Thalia Alfaro
Legacy of Utah State
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Utah native Thalia Alfaro grew up learning about the importance of education and the need for a college education to create a better life. But she had few role models to guide her toward that path. Her parents, both immigrants from Mexico, had entered the United States with no education past high school, and struggled to provide for Thalia and her siblings. “I thought that I’d just graduate from high school, spend four years at a university and venture into the world with a solid career to...
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Kelvyn Bladen
Dean's Scholar
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A Cache Valley native from Hyrum, Utah, Kelvyn Bladen is a Math and Statistics Composite major with a minor in Finance. Since graduating as a Valedictorian from Mountain Crest High School in 2014, Kelvyn has continued to achieve notable scholastic accolades. He is a recipient of the USU Presidential Scholarship, the Utah Regent’s Scholarship, and the Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship. He’s on the Dean’s List and is a two-time recipient of the Utah State A-pin award...
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Tyler Bowles
Graduate Student Teacher of the Year
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A native of northern Utah, Tyler Bowles is an MS mathematics student at USU. Since graduating from high school, teaching has been Tyler’s primary career goal and it shows in his passion for teaching, leading recitations, preparing for classes, developing lesson plans and contributing to efforts to improve mathematics instruction at Utah State. As a graduate teaching assistant, Tyler has instructed Calculus I and Linear Algebra, led recitations for various math courses, developed and presented “Introduction to LaTeX”...
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Jared Bryan
Scholar of the Year
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Las Vegas, Nevada native Jared Bryan is a graduating senior physics and geology major with a minor in mathematics. A 2016 graduate of Las Vegas’ West Career and Technical Academy, Jared entered USU on a Dean’s Scholarship in Fall 2016. He’s since received a number of academic scholarships and recognitions. Jared’s interest in understanding how the Earth deforms in response to tectonic and climatic forces led him to pursue an URCO-funded research project with Geosciences faculty mentor Tony Lowry at the start of his...
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Brandon Calley
Dean's Scholar
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Raised in Kuna, Idaho, Brandon is a Human Biology major, with a minor in Chemistry. Since graduating as Salutatorian from Kuna High School in 2016, Brandon has continued to challenge himself in his academic and secular pursuits. He is the recipient of the Presidential Scholarship, the Alumni Legacy Scholarship, USU Science “A” pin, and was on the Dean’s List for all four years of attendance. Brandon was deeply involved in in vitro research at USU’s Institute for Antiviral...
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Ryden Crowther
Dean's Scholar
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Ryden is from Whitney, Idaho and graduated from Preston High School in 2013. He is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and minors in Spanish and Biology. While at USU, Ryden has received a number of scholarships, including the Seely-Hinckley Scholarship and the Lillywhite Presidential Scholarship. He has earned multiple awards in chemistry, including the Harris O. & Eleanor Y. Van Orden Award in Biochemistry, the Irving Condie Frost Award in Organic Chemistry, and...
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Matthew Hogan
Goldwater Scholar
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Undergraduate Research Fellow Matthew Hogan spends a lot of time in the lab watching plants grow – an endeavor he says is “far from boring.” The Cache Valley, Utah native studies cellular interactions in plants, writing computer programs to create theoretical models of plant stomata or “pores” in the leaves of plants. He’s developing hypotheses of how plants solve the challenge of adjusting stomatal apertures at the just right time, for just the right amount of time, to allow gas exchange, yet prevent the plant from losing...
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Greg Hoffmann
Dean's Scholar
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Greg is a Statistics, Actuarial Science emphasis, major, with a minor in Quantitative Finance. He graduated from Syracuse High School near his hometown of Clinton, Utah, in May 2014. Greg received USU’s Presidential Scholarship and was on the College of Science Dean’s List. Throughout his undergraduate career, he worked in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics as a grader, a tutor and a recitation leader. While studying at USU, Greg enjoyed participating in student organizations...
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Bo Johnson
Dean's Scholar
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Bo Johnson, a Physics major with minors in Mathematics and Computer Science hails from Provo, Utah. He graduated from Timpview High School in 2009. After earning a bachelor’s degree in finance from BYU in 2015, Bo found his real passion was in the sciences and he enrolled in USU’s Physics program in 2016. He is a recipient of the O. Harry Ottesen Award, an honor given to the student achieving the highest score in general physics. Bo is also a two-time recipient of the Howard L. Blood Fellowship for summer...
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Alexandra Lish
Undergraduate Researcher of the Year
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Alexandra “Alex” Lish is a senior majoring in both Biochemistry and Cellular/Molecular Biology. Her foothold into undergraduate research came at the end of her freshman year, when she joined Biology Professor Frank Messina’s laboratory. She focused on understanding pest resistance in cowpeas, a major source of dietary protein in Africa and South America. Alex’s contributions to multiple projects resulted in two publications
two additional papers in preparation, and a presentation at the Fall 2018 Biology
...
