Posted on March 27, 2026 by College of Sciences
#CollegeNews
The College of Sciences Is Well Represented at the 2026 University Excellence Awards
By Ryan Schoensee
Congratulations to all our College of Sciences faculty and staff who have been selected as semi-finalists for this year's University Excellence Awards. Your hard work and dedication are vital to the success of our college and students.
Additionally, the college will hold a Faculty and Staff Awards Celebration Lunch on Tuesday, April 14 in the JPL Assembly Room.
Lastly, we encourage you to attend the University Excellence Awards Ceremony, where winners in each category will be announced. The ceremony will be held on April 28 from 9:30 to 11:00 am in the H-E-B Student Union Ballrooms.
We also extend our congratulations to all faculty and staff who were nominated for the University Excellence Awards.
View the full list of COS semi-finalists below:
FACULTY
Advancing Globalization — Arturo A. Ayón, Physics & Astronomy
Community Engagement — Angela Speck, Physics & Astronomy
Core Curriculum Teaching — Reza Aghayan, Mathematics
Undergraduate Teaching Award — Mariah Hopkins, Biology, Health, and the Environment
Research Achievement — Janakiram Seshu, Molecular Microbiology & Immunology and Alexey A. Soshnev, Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology
Teaching Excellence — Lacy J. Barton, Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology and Thomas Forsthuber, Molecular Microbiology & Immunology and Akanksha Matta, Chemistry
University Service — Eddie Hernandez, Biology, Health, and the Environment and Zachary J. Tonzetich, Chemistry
STAFF
Team Spirit — Laura Earleywine and Janice Marshall, NDRB & MMI ASOs
Extra Mile — Saima Humayun, Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology
Leadership — Steven Quezada, Biology, Health, and the Environment
Rising Star — Kiva Zinn, Business Service Center
Order of the Roadrunner — Iliana Salazar, Mathematics
Excellence in Service to Undergraduate Students — Christopher Dunn, Physics & Astronomy
Collaboration Champion — Bryan Tobias, Physics & Astronomy
Excellence in Customer Care — Jean-Luk Rueda, Chemistry
— College of Sciences
