diversity | College of Science

N.S.F. Director

August 10, 2022

The National Science Foundation has announced a 2-to-4-year appointment of Denise Dearing as Director for the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems.

The Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) is one of four divisions within the Directorate of Biological Sciences at the NSF. The Division Director provides vision and leadership, and contributes to NSF’s mission by supporting fundamental research to advancing our understanding of organisms as integrated units of biological organization. The Division Director also provides guidance to program officers and administrative and support staff, and assesses needs and trends, develops breakthrough opportunities, implements overall strategic planning, and policy setting.

Both the NSF and the UU are supportive of Denise continuing to participate in her on-going research program and provide mechanisms and resources to enable the research in her group to continue and advance during her time at the NSF.

Dearing is Distinguished Professor in Biology at the University of Utah and a two-term former chair of the department which was made a School in 2018 after which she became director. The research in the Dearing lab focuses on understanding how small mammals overcome challenges related to diet and disease. “Our work draws on approaches from many disciplines (e.g., physiology, ecology, pharmacology, genetics, biochemistry, ethology) and combines field and laboratory studies,” says Dearing whose research website features three current projects: Understanding the genetic underpinnings that enable ingestion of poisonous diets; Investigating the role of gut microbes in facilitating the ingestion of dietary toxins; and Rules of Resilience: Modeling impacts of host-microbe interactions during perturbations.

Dearing earned her B.S. in Biology from Eastern Connecticut State University, 1985 an M.S. in Biology from the University of Vermont in 1988, and a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Utah in 1995. She served as Associate Dean, College of Science between 2012 and 2014.

Among her awards and honors are the 2018 Joseph Grinnell Award (American Society of Mammalogist); the 2014 C. Hart Merriam Award (American Society of Mammalogists); a 2008 Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Scholar Distinguished Mentor Award; and a 2008 Distinguished University Teaching Award (University of Utah).

Tiffany Do: Undergrad Research Scholar

July 17, 2022

Arches National Park, Moab, UT.

“My hero is my brother,” says Tiffany Do of her brother Anthony. “He’s the first in my family to graduate from the University of Utah. I look up to him because he’s gone through the trials in being a first-generation student and has helped me overcome some of those obstacles.”

Those obstacles can be daunting. Students who are first-generation college students talk about not knowing what even the right questions are to ask. Others talk about experiencing “imposter syndrome”—chronically feeling as though they are, any moment, about to be found out as someone who doesn’t belong in college.

So it makes sense that Do, who is a senior majoring in biology, would see her brother as a welcome guide to what can seem like an intimidating if not an impossible mountain to climb. But there were others who helped prepare this Taylorsville, Utah native to succeed at the college level, including her AP biology teacher Paige Ehler and her chemistry and biotechnology teacher Kristin Lillywhite who encouraged her to study the life sciences. And too, once Do arrived on campus, the ACCESS Scholars program also aided her in finding a home in STEM. The program, based in the College of Science, provided a scholarship as well as a network and experience with presenting her research at a symposium. As a senior she now works as an ACCESS mentor for others.

The results have been gratifying. Earlier this year Do had the experience of publishing her first paper in Intersect, an international Science, Technology, and Society research journal run by undergraduate students at Stanford University and supported by the Program in STS at Stanford. The journal welcomes undergraduate, graduate, and PhD submissions at the intersection of history, culture, sociology, art, literature, business, law, health, and design with science and technology, and its submissions are not exclusive to Stanford affiliates and generally span several continents.

Her article, co-authored with eight others, is titled Barriers to Accessibility of Algal Biofuels, a “companion piece to algal biofuel research with the goal of synthesizing relevant, contemporary considerations about how to expand algal biofuel to a modern society.”

That she is now published is perhaps a testament to the rich experience she’s had at the U in more than one research lab, including Dr. Catherine Loc-Carrillo’s Micro-Phage Epi Lab, Dr. James Van Etten Chlorovirus Lab and, currently, in the mycology lab under the direction of SBS’s Dr. Bryn Dentinger at Utah Museum of Natural History.

