Friday, May 21, 2010 in Mary Gates Hall

"Professor Bosma has been extremely supportive, kind, and generous with her knowledge. She keeps the laboratory atmosphere laid back, but always pushes us to apply our knowledge to our projects. She is very understanding of the concerns of undergraduates but still maintains high expectations for us. Professor Bosma should receive this award because of the atmosphere of learning, understanding and knowledge she fosters in her laboratory."

"I would like to nominate Jim Gawel for the Outstanding Mentor Award. Not only does Jim have many projects on his agenda and courses to teach, but he has taken the time to provide guidance and support throughout my research and academic career at UWT. Jim's patience, understanding, and expertise have helped make this process a truly enjoyable and challenging learning experience. Despite the many problems along the way, as in any research project, Jim has remained calm and provided assistance when necessary. Jim has especially taught me that it is okay to admit to not knowing something and how to seek out the information and help you need. Above all, I do not know many instructors, advisers, and mentors that would endure swimming through leech infested waters to retrieve data for their students and Jim has! These attributes and many more have made Jim Gawel a positive role model and great mentor."

"Matt Kaeberlein is extremely supportive of all his undergraduate researchers. Working in his lab, we are given autonomy in our project to set our own time line and create our own experiments as long as it falls within the scope of the lab's investigations. Matt is always willing to answer our questions and give us insightful inputs about our data and experiments. His methods of mentoring allow us to develop as independent and free thinking researchers and for that I am very grateful."

"Sheri should receive this award because she has supplied the perfect amount of guidance balanced with the freedom to explore this project and make it my own. I have been able to be involved in almost every step of the study from researching background information to putting together the results and drawing conclusions. I didn't just learn how to run the animals and collect data; I was introduced to the process of conducting an experiment. I got a taste of what it would be like to be a graduate student. I am so grateful that Sheri allowed me to play such a large role in this study and I have benefited greatly from it. Also, it was mainly due to her encouragement that I received the Mary Gates scholarship. Sheri and the experiences I have gained under her have shaped my undergraduate education in wonderful ways."

"As a mentor Jentery Sayers constantly pushes his students to exceed expectations while never demanding perfection. His project-based approach to classroom learning drives students to be competent in both theory and practice. These are difficult fronts to cover, but through computer integration of the classroom Jentery succeeds in creative approaches to authoring, responding, teaching, and feedback to students. The projects that I have developed under him have been an invaluable stepping stone in my academic progress. His emphasis on revision, collaboration, and student feedback should be the standard at this University: it is something I have come to expect from my professors and higher education."

"Dr. Jones is an exceptional mentor. His enthusiasm and constructive criticism have made my research fun and exciting. I've learned so many new research skills from him and I feel well prepared for graduate school as a result. . When I walked into Professor Jones' office one year ago, I was unsure of my future. When I walked out of his office a world of possibilities lay open before me. He convinced me to pursue research and has offered invaluable assistance and support since then. I had never dreamed that a PhD was a possibility and would never have considered going had it not been for this mentor."

"Dr. Suzie Pun has an amazing understanding of the needs of an undergraduate researcher. First, she makes sure that any undergraduate has a graduate mentor to provide guidance and technical support. It’s wonderful to always have someone to go to for everyday problems. Second, if you need to talk to her, she will make time and is always willing to talk. This makes me feel like I am part of the lab and not just passing through. Third, undergraduates work on important projects. I love knowing that I am contributing to the productivity of the lab and gaining a much better understanding of the research process."

"Professor Angelina Godoy has proven herself an outstanding mentor in her role as faculty advisor for the first-ever transnational Task Force at the UW. Within the space of 10 weeks, students did extensive background research, conducted dozens of interviews, traveled to Guatemala, and compiled a 50-page report, which was presented to UW President Mark Emmert. Throughout this intensive process, Professor Godoy supported students in innumerable ways and always encouraged students to take initiative, responsibility, and ownership of this project."

"Dr. Swanson is one of the most committed mentors at the UW. She devotes immense time and energy in training students to become scientists. Dr. Swanson engages in one-on-one meetings with students to discuss not only research goals, but also the students’ personal goals. She has ensured that my projects are aligned with my interests so that I have a solid foundation for future pursuits in medicine and medical research. She promotes collaborative work, which results in research that is multi-dimensional. Furthermore, she provides exposure to her students by taking them to research conferences and workshops, and initiating collaborative work with other principal investigators."

