UCSB Students Receive Chancellor's and Other Research Awards

Three graduating seniors and two graduate students have been recognized for their outstanding contributions to undergraduate research at UC Santa Barbara.

The Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research for 2013 has been awarded to Alon Chapovetsky of San Jose, who has completed a bachelor's degree in chemistry.

An undergraduate in the laboratory of Trevor Hayton, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, Chapovetsky has conducted important research that involves the synthesis of new metal ketimide complexes, which are being investigated as precursors for high-oxidation state materials. In describing Chapovetsky, one faculty nominator noted that he "displays a sophisticated grasp of his research and is able to make creative leaps that are usually only seen in senior graduate students or postdoctoral fellows."

As a result of his research success, Chapovetsky is co-author on two manuscripts, and the third author on another, which was recently published in Angewandte Chemie, the peer-reviewed journal of the German Chemical Society. He is also the second author on a manuscript that appeared recently in the science journal Chemical Communications.

Chapovetsky will continue his research pursuits in inorganic synthesis in the fall, when he begins a graduate program at Cornell University, UC San Diego, or UCLA.

Other awards for outstanding research include the College of Creative Studies Faculty Executive Committee Commendation of Excellence Awards, which were presented to Gil Tabak of San Diego, who is double majoring in physics and mathematics, and Yidi Wang, of Santa Barbara, who has earned a bachelor's degree in biology.

Katlyn Roggensack and Ashley Wright have each received a Fiona Goodchild Award for Excellence as a Graduate Student Mentor of Undergraduate Research. Roggensack is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication, where her research interests focus on interpersonal communication, new media and technology, health, and conflict. Wright is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, where her area of emphasis is inorganic chemistry. Both have made exceptional contributions to the scholarly development of undergraduate students.