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to research at first,” she concedes when she was first accepted at the U. “I was given a list of labs I could be a part of for my honors thesis and I reached out to the Dentinger Lab.” She simply found it fascinating that it was a lab that studied fungi.

“I have been gaining skills in culturing fungi, extracting nucleic acids, and quantifying the abundance and integrity of extractions,” she explains while currently conducting “a culture growth experiment grown under varying conditions that mimic ecological stressors, to induce a stress response in ectomycorrhizal fungi,” a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or mycobiont, and the roots of various plant species.

Tiffany Do

“My hero is my brother,” says Tiffany Do of her brother Anthony. “He’s the first in my family to graduate from the University of Utah. I look up to him because he’s gone through the trials in being a first-generation student and has helped me overcome some of those obstacles.”

When asked to explain something interesting that most people don’t know about fungi, she explains how ectomycorrhizal fungi “form mutualistic relationships with trees. They play a key role in the nutrient cycle and there is still a lot to learn in understanding these organisms”

That said, she continues, “I’m still exploring what I really want to do once I graduate at the U.”

Meanwhile, Do is “paying it forward,” as she is “passionate about helping students especially first-gen in finding their place on campus.”

In addition to her ACCESS Scholarship she has seen nine other awards come her way, including most recently, a Research Scholars Award funded by the Mountaineer Endowment at the School of Biological Sciences. The award will help her this summer and fall semester complete her honors thesis.

Outside of class and lab work, Do is active in the Asian American Student Association (AASA), a student-led organization at the U that celebrates and promotes awareness of Asian cultures. “My family [members were] … refugees from Vietnam. This organization is a great way for me to connect with others that have similar backgrounds while also expanding my knowledge of other cultures.” She also takes advantage of Utah’s outdoor recreation as she loves to rock climb. This activity has proven a release from the trials of the pandemic which has affected her—as it has all of us.

“It’s hard to connect and keep in contact [with other people] when everything was online.” Related to that, her advice to other undergraduates or those considering attending college is “to reach out for help. As someone who has a hard time reaching out and sharing my struggles, I learned the hard way that it was necessary in my own life. There are people willing to be there for you, you just have to be willing to put in that trust. There are advisors and friends that are willing to listen.”

And for Tiffany Do, there’s also been her “hero” brother who graduated this year in mathematics and quantitative analysis of markets & organizations before securing work. He continues to help show his sister the way.

Betty Vetter Award

June 21, 2022

Ramón Barthelemy

Ramón S. Barthelemy, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Utah, has been awarded the 2022 WEPAN (Women in Engineering ProActive Network) Betty Vetter Research Award for notable achievement in research related to women in engineering. The award is named in memory of Betty M. Vetter, long-time director of the Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology, who served as the first treasurer of WEPAN and was a founding member of the Board of Directors.

Barthelemy is an early-career physicist with a record of groundbreaking scholarship and advocacy that has advanced the field of physics education research as it pertains to gender issues and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)+ physicists.

“WEPAN is an impactful member society that hosts the ARC STEM Equity Network, an intersectional effort supporting equity research in STEM,” said Barthelemy. “I am humbled and honored to have my work recognized by an organization that works so tirelessly to enhance inclusion with considerable focus on the various intersections of identity one can have. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with both WEPAN and the ARC STEM Equity Network.”

The field of physics struggles to support students and faculty from historically excluded groups. Barthelemy has long worked to make the field more inclusive—he has served on the American Association of Physics Teachers’ (AAPT) Committee on Women in Physics and on the Committee on Diversity—and was an early advocate for LGBT+ voices in the AAPT. He co-authored “LGBT Climate in Physics: Building an Inclusive Community,” an influential report for the American Physical Society, and the first edition of the “LGBT+ Inclusivity in Physics and Astronomy Best Practices Guide,” which offers actionable strategies for physicists to improve their departments and workplaces for LGBT+ colleagues and students.

Barthelemy recently served as co-lead author on a study of LGBT+ physicists that detailed the difficulties, harassment, and other behaviors that make them leave the profession.

