2021 Recipients

Thomas Groechel
"Tom is always willing to take the risk to train undergraduate students from a variety of backgrounds, like myself, with limited experience relevant to his project. Instead of focusing on our skill sets coming into the project, Tom focused on our determination to learn and develop as researchers and engineers. He empowered us to undertake highly technical tasks relevant to his research outcomes, providing his ready support throughout the process. This willingness to train and support undergraduate students through his research projects demonstrates Tom’s skills and passion for mentoring undergraduate researchers. I have now worked with Tom on multiple projects, and throughout this process he has helped me to further develop as an engineer and researcher by teaching me valuable computer science and human-subject study design fundamentals. Tom is a patient and understanding teacher, who lets students take the time they need to understand how to solve a problem. He is also a very adept teacher and constantly works to create resources for his students such as videos explaining key concepts to our research technology development. Tom is truly committed to mentoring undergraduates in all aspects of the research experience, including the publications process."

Sahar Elyahoodayan
As a Ph.D. student of Biomedical Engineering, Sahar has actively mentored three undergraduate students and three Master students in their research under NSF INSPIRE and NIH BRAIN programs. She also mentored two high school students in K-12 outreach activities to help expose them to new scientific research and foster a passion for STEM. During her mentorship, she diligently trained the students to use necessary tools such as Altium designer, PCB assembly, MATLAB, histology, and assistance on rat surgeries. She also coached them to set goals and plans for completion of projects through constructive feedback on performance and encouraging good documentation practices. In a multidisciplinary team of undergraduate and Master students, she coordinated strategic planning between electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and neuroscience students to design and implement a wireless neuromodulation system for use in rat experiments. What is extradentary is that she not only trained the students to perform lab works such as animal experiments and data analysis, but also taught them how to formulate scientific problems, develop research strategy, make realistic plan and eventually achieve the research goals, which are invaluable for the students’ study and future career. All her mentees have had scientific publications in the form of journal article, reviewed conference paper or posters. She treated those students more than just as mentees, but also as colleagues, collaborators, and friends.

Sean Burkitt
Sean Burkitt epitomizes all of the characteristics of an incredible mentor. When I first joined the Zavaleta Lab, one of the first things I noticed was just how involved Sean was, and not just with his own research. He was constantly working to help others with their work, particularly us undergraduate students. I worked directly with Sean on a project this past year, so I had the opportunity to see his dedication to helping undergraduates first-hand. Sean made it a point to make sure that my knowledge of the project was extensive, regularly taking time out of his day to go over the relevant scientific literature with me and answering any questions that I may have had. He was also incredibly patient with me as I grew accustomed to performing the different wet-lab procedures that were part of the project and was very kind and understanding when I made mistakes. Above all, he was an incredibly open communicator, providing me with both positive feedback and constructive criticism as appropriate so that I could make my work the best it possibly could be. Even when I was no longer working on projects directly with him, Sean was more than happy to help me with my work and serve as a sounding-board for my ideas.

Jonathan Wang
Jonathan started his PhD in the Biomedical Department in fall 2016 and hit the ground running! From the beginning, he excelled in his coursework and research and looked to share his expertise with others. Mentoring undergraduate students in their research was a natural extension of Jonathan’s talents. In addition to mentoring three undergraduate students, Jonathan also mentored Masters Students and even high school students from Viterbi’s summer programs. Jonathan regularly participates in K-12 outreach activities to help foster a passion for STEM fields in the next generation of leaders. Jonathan’s mentees describe him as patient, approachable, calm, inclusive of everyone in the lab and tirelessly “working to keep everyone on the same page regardless of their role. All of Jonathan’s mentees have stated that these traits carry on to their interactions with him outside of the lab as well. Jonathan makes sure that “no one is left out of the conversation.” They each consider themselves fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with him. Mentors as talented and dedicated as Jonathan are extraordinary and the Viterbi School of Engineering is proud to present Jonathan with the well-earned 2019 Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award. Congratulations, Jonathan!

Ashrant Aryal
Ashrant Aryal began his PhD program at USC in the Fall of 2015 and he was awarded the prestigious Provost Fellowship to study Civil Engineering at Viterbi. Almost immediately, Ashrant began to mentor undergraduate students in their research. His advisor, Dr. Bercin Becerik-Gerber credits him as a patient, diligent, and effective communicator who enjoys mentoring others. The students Ashrant has mentored describe him as patient and kind, and always willing to answer questions and help his mentees acclimate to campus and working in the labs. Through his own “Intelligent Office Workstation” research, Ashrant has also mentored high-school students and training them to be researchers from the basics, to writing papers for conferences and becoming published. Many of his former mentees credit Ashrant with being instrumental in their own success in their education and research goals. The Viterbi School of Engineering is proud to award the 2018 Undergraduate Research Mentoring award to Ashrant Aryal. Congratulations!

