Academic Accolades

Panther statue

9 Pitt affiliates were named New Pittsburgh Courier Women of Excellence

Sarah Ashmeg, clinical assistant professor in the School of Medicine, Kyaien Conner, director of the Center on Race and Social Problems, and Tiffany Gary-Webb, associate director of the Center for Health Equity, were named to the 2025 class.

John Kellum

Kellum elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors

John Kellum, Distinguished Professor of Critical Care Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, has been elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).

Cathedral of Learning

8 Pitt undergraduates earned Gilman Scholarships

Eight University of Pittsburgh undergraduates have been awarded Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships for the October 2025 application cycle.

Grace Kenney

Kenney won a New Investigator Grant

Grace Kenney, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, has received a New Investigator Grant from the Charles E. Kaufman Foundation. These grants are awarded to researchers at the beginning of their independent careers who are pursuing basic scientific research.

Justin Kitzes

Kitzes won a Bezos Earth Fund AI Grand Challenge grant

Justin Kitzes, an associate professor in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Biological Sciences, was part of a team selected as one of 15 global awardees in the Bezos Earth Fund’s AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge.

Scaife Hall

3 Pitt faculty elected to the National Academy of Medicine

John Byrd, Terence Dermody, and Kate Rubins, faculty in the School of Medicine, have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

Caitlin Bruce

Bruce won a National Communication Association book award

Caitlin Bruce, an associate professor in the Department of Communication, has earned national recognition for her scholarship exploring youth culture and graffiti as public expression.

Pitt’s ACS Student Affiliates group

Pitt student group earned American Chemical Society honors

The American Chemical Society (ACS) recognized Pitt’s ACS Student Affiliates group with two awards for 2024-25: the Outstanding ACS Student Communities Award and the Green Chemistry Award. 

George Reid Andrews

Andrews honored by the Conference on Latin American History

George Reid Andrews, Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of History, has been honored with the Conference on Latin American History (CLAH) Distinguished Service Award.

Alexander Deiters

Deiters earned an American Chemical Society award

Alexander Deiters, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, was awarded a 2026 Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award from the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Dave Newman

Newman won the Pushcart Prize for his short story

Dave Newman, assistant professor of creative and professional writing, was awarded a Pushcart Prize for his story, “The Last Thing That Happened Before I Became A Med Tech.”

Marianne Novy

Novy won an International Impact Award for Biography

Marianne Novy, Professor Emerita of English and Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies, received an International Impact Award for Biography--Unsung Heroes and Everyday Lives and Family--Adoption and Foster Care for her recent book, Adoption Memoirs: Inside Stories.

Jonathan Rubin

Rubin will lead a new Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics journal

Jonathan Rubin, a professor in the Department of Mathematics, is the founding editor-in-chief for the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics’ newest applied mathematics journal.

The Education & Training Center at Pitt-Titusville.

Pitt-Titusville student received a Nightingale Scholarship

Spencer Riley, a second-year nursing student at the University of Pittsburgh at Titusville, was selected to receive the associate degree in nursing scholarship from the Nightingale Awards of Pennsylvania.

Cathedral of Learning.

Libertus selected for a Center for Advancing Research Impact in Society fellowship

Melissa Libertus, associate professor in the Department of Psychology, was named to an inaugural cohort with the Center for Advancing Research Impact in Society.