“LGBT+ people feel shunned, excluded and are continually having to readjust and twist themselves to fit into the physics community,” said Barthelemy. “LGBT+ people are inherently a part of this field. If you want physics to be a place that anyone can participate, we have to talk about these issues.”

Gender has a big impact on a person’s perception of their environment. While about 15% of LGBT+ men reported an uncomfortable or very uncomfortable experience, 25% of women and 40% of gender non-conforming people reported similar experiences.

“The study tells us that support has to be available in the entire institution,” said Barthelemy. “LGBT+ individuals in all departments have to be continually coming out when we engage with the broader campus community and new people, since our LGBT identity is seldom assumed. By making our presence known, we can help encourage greater equity, diversity and inclusion throughout the institution.”

U of U PRIDE!

In 2019, Barthelemy joined the U’s College of Science as its first tenure-track faculty focusing on physics education research (PER), a field that explores how people learn the content and culture of physics. Since arriving, he has built a program that gives students rigorous training in physics concepts and in education research, qualities that prepare students for jobs in academia, education policy, or general science policy. He founded the Physics Education Research Group at the University of Utah (PERU), where he and a team of postdoctoral scholars and graduate and undergraduate students explore how graduate programs policies impact students’ experience, long-term studies of the experience of women in physics and astronomy and of students of color in STEM programs, and understanding the impacts of a sense of belonging on a student’s performance in introductory STEM courses.

“We talk about inclusivity and diversity in the classroom, but there needs to be more research about what that means. We look at various aspects of interactive classrooms and how it impacts their content learning outcomes,” said Barthelemy. “If you feel like you belong in the classroom, if you feel comfortable raising your hand, you can participate in groups, teaching and learning from peers—that’s an example of inclusivity, looking at people’s sense of belonging.”

The research has implications beyond the classroom—Barthelemy uses the findings to inform and develop policies and best practices to support people from historically excluded groups in physics. “It helps us teach better, but also understanding the culture of physics has implications in the quality of research done in national labs, for example, that inevitably impacts people across the country,” he said.

Barthelemy has had an untraditional journey to academia. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in astrophysics at Michigan State University and received his Master of Science and doctorate degrees in PER at Western Michigan University. “Originally, I went to graduate school for nuclear physics, but I discovered I was more interested in diversity, equity, and inclusion in physics and astronomy. Unfortunately, there were very few women, People of Color, LGBT or first-generation physicists in my program,” said Barthelemy, who looked outside of physics to understand why. “I found this quite curious,” he said.

In 2021, Barthelemy received the Doc Brown Futures Award, an honor that recognizes early career members who demonstrate excellence in their contributions to physics education and exhibit excellent leadership.

Barthelemy’s work has also been recognized with external funding to complete his projects. In 2020, he and his U colleagues Jordan Gerton and Pearl Sandick were awarded $200,000 from the National Science Foundation to complete a case study exploring the graduate program changes in the U’s Department of Physics & Astronomy. In the same year, Barthelemy received a $350,000 Building Capacity in Science Education Research award to continue his longitudinal study on women in physics and astronomy and created a new study on People of Color in U.S. graduate STEM programs. Lastly, Barthelemy was selected to conduct a literature review on LGBT+ scientists as a virtual visiting scholar by the ARC Network, an organization dedicated to improving STEM equity in academia.

In 2014, Barthelemy completed a Fulbright Fellowship at the University of Jyväskylä, in Finland where he completed research looking at student motivations to study physics in Finland. In 2015, he received a fellowship from the American Association for the Advancement of Science Policy in the United States Department of Education and worked on science education initiatives in the Obama administration. After acting as a consultant for university administrations and research offices, he began to miss doing his own research and made the decision to come to Utah.

About WEPAN
Based in Washington, D.C., WEPAN was founded as a non-profit educational organization in 1990. It is the nation’s first network dedicated to advancing cultures of inclusion and diversity in engineering higher education and workplaces. The WEPAN Awards honor key individuals, programs, and organizations for accomplishments that underscore WEPAN’s mission to advance cultures of inclusion and diversity in engineering education and professions. WEPAN Award honorees demonstrate extraordinary service, significant achievement, model programs, and exemplary work environments.

