Academic Accolades
Pitt student won a Newman Civic Fellowship
Avni Khandelwal, a sophomore biochemistry major in Pitt’s Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and David C. Frederick Honors College, received a 2026-27 Newman Civic Fellowship.
2 professors won American Chemical Society honors
Angela M. Gronenborn, Distinguished Professor of Structural Biology in the School of Medicine, won the Nakanishi Prize, and Kay M. Brummond, professor in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Chemistry, won an Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award from the American Chemical Society.
Undergrad was named to the Hillel International Student Cabinet
Ashley Mason, a senior in the School of Education, was selected to serve on the Hillel International Student Cabinet for the 2026-27 academic year. Hillel International is the world’s largest Jewish campus organization supporting Jewish life, learning and community for college students.
10 Pitt people made Pittsburgh Magazine’s 40 Under 40 list
Ten University of Pittsburgh affiliates were named to Pittsburgh Magazine’s 2026 40 Under 40 list
Cooper named to Forbes’ list of most successful living veterans
Rory Cooper was named to the Forbes 250: America’s Most Successful Living Veteran list in recognition of founding the University of Pittsburgh’s Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL), where he designs wheelchair technology that helps reduce repetitive use injuries.
Putnam elected vice president of research for the American Historical Association
Lara Putnam, a professor in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of History, has been elected vice president of research for the American Historical Association. She will serve a three-year term beginning January 2027.
Graduate student won a Center for Advanced Study of the Visual Arts fellowship
Janina López, a graduate student in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of History of Art and Architecture, received a prestigious predoctoral fellowship from the Center for Advanced Study of the Visual Arts.
DeLoge co-authored two chapters on Quechua language instruction
Alana DeLoge, teaching assistant professor in University of Pittsburgh Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Science’s Department of Linguistics, has co-authored two chapters on the instruction of Quechua, the most widely spoken Indigenous language of the Americas today.
Hinterleitner won the Society for Mucosal Immunology Young Investigator Award
Reinhard Hinterleitner, associate professor in the School of Medicine’s Department of Immunology, has been selected to receive the Young Investigator Award from the Society for Mucosal Immunology.
2 Pitt researchers received Cytokine Society awards
Victor S. Cortez, an assistant professor last year in the Department of Immunology, and Catherine Phelps, a graduate student, received awards from The Cytokine Society.
Graduate student Ryan Lindner earned a Boren Award
Ryan Lindner, a master’s student in the School of Public and International Affairs, earned a 2026 Boren Award for International Study.
Meet Pitt’s 2026-27 Fulbright scholars
Eight University of Pittsburgh faculty members — more than double last year’s total — were awarded Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program Awards by the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
Bajaj received an NSF CAREER Award
Nikhil Bajaj, assistant professor in the Swanson School of Engineering’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, has spent much of his career on nonlinear systems — the kind whose behavior shifts sharply once a threshold is crossed.
19 Pitt students earned national honors in a Russian essay contest
Students from Pitt’s Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences brought home two gold medals, four silver medals, seven bronze medals and six honorable mentions.
Fuller was named a 2029 Greenwall Faculty Scholar
The Greenwall Foundation has named Jonathan Fuller, associate professor in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of History and Philosophy of Science, one of its 2029 Greenwall Faculty Scholars for his work to improve diagnoses for diseases like Alzheimer’s.