Caitlyn Claybaugh
Caitlyn began her PhD in Computer Science in the Fall of 2013, and throughout her time in the PhD program mentored an astonishing 38 undergraduate students. Caitlyn has a particular interest in mentoring under-represented minorities and women. Over half of her undergraduate mentees have gone on pursue higher degrees, including PhD, in Computer Science and Software Engineering. Caitlyn’s research is on Socially-Assistive Robots, Machine Learning, and Human-Robot Interaction. In these difficult fields, she pushes and supports her mentees in discovering their interests, plans for their future, and challenges them to learn outside of their comfort zones. Many of her mentees credit Caitlyn’s genuine care with helping them shape their outlooks on life, purposes, and careers. When she is not mentoring undergraduates or working on her own research, Caitlyn is the Volunteer Chair for Autism Speaks. We thank Caitlyn for all her hard work and congratulate her on this well-deserved award!

Si loves to teach. She is a born mentor and has consistently sought out opportunities to teach and mentor, not only undergraduate students in her department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, but she has been active teaching K-12 students in the local Los Angeles community through "Teach for Los Angeles." She also volunteers to teach high school equivalency mathematics programs for the homeless at The Midnight Mission on Los Angeles' Skid Row. Si is also a recipient of the prestigious Chevron Fellowship. This competitive fellowship provides talented graduate students with full tuition and a living stipend. Si still wanted to be a Teaching Assistant. She gratefully accepted the Fellowship after her advisor promised her that she would still have the chance to be a Teaching Assistant. Her advisor desribes her as a superb researcher and said in her nomination, "If I synthesized a candidate for this award from a 'wish list' of qualities, I could hardly construct a more appropriate and deserving candidate."
Congratulations, Si Shen!

Elaine is graduating with her PhD in Computer Science in Spring 2017. Since she began her program in the fall of 2010, she has mentored twenty-seven undergraduate research assistants, five high school students, and four post-Master's students. She is a recipient of two prestigious fellowships, USC's Provost Fellowship and the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Elaine is a strong mentor for women and underrepresented minority groups and has worked to build a community of women engineers by co-founding the USC PhD Women in Computer Science Group. This group was able to obtain support for 20 undergraduate and graduate students to attend conferences and organize research collaboration events. She is also the recipient of the Best Teaching Assistant Award for her work with students in their first year of the Computer Science degree. Elaine intends to pursue a career in academia and will undoubtedly enjoy a successful one. Congratulations, Elaine!

Since beginning his PhD program in Fall 2011, Orlando has mentored two undergraduate students each semester in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. His dedication to his mentees went above and beyond in the time he invested, his patience, and his encouragement. Influenced by Orlando's strong work ethic and attention to detail, his mentees worked harder out of their respect for Orlando and reached levels of success that they say could not have been possible without him. We congratulate Orlando on his well-earned award!

 Simin (PhD ‘15, Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science) immediately expressed interest in mentoring undergraduate students when she joined Dr. Andrea Armani’s lab in 2010. Since then, she has gained a reputation as a detailed researcher who places a high emphasis on lab safety and protocol. Her students thrived in her nurturing, yet demanding research environment where they were not afraid to fail, and became better researchers. Simin was always available to her students, knew their goals, and would provide support and resources in their academic and career goals. Simin’s talent as a mentor has helped her students become extremely successful in their undergraduate careers and beyond. In fact, two of her students have been accepted to graduate programs in top schools and were awarded highly competitive and prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships. Congratulations, Simin!

Aaron began his PhD in Computer Science in 2008. In addition to being an excellent researcher, Aaron is also an outstanding mentor. Since beginning his PhD program, Aaron has mentored over 20 students. Aaron has been described as thorough, patient, encouraging, and always available to his students. He creates an atmosphere of support where his students feel able to ask questions, expand their skills, and own their projects. In short, Aaron loves mentoring, and it is reflected by the success

Beginning his PhD in the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering in 2011, Ding Li has been described as a methodical, focused researcher and an excellent collaborative team member.

During fall 2012, Ding was assigned two undergraduate students to mentor. Neither of the students had a particularly strong background in computer science and would require extensive training to become effective team members on the projects. Under Ding’s skilled mentoring, both of these students not only excelled at their new skills and the projects at hand, they both made critical contributions to the research that has resulted in two top-tier publications.

During his time as a PhD student under Dr. Massoud Pirbazari, Ryan Thacher (PhD ’13, Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering) mentored undergraduate students, helping them to become well-rounded and competent in all phases of a research program. From developing a project, to writing the proposal, to performing the lab work, to presenting at university symposiums and national conferences, Ryan was instrumental in elevating the undergraduate research program to producing graduate-level work.

The