Outstanding Advisor

June 14, 2022

Cyri Dixon has been named a NACADA Outstanding New Advisor.

Cyri Dixon, the Undergraduate Academic Advising Coordinator for the Department of Physics & Astronomy, has won the Outstanding New Advisor Award – Primary Role Category – from the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA). Award selection is extremely competitive and designed to honor and recognize professionals who have made significant contributions to the field of academic advising in higher education. Candidates are nominated by their institution, and each application is carefully reviewed by NACADA committee members. All outstanding advisor nominations include a comprehensive list of the nominee’s professional qualifications, academic accomplishments, letters of support, and documented advising success.

Cyri Dixon

“I am grateful to work with such fantastic students, staff, and faculty. Advising is challenging, but working with my wonderful students makes it all worth it.”

“I am very honored to receive this award,” said Dixon. “I am grateful to work with such fantastic students, staff, and faculty. This award really highlights the strides we have been able to make in our department to create a better student experience and build a community where all students feel welcome and successful. Advising is challenging, but working with my wonderful students makes it all worth it.”

Dixon was previously recognized for her exemplary advising work when she was named Outstanding New Academic Advisor in 2021 by the University of Utah Academic Advising Community (UAAC). She serves as the only undergraduate advisor for the department and has proven to be a valuable resource to undergraduate physics students in all areas of academic advising. She has 236 physics major students that she meets with regularly, and she takes pride in knowing each student by name. She helps each develop a course plan that fits their interests, and she connects them to research and internship opportunities, campus resources, and the department community.

Here are comments from the University of Utah’s President’s Office, faculty, staff, and students about Dixon and her work:

“Dear Cyri, The President’s Office received this email of gratitude from a parent recognizing the talented staff and student employees at our university. Thank you for the hard work, kindness, and caring dedication you show our students and families. You are appreciated, and we value your contribution to the success of our students and university. We know this comes from colleagues like you who make it happen. Thank you.”
~Office of the President

“Whenever I am worried about a student, Cyri knows what is going on or knows what to do to address the problem. Thank you for your help, patience, and for caring about all our students.”
~Dr. Tugdual Stephan Lebohec, faculty

“Cyri’s work represents many of NACADA’s Core Values, but most striking is her laser-like focus on empowering her students. In her philosophy, Cyri shares a little of her own experience as a first-generation student from a rural area; knowing that there so many talented and brilliant students who are limited in opportunities and resources, she [Cyri] writes that this ‘drives my motivation to help any student who walks in my door to not only survive and graduate, but also thrive and make the most of their experience.’”
~Stephanie Begaye, and Ashley Glenn, UAAC Advisor Awards Committee Co-Chairs

“Cyri has been a terrific advisor for me. She has always been available for chats or emails and been quick to respond to all of my questions, even unusual or specific ones that are only tangentially related to completing a physics degree. After every meeting I’ve had with her, I tell my wife, ‘she’s a great advisor.’ I think Cyri absolutely deserves this award.”
~student comment

“Cyri, thank you for taking the time to write a letter of recommendation on my behalf. I wanted to let you know I was accepted into two programs, one of them being the University of Utah! This is a huge step in pursuing my career goals and an immense accomplishment for me.”
-student comment

A first-generation graduate of Utah State University, with a degree in Physical Sciences Education, Dixon also has minor degrees in physics and chemistry teaching. She recently earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Utah. Originally from Idaho, she returned to Utah after living in the Midwest and teaching middle school science and engineering in Arizona. She loves hot air ballooning, Wonder Woman, and her dog, Roka.

About NACADA
Since 1983, NACADA has honored individuals and institutions making significant contributions to the improvement of academic advising. The goal of NACADA is to promote quality academic advising and professional development of its membership to enhance the educational development of students. For more information, visit NACADA.

Phi Beta Kappa

May 16, 2022

Muskan Walia Named Phi Beta Kappa Society Scholar.