"I have been fortunate to have Dr. Rachel Ceballos as a mentor.  During our regular meeting, she commits to spending time with me and provides her undivided attention to my questions and concerns.  Despite the fact that my research involves lots of demanding laboratory work, she never hesitates to explain and guide me in the right direction by showing details of each step and providing specific examples in other studies.  She is also willing to introduce me to others in her network.  This actually helped me find a full-time research position that I will be starting after this summer quarter.  Perhaps the greatest assistance from her comes from the Biology Journal Club.  The Biology Journal Club is a weekly meeting group she created, in which she and her undergraduate students review and discuss recently published papers.  We discuss their statistical methods, findings and their writing qualities.  She is not only a knowledgeable scientist but also a good role model who is conscientious and hardworking."

"I applied for the Research Symposium on Christian Hendershot’s suggestion that he felt I was motivated and dedicated enough to start an individual research project and subsequently follow through successfully.  This type of encouragement is characteristic of Christian, who takes the time to attend to all of the undergraduates under his supervision.  He ensures that they are given the opportunity to take on new challenges and projects, and push themselves beyond a comfort zone to make their own achievements.  His ability to motivate others stems from his leading by example.  He has guided me through the entire research process for this symposium, and has always made himself available for even the simplest questions."

"I admire Kate Stoll much, either as my academic mentor or as a graduate student. Kate is a great mentor and has made my experiences as an undergraduate researcher fun, fantastic, intriguing, and productive.  Kate fosters my creativity, encourages my thoughts and ideas for my research project, and also helps me troubleshoot technical problems.  She always thinks positively and smartly, takes risks while doing her own research project, and is not afraid to propose and discuss her new research ideas.  In addition, Kate is also an excellent leader.  She holds an officer position in the Forum of Science Ethics and Policies.  Kate shows me that a responsible scientist should value the important relationship between conducting research and the community, which sometimes scientists tend to forget."

"I cannot imagine a more deserving recipient than Dr. de la Iglesia. The more I talk to friends about their experiences with their mentors, the luckier I feel to have gotten the opportunity to work in this lab. Horacio has been interested and supportive of my project, which makes being inexperienced considerably more bearable. He always answers questions and never makes anyone feel silly for having to ask. But I think the most important thing is the way he treats everyone in the lab: everyone is always treated with respect and courteousness. I have never, even on my first day, been treated like I was anything but an equal to everybody else. His treatment of all lab members has created an environment where everyone is respectful and helpful to everyone else. He is an outstanding role model, and if I am lucky enough to run my own lab someday, I hope I will be able to bring some of the same qualities to my lab that he has created in his."

"Friend, teacher, and mentor. These are but a few words that describe Professor Adam Geballe, whom I wish to nominate for the outstanding mentor award. I wish to nominate professor Geballe because as a sophomore in my first year of research, these qualities have made all the difference to me and to the success of my project. Day in and day out Professor Geballe always arrives in an optimistic mood, tirelessly leading the lab. No matter the day he is someone who is always on hand, and willing to help in any way possible. To make my experience unique, Professor Geballe took the burden of teaching upon his own shoulders. Demonstrating to me many of the essential skills needed to thrive in a lab, he has taught me the fundamentals of conducting a research project of my own. This was accomplished by challenging me and by pushing me to new limits, so as to ensure that I would not only learn but also grow as a student and as a researcher. Overall my experience in Professor Geballe’s lab has been an irreplaceable one, and I am truly proud to be a member of his lab."

"During Autumn quarter, I took a Social Welfare Research course from Dr. Tracy Harachi. As our class began to develop ideas for the final research proposal, Dr. Harachi acknowledged my idea as having potential for actually being a research project. She told me of the Mary Gates Endowment for students, and with her, I successfully obtained funding for the project during the 2006-2007 school year. As a mentor, Dr. Harachi has worked to keep me focused in a very structured way. She set clear deadlines and expectations for me, which helped me pass IRB approval in a timely fashion. She has a sense of humor that I appreciate, and she holds a passion for the research that she and her students are conducting. I will be forever grateful for Dr. Harachi's help during the last year--her wisdom, experience and humor have helped me to pave the way towards an interesting future in research."

"Peter is an outstanding mentor. Under his tutelage, I took an entire research study from conception to completion. He spent countless hours guiding me through every step of this process: obtaining IRB approval, writing a comprehensive research proposal, obtaining funding, completing data collection, and finally both coding and analyzing my data. He helped me improve my graduate school portfolio, and public speaking skills, by inviting me to assist in presenting a tutorial at an international conference. He talked with me at length,over months, regarding graduate school options.  Peter is an excellent teacher, frequently motivating me through questions rather than explicit directions. This has supported my growth as someone who thinks deeply and is self-directed.  Peter cares about all of his students as individual people. He is aware of, and sensitive to, our financial constraints. He has actively supported my mentoring of a 14-year old child who lives in group foster-care; he and fellow professor Batya Friedman even purchased a bike for this child as a gift. I credit much of my love of research, as well as my admission to a top-ranked PhD program, to the experiences I have had as his student. "