College of Science students were honored at the Undergraduate Research Awards for Office of Undergraduate Research along with recipients from other colleges across the University of Utah.

Gavin Farley
(Physics & Astronomy)
College of Science Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher

Gavin is a graduating senior in Physics & Astronomy and has been participating in astronomical research with Tanmoy Laskar, assistant professor of Physics & Astronomy, since November 2024. Laskar lauds Gavin’s foresight, initiative, organization, self-direction, quick learning, and diligence in research.

“Gavin is one of the most capable and conscientious undergraduate researchers I have worked with,” says Laskar. “He has applied to the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program and several graduate programs, where I expect imminent success. I cannot think of a more worthy candidate for this award.”

Gavin’s drive to study independently leads to his quick understanding of difficult concepts, including two-dimensional Fourier transforms, which are relevant to radio astronomy. He also works diligently to “become comfortable with talking about and explaining radio interferometry and research” both to fellow researchers and the general public. He recently submitted a paper titled “Radio Observations of the Unusual Tidal Disruption Event AT 2022wtn: a Fast and Highly Energetic Outflow” for publication.

The next steps toward Gavin’s career in astrophysics will take place here at the U, where he was recently accepted into the Ph.D. program in Physics & Astronomy. He will be funded by a prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

Wilder Dalton
(Chemistry)
College of Science Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher

Wilder is a graduating senior in Chemistry and has been working with Andrew Roberts, associate professor of chemistry, on experimental research with substituted phenanthrenes, since June 2023. Roberts applauds Wilder’s academic prowess, ability to help peers understand challenging concepts such as chirality, and innovative approaches to research.

Roberts says, “Wilder demonstrated an ability to consult literature, describe and understand a reaction on their own terms, and perform mental experiments that can be described as ‘paper chemistry.’ Wilder thinks on a high level and is an interactive team worker… is on the right track to attend and complete graduate school studies. . . .[and] also has the right motivation to work on independent research ideas. Their early aptitude and willingness to learn material quickly speak to their developing independence.”

Wilder’s rigorous and creative approach to science is making an impact. In one honors chemistry course, they created a flash animation cartoon to teach the Wittig reaction and shared it with their peers; after viewing the animation, students were able to readily predict the outcomes of the reaction. Roberts has adapted the cartoon and has already used it to help teach the reaction to students in several other courses.

Wilder, along with several peers, their grad student mentor Chelsea Valiton, and Roberts, recently published a paper in ChemRxiv, the archive service for unpublished preprints in chemistry and related areas, and they are in the process of submitting a second manuscript for publication as well. Wilder will be studying methods and strategies for complex molecule synthesis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison next year, in line with the NSF-funded research that they have been contributing to in Roberts’ lab.

Pramod Karthinkeyan
(Biology)
School of Medicine Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award

The 2026 School of Medicine Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher is Pramod Karthikeyan BS’26, a biology major with an emphasis in anatomy and physiology in the College of Science. For his Honors thesis, he is studied and visualized how the iris of the eye forms to better understand the process and when disruptions can lead to genetic conditions of visual impairment and blindness.

Kristen Kwan, professor of human genetics, applauds Pramod’s diligence and persistence as well as his groundbreaking research methodology, saying, “Collectively, Pramod’s work has provided the first opportunity ever to watch the iris as it forms in a living embryo and to quantitatively define the underlying cell movements, including when and where cells move, as well as how fast and how far they move.” His work has laid the foundation for future findings in Kwan’s lab, and she anticipates that Pramod will be a co-author on multiple manuscripts stemming from his contributions to the research.

In addition to his honors thesis, Pramod has participated in the Undergraduate Research Symposium in 2026, presented at Research on Capitol Hill in 2026, and attended the 10,000+ person Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Opthalmology (ARVO), a rare feat for an undergraduate student.

Juan Carlos de Obeso
(Geology & Geophysics)
College of Science Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor

Juan Carlos de Obeso, assistant professor in the Department of Geology & Geophysics, received the Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor award for 2026. De Obeso’s mentorship has been significant and meaningful to the students he supports during his first three years at the University of Utah.

One such student is Harrison Patton, a recent graduate with a bachelor’s degree in geoscience and an emphasis in geology and a research assistant with de Obeso who says, “What I initially thought would be a simple lab job preparing and cataloguing samples quickly turned into the single most valuable and influential experience of my undergraduate career. It was immediately clear to me that Dr. de Obeso was heavily invested in my development as a student and as a scientist, not because he needed help with his own research goals but because he genuinely cared about me.”

Patton noted de Obeso’s extraordinary support in professional development, citing his lessons on using a petrographic microscope, encouragement to present at his first-ever academic conference, and to enroll in a mass spectrometry short course at UCLA in which he was the only undergraduate. He says, “In all of these ways and more I have felt the direct impacts of Dr. de Obeso’s hard work, and it is evident that this is his approach to all of his undergraduate and graduate students. He always made time for me, and today I am a far more capable person because of it.”