Muskan Walia, a second-year student at the University of Utah Honors College, studying math
and philosophy, has been named a Key into Public Service Scholar by the Phi Beta Kappa Society. The Society is the nation’s most prestigious academic honor society, and the Key into Public Service award highlights specific pathways for arts and sciences graduates to launch public sector careers.

Chosen from nearly 900 applicants attending Phi Beta Kappa chapter institutions across the nation, the Key into Public Service Scholars hail from 17 states. These are high-achieving college sophomores and juniors, who display notable breadth and depth in their academic interests.

“I am extremely grateful and honored to be receiving this award from Phi Beta Kappa,” said Walia. “My community here at the University of Utah has provided me with a prodigious liberal arts and sciences education and has nurtured my interest in exploring the dynamics between science, society, and the public sector. I am excited for the incredible opportunity to further explore this interest this summer.”

Walia is an ACCESS Scholar and undergraduate researcher, working with Dr. Fred Adler, Professor of Biology and of Mathematics. In her research, Walia adapted an epidemiological SIR model for spread of disease to model the number of cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 in order to predict when different types of tests will produce false positives or false negatives.

“My summer in the ACCESS Scholars program sparked an interest and motivation to pursue a career in public service,” she said. “Being taught by faculty across the University of Utah in diverse disciplines, I learned about the intersections of science, communication, and policy and how scientists can practice the art of advocacy.

Muskan Walia

"My community here at the University of Utah has provided me with a prodigious liberal arts and sciences education and has nurtured my interest in exploring the dynamics between science, society, and the public sector."

“Working under the mentorship of Dr. Fred Adler has been invaluable. I wanted to be engaged in mathematics research that centered on justice and informed public policy. There was truly no better pairing than with Dr. Adler. He has wholeheartedly supported and encouraged my curiosity and passion to utilize mathematics principles to tackle the most pressing social justice related questions of our time.”

In addition to her studies, Walia currently serves as the ASUU student government Senate Chair and works as a youth environmental organizer in the Salt Lake City area. She founded a campaign to commit her local school district to a 100% clean electricity transition by 2030, and has assisted with the expansion of local clean energy campaigns in Utah school districts. She is also a leader and mentor at Utah Youth Environmental Solutions Network (UYES), where she supports the development of a new youth-based climate justice curriculum. Her experiences have cultivated a passion and commitment to community building, climate education, and environmental justice.

Each Key into Public Service Scholar will receive a $5,000 undergraduate scholarship and take part in a conference in late June in Washington, D.C. to provide them with training, mentoring, and reflection on pathways into active citizenship.

Below are the names of the 2022 Key into Public Service Scholars and their chapter institutions:

Aylar Atadurdyyeva, University of Kansas
Miguel Coste, University of Notre Dame
Noelle Dana, University of Notre Dame
Grace Dowling, Clark University
Brandon Folson, Loyola University Chicago
Justin Fox, University of Maryland- College Park
Sora Heo, University of California - San Diego
Alec Hoffman, Clark University
Samiha Islam, State University of New York at Buffalo
Ruthie Kesri, Duke University
Katherine Marin, University of Florida
Sondos Moursy, University of Houston
Olivia Negro, Ursinus College
Emily Geigh Nichols, Stanford University
Paul Odu, University of Missouri
Vaidehi Persad, University of South Florida
Diba Seddighi, University of Tennessee
James Suleyman, Roanoke College
Jonah Tobin, Williams College
Muskan Walia, University of Utah
For more information about the scholarship and links to individual biographies of the recipients, please visit pbk.org/KeyintoPublicService.

Fulbright Scholar

May 10, 2022

Rose Godfrey Named 2022 Fulbright Scholar.

According to the Fulbright director at the U, "The Fulbright program is the flagship international educational exchange program designed to build relationships between people in the U.S. and in other countries with the aim of solving global challenges. It is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Grant recipients are selected based on academic and professional achievement as well as a record of service and demonstrated leadership in their respective fields."

I am graduating with a Biochemistry degree, I decided to major in chemistry at the end of sophomore year after the organic chemistry series. I really enjoyed those courses, so much so that I was a teaching assistant for Dr. Holly Sebahar. I have worked in the Bone & Biofilm Research Lab with Dr. Dustin Williams in the Department of Biomedical Engineering since sophomore year.