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Randi Rasmussen
Undergraduate Teaching Fellow of the Year
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Randi grew up in Heber, Utah and graduated from Wasatch High School in 2009. She attended Utah State for only one semester, before returning home. After getting married and having two little boys, she found the opportunity to return to Logan to continue her education at Utah State. Randi’s love for science and coaching high school swimming led her to set a goal of becoming a secondary education science teacher. She graduates this spring with her bachelor’s degree in Earth Science...
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Whitney Skabelund Conger
Dean's Scholar
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A Nevada native, Whitney graduates summa cum laude (4.0 GPA) with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Public Health Education. She previously graduated Phi Theta Kappa, with an Associate of Science Degree, from Western Nevada College, while attending Churchill County High School in Fallon, Nevada. At Utah State, Whitney was the recipient of Dean’s and Track and Field scholarships. She was also awarded the Department of Biology’s Dr. David B. Drown Scholarship for Public Health...
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Tatiana Soboleva
PhD Graduate Researcher of the Year
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A USU Presidential Doctoral Research Fellow and an American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellow, Tatiana Soboleva is pursuing a PhD in organic chemistry under the guidance of Professor Lisa Berreau (Chemistry and Biochemistry) and Professor Abby Benninghoff (Animal, Veterinary and Dairy Sciences).Tatiana’sinterest in cross-disciplinary research led her to studies directed at preparing molecular tools to explore the biological roles of carbon monoxide (CO), an important signaling molecule in humans akin to nitric...
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Heather Upin
Master's Graduate Researcher of the Year
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Geosciences graduate student Heather Upin loves sharing stories “told by rocks.” Her study of the geomicrobiology of Peruvian hydrothermal systems, the focus of her master’s thesis, led her to the Andes Mountains of Peru, where Heather sampled 14 hot springs along a transect from Cusco to Lake Titicaca. A self-taught microbiologist, Heather honed her skills while processing microbe samples in a committee member’s lab. She applied these skills to her current research, which seeks to link microbial community differences...
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Jesse Wheeler
Valedictorian
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Roosevelt, Utah native Jesse Wheeler, a dual mathematics and statistics major, is the College of Science’s 2020 Valedictorian. His faculty escort at commencement ceremonies will be Dr. Brennan Bean, assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. A 2014 graduate of Roosevelt’s Union High School, Wheeler entered USU on an academic scholarship and is the recipient of a USU Seely-Hinckley Scholarship, as well as scholarships from the Mathematics and Statistics Department...
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Jenny R. Whiteley
Goldwater Scholar
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Physicist Jenny R. Whiteley is a renaissance person. A violinist in a violin, flute, harp trio, her repertoire ranges from Shostakovich to Nat King Cole. She designs clothing, making her own patterns and sewing the creations, she illustrates video poetry books and, to support her education, runs her own gardening and cleaning business.“With the exception of second and third grades, I was homeschooled,” says the Cache Valley, Utah native. “This opportunity instilled in me self-motivation and perseverance, while preserving my...
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KimberLeigh Hadfield
Faculty Teacher of the Year
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Many students who arrive in Mathematics and Statistics Lecturer KimberLeigh Hadfield’s classes think “I can’t do math.” They complete her classes with a new appreciation for the discipline, along with solid quantitative skills and confidence in their ability to continue to pursue and succeed in mathematics and statistics study. Hadfield’s students and colleagues praise her classroom enthusiasm and skill in implementing a variety of active-learning techniques with real-life data that instill interest and understanding, while...
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Brynja Kohler
Faculty Graduate Mentor of the Year
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Dr. Brynja Kohler has been working with teachers at USU for 15 years. She joined the university as an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, having just completed her PhD in mathematical biology at the University of Utah, and with four years of experience teaching high school. With her first master’s student and collaborators, Dr. Kohler published an award-winning educational paper in the Bulletin of Mathematical Biology. This effort, along with other achievements, earned her promotion...
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Andreas Malmendier
Faculty Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year
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Andreas Malmendier joined USU’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics as an assistant professor in 2014. Since his arrival, Andreas is proud to have mentored numerous undergraduate students with majors in math, physics, and engineering. Under his supervision, Andreas’ students have earned impressive accolades for their research, including: two Goldwater Scholarships, two Cryptoanalysis Summer Internships with the National Security Agency, one USU Capstone Thesis of the Year Award, one College of...
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Mary-Ann Muffoletto
Staff Excellence Award of the Year
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Houston native Mary-Ann Muffoletto joined Utah State University’s Office of Public Relations and Marketing in 2001, and has served as the public relations specialist for USU’s College of Science since 2006. Among the university’s most prolific public relations writers, Mary-Ann submits weekly stories to Utah State Today, writes content for a range of other university print and Web publications and continually promotes USU research and accomplishments to local, state, national and international media. She serves as editor...
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Zhi-Qiang Wang
Faculty Researcher of the Year
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A professor in USU’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Zhi-Qiang’s research ranges from abstract theory in nonlinear functional analysis to applied analysis and computational mathematics, providing new tools and techniques for tackling challenge questions in partial differential equations from classical and emerging fields of applied science. He has published 190 papers and was named to the Highly Cited Researcher List for 2018 and 2019 by the Clarivate Analytics (Web of Science Group). Zhi-Qiang..
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