2025 Natural Sciences Faculty and Staff Award winners

Awardees recognized for exceptional research, teaching, mentoring, service

Winners of the School of Natural Sciences' 2025 faculty and staff awards
● Exemplary Faculty Award: Bonnie Bartel, Biosciences

● Breakthrough Research Award: Christopher Leininger, Mathematics

● Rising Star Award: Yang Gao, Biosciences

● Excellence in Postdoctoral Research Award: Yi Cheng, Chemistry

● Award for Outstanding Teaching: Laura Kabiri, Kinesiology

● Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring Award: Guido Pagano, Physics and Astronomy

● Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring Award: Edison Liang, Physics and Astronomy

● Excellence in Outreach Award: Kasey Leigh Yearty, Chemistry

● Outstanding Faculty Service Award: Anthony Várilly-Alvarado, Mathematics

● Ruth M. Parks Award for Distinguished Service: Lee Willson, Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences

● Outstanding Staff Service Award: Nancy Adler, Chemistry

Read more about school awards.

Winners of the School of Natural Sciences 2025 awards for outstanding service, teaching, mentoring and research.
Dean of Natural Sciences Tom Killian with 2025 school faculty and staff awardees. From left to right: Yang Gao, Lee Willson, Christopher Leininger, Edison Liang, Killian, Nancy Adler, Kasey Leigh Yearty, Laura Kabiri, Bonnie Bartel, Guido Pagano and Yi Cheng.