Rose Godfrey

"During my freshman year, I started volunteering at Promise South Salt Lake Hser Ner Moo Community Center through the Bennion Center where I tutored and read with kids."

I became interested in applying for the Fulbright ETA program from working with kids in several volunteer opportunities and as a ski instructor at Solitude Resort. During my freshman year, I started volunteering at Promise South Salt Lake Hser Ner Moo Community Center through the Bennion Center where I tutored and read with kids. I also started volunteering with Science in the Parks on campus the summer before my junior year. Science in the Parks provides kids opportunities to experience the wonders of science through hands-on experiments to encourage kids on the west side of Salt Lake City to become scientists. I was also president of the American Chemical Society’s Green Chemistry Committee and was involved in outreach that ACS did with local community centers and schools to get kids interested in chemistry.

Outside of research and school, in my free time I like to ski, climb, roller skate, attempt to skateboard, and to propagate plants. I have also picked up crocheting and enjoy doing puzzles.

Teaching Assistantship

May 9, 2022

Seungsu Lee Awarded Teaching Assistantship from the University of Utah

Graduate student Seungsu Lee has received a Teaching Assistantship Award from the University of Utah. The award is designed to bolster undergraduate education while providing graduate students with experience teaching in undergraduate environments. The opportunity is for full-time graduate teaching assistants.

“Receiving the award means a lot to me in different ways,” said Lee. “It tells me that my proposal is effective and will help many people who study math. Also, the award ensures support from the department and my mentor in implementing my proposal into an actual class. In terms of my career, the award confirms my teaching skills. I learned English as a second language, and I have a strong Korean accent, so receiving the award proves that one can develop communication and teaching skills to teach mathematics efficiently regardless one’s background.”

"When I teach, I love to communicate with students, tell them what they’re doing correctly, and teaching them how to do mathematical reasoning. In particular, I like the moment when students understand what I’m teaching about a mathematical concept, and I can see the “aha” moment in their faces."

Lee will be teaching an asynchronous online class for Math 2270—Linear Algebra--and will have responsibility for creating lecture videos for the department website. Asynchronous learning allows an instructor flexibility in creating a learning environment that will allow for different kinds of learners and learning styles. Lee’s academic advisor is Professor Karl Schwede, and his mentor for the project is Assistant Professor (Lecturer) Matt Cecil.

“I like to chat about mathematics with other people,” said Lee. “When I teach, I love to communicate with students, tell them what they’re doing correctly, and teaching them how to do mathematical reasoning. In particular, I like the moment when students understand what I’m teaching about a mathematical concept, and I can see the “aha” moment in their faces.”

When Lee was a child, his father showed him the magic square. The magic square is a square array of numbers in which all the rows, columns, and diagonals add up to the same sum, which is called the magic constant. This is the fun part in working through the square—you get the same number when you add numbers for each row, column, or even diagonals. “As far as I can remember, the magic square marked the first time that I ever saw a mathematical puzzle,” said Lee. He was very interested in the algorithm to solve the magic square. As he got older, he started to do more and more math. When he was in high school, he had a great math teacher, who showed him rigorous ways to think about calculus by using epsilon and delta. This was a turning point for Lee that made him decide to forge a career in math.

He completed his undergraduate degree at Yonsei University in South Korea. “I got interested in algebraic geometry when I was an undergraduate,” he said. “Unfortunately, my university’s graduate school didn’t focus on this area of math, so I searched online and was excited to see that the U’s Math Department has a huge research group in algebraic geometry. I was so happy to be accepted to the department’s program.” After he earns a Ph.D., he plans to seek a research position.

Graduate Research Fellowship

May 9, 2022

Sanghoon Kwak has been awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) from the University of Utah.

Sanghoon Kwak, a third-year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Mathematics, has been awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) from the University of Utah. The purpose of the GRF is to provide graduate students with an opportunity to do full-time research during an academic year. Recipients are selected and evaluated on the quality and impact of their research or creative project, their achievements, and their potential for success.

