• Anna Ledeczi
• Tamara Aranguiz-Rago
• Yiyu Ni

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 and the Joseph A. Vance Endowed Student Support Fund.

• Lisa Herrera
• Riley Humes
• Josephine Anderson
• Jewel Wass de Czege
• Olivia Facq
• Saul Hernandez
• Sophia Widloe
• Nolan Wescott

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.

• Charles Fleming

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.

• Jillian Ruby
• Jewel Wass de Czege
• Cate Zeiger

ESS Student Funds for Applied Geosciences and Mapping Awards

These funds are supported by the Wilbert R. Danner Endowed Fund for Geology Mapping in Washington State and the Stephen H. Evans Geological Sciences Fund.

• Josephine Anderson
• Brooke Santos
• Emily Wilbur

ESS Graduate Student Research Support Awards

These awards are supported by the following funds: Creating Opportunities in Geoscience Fund, Cowan Field Fund, Howard and Leila Coombs Scholarship Fund, Stephen G. Warren Endowed Fund for Graduate Students in Earth and Space Sciences, Marie Ferrel Endowment, Robert and Jenny Winglee Endowed Graduate Student Support Fund, Space Physics Fellowship Fund, and the Richard E. Fuller Endowed Fund.

• Sophie Johnson (Creating Opportunities in Geoscience Fund)
• Jess Ghent (Creating Opportunities in Geoscience Fund)
• Manuela Köpfli (Creating Opportunities in Geoscience Fund)
• Margot Shaya (Creating Opportunities in Geoscience Fund)
• Gabriel G. Santana (Creating Opportunities in Geoscience Fund)
• Hailey Germeau (Creating Opportunities in Geoscience Fund)
• Ifigeneia Rousouli (Creating Opportunities in Geoscience Fund)
• An Li (Creating Opportunities in Geoscience Fund)
• David Caro (Creating Opportunities in Geoscience Fund)
• Claire Jensen (Creating Opportunities in Geoscience Fund)
• Xuefei Fan (Creating Opportunities in Geoscience Fund)
• Hannah Cothren (Howard and Leila Coombs Scholarship Fund)
• Francisco Reyes (Howard and Leila Coombs Scholarship Fund)
• Lauren Kafadarian (Howard and Leila Coombs Scholarship Fund)
• Sabrina Kainz (Cowan Field Fund & Howard and Leila Coombs Scholarship Fund)
• Kyle Nash (Cowan Field Fund & Howard and Leila Coombs Scholarship Fund)
• Kimberly Sinclair (Stephen G. Warren Endowed Fund for Graduate Students in Earth and Space Sciences)
• Andrea Nodal (Marie Ferrel Endowment Fund)
• Scott Chang (Robert and Jenny Winglee Endowed Graduate Support Fund and the Space Physics Fellowship Fund)
• Henry Yuan (Richard E. Fuller Endowed Fund)
• Lucy Helms (Richard E. Fuller Endowed Fund)
• Luan Heywood (Richard E. Fuller Endowed Fund)
• Xinkai He (Richard E. Fuller Endowed Fund)
• Ben Lloyd (Richard E. Fuller Endowed Fund)
• Abigail Waller (Richard E. Fuller Endowed Fund)

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: Robert G. and Nadine E. Bassett Endowed Fund, Dorothy Stephens Fellowship, Peter Misch Fellowship, George Edward Goodspeed Fellowship, Joseph A. Vance Fellowship, and the Kenneth Robbins Fellowship.

• Sophie Johnson (Robert G. and Nadine Bassett Endowed Fund)
• Xuefei Fan (George Edward Goodspeed Geology Scholarship & Peter Misch Fellowship)
• Jess Ghent (Dorothy G. Stephens Endowed Fellowship Fund)
• Hailey Germeau (Joseph A. Vance Endowed Fellowship)
• Bering Tse (Kenneth C. Robbins Fellowship)

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.

• Maneula Köpfli
• Alysa Fintel
• Anna Ledeczi
• Julia Grossman
• Anna Pearson
• Verónica Gaete-Elgueta
• Francisco Reyes
• Andrew Sparks