“I am tremendously honored and humbled to receive a GRF,” said Kwak. “It’s a huge affirmation of the work I’ve done for last three years and an encouraging nod to my future work. The fellowship will allow me to have more solid blocks of time to dedicate to my research. I also want to recognize the support, trust, and patience I’ve received from my advisors, Distinguished Professor Mladen Bestvina, and Assistant Professor Priyam Patel.”

"I also want to recognize the support, trust, and patience I’ve received from my advisors, Distinguished Professor Mladen Bestvina, and Assistant Professor Priyam Patel."

Kwak studies geometric group theory, which is an area of mathematics devoted to studying groups, endowing them with a metric, and treating them as geometric objects. Geometric group theory is a relatively new area of mathematics, providing a variety of applications to geometry, topology, group theory, number theory and graph theory.Many junior researchers have been drawn to this field, and the Math Department at the university has one of the leading groups.

In his research, Kwak works on the group of symmetries of infinite graphs that correspond to infinite-type surfaces. In the fall of 2021, Dr. Bestvina and Dr. Yael Algom-Kfir, a lecturer at the University of Haifa in Israel who received her Ph.D. in mathematics from the U in 2010, conducted a pioneering study on the symmetry group of infinite-type graphs. Based on this study, Kwak and other colleagues in the Math Department were able to develop a complete classification, of which infinite-type graphs have symmetry groups with “interesting” geometry. The GRF will allow him to continue his work in this area.

Kwak has always enjoyed the beauty, simplicity, and universality of math. “One of the things I like about mathematics, compared to the other sciences, is that mathematical knowledge has no expiration date,” he said. “An established fact in mathematics, as long as it is rigorously proved, rests forever. For me, publishing a paper is like putting a small stone out there that will last. The stone could be a part of a cornerstone of a castle to build on; it could be placed on top of a pyramid of stones; or it could serve as a kind of Rosetta stone that unlocks understanding between different fields; or it could contribute to a mosaic of stones that helps us understand a larger piece of a picture.”

He received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in South Korea. During his undergraduate education, Dr. Bestvina visited KAIST and gave a lecture on geometric group theory. Kwak attended his presentation and wanted to learn more about the correspondence between surfaces and graphs. Following graduation, Kwak was accepted to the U for graduate school. After he receives his Ph.D., he hopes to continue his research and teach at a university.

Below is an example of Kwak’s work.

National Academy of Sciences

May 4, 2022

Valeria Molinero elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Molinero is the Jack and Peg Simons Endowed Professor of Theoretical Chemistry and the director of the Henry Eyring Center for Theoretical Chemistry. She is a theoretical chemist and uses computer and statistical models to explore the science of how crystals form and how matter changes from one phase to another down to the atomic scale.

Much of her work has involved the transition between water and ice and how that transition occurs in the formation of clouds, in insects with antifreeze proteins, and in food products, especially those containing sugars. Her work has implications for any process in which control of the formation and growth of ice crystals is critical, including snowmaking at ski resorts, protection of crops from freezing, preservation of human organs and tissue for transplant, and production of ice cream and gelato, her favorite food. In 2020, she and her international colleagues demonstrated that the smallest possible nanodroplet of water that can freeze into ice is around 90 molecules, a finding that earned them the 2020 Cozzarelli Prize from the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and recipient of several U awards, including the Distinguished Scholarly and Creative Research Award in 2019, the Extraordinary Faculty Achievement Award in 2016, the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award in 2012 and the College of Science Myriad Faculty Award for Research Excellence in 2011. She has also been honored by the Beckman Foundation with its Young Investigator Award, and by the International Association for the Properties of Water and Steam with its Helmholtz Award.

Valeria Molina

"There’s satisfaction that comes from seeing someone grow from the beginning of the Ph.D. into an accomplished researcher."

Valeria heard about her election between the news of a new publication with postdoctoral scholar Debdas Dhabal and preparations for a doctoral student’s dissertation defense. She received a phone call from colleague Dale Poulter, a distinguished professor emeritus and National Academy of Sciences member, to announce her election. “I was shocked,” she says. “To say it was a surprise would not do it justice. It was fantastic.”

Minutes later, she went into the dissertation defense, reflecting on the range of accomplishments represented by the publication, the election and the defense. “All the research is made essentially there, in the work of the students and postdocs,” she says. “There’s satisfaction that comes from seeing someone grow from the beginning of the Ph.D. into an accomplished researcher.”

Molinero is among 120 U.S. scientist-scholars and 30 foreign associates elected at the Academy’s Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. She joins 16 other current University of Utah researchers who’ve been elected to the Academy. The National Academies, which also include the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, recognizes scholars and researchers for significant achievements in their fields and advise the federal government and other organizations about science, engineering and health policy. With today’s elections, the number of National Academy of Sciences members stands at 2,512, with 517 foreign associates.

Past & Present

National Academy of Sciences:
Brenda Bass, Cynthia Burrows, Mario Capecchi, Dana Carroll, Thure Cerling, James Ehleringer, Kristen Hawkes, James O’Connell, Baldomero “Toto” Olivera, C. Dale Poulter, Peter Stang, Wesley Sundquist, Polly Wiessner, Henry Harpending, Jesse D. Jennings, Erik Jorgensen, Cheves Walling, Sidney Velick, John R. Roth, Josef Michl, Ray White, Julian Steward, Jeremy Sabloff, Henry Eyring and Louis Goodman and Mary C. Beckerle.
National Academy of Engineering:
Jindrich Kopecek, R. Peter King, Adel Sarofim, Sung Wan Kim, Gerald Stringfellow, Donald Dahlstrom, George Hill, Jan D. Miller, Milton E. Wadsworth, Thomas G. Stockham, John Herbst, Stephen C. Jacobsen, Willem J. Kolff, Alex G. Oblad, Anil Virkar and William A. Hustrulid.
National Academy of Medicine:
Mario Capecchi, Wendy Chapman, Sung Wan Kim, Vivian Lee, Baldomero “Toto” Olivera, Stephen C. Jacobsen, Eli Adashi, Paul D. Clayton and Homer R. Warner.

Outstanding Post-Doc

May 2, 2022

Amir Hosseini has received an Outstanding Post-Doctoral Fellow Award from the College of Science.

Amir received his PhD in Chemistry from Indiana University, where he trained with one of the world’s premier organic electrochemists (Dr. Dennis Peters). He then joined the University of Utah in December 2020, as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the NSF Center of Organic Synthetic Electrochemistry (CSOE) where he is working in Prof. Henry White’s laboratory.

Amir’s research project is focused on the discovering novel electroorganic transformations and using variety of electroanalytical tools to explore the mechanism of the reaction at the molecular level. Recently, he developed a new synthetic strategy for electrooxidation of alcohols that is refer to as electroreductive oxidation. The general idea is to electrochemically generate highly oxidizing radicals by reduction of a sacrificial reagent, i.e., reduction is used to initiate a desired oxidation reaction. Amir has demonstrated that this process is effective for selective oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes and acids.

Amir Hosseini

Amir is greatly passionate about mentoring and education of the next generation of scientists. He participated in the Science Research Initiative (SRI) program during the 2021 spring semester when he mentored undergraduate students.

This mentorship activity included defining research projects, teaching each student the basic knowledge relevant to their research project, and supervising the progress of research projects. Additionally, he has been part of ACCESS program working with other CSOE volunteers to assist students in performing at-home chemistry experiments. Finally, he mentors graduate students, teaching them the fundamentals of electrochemistry and laboratory safety, and advising them on their graduate research.

Equity and inclusion in academic setting is a very important matter for Amir. He is currently serving as the post-doc representative on the DEI committee of the Department of Chemistry. However, his outreach activities are not limited to academia. He volunteers to help new Iranian and Afghan families settling in Salt Lake City. In this role, he assists families who need a translator for taking care of paperwork, enrolling their children in school, and communicating with federal and state officials regarding their urgent needs.

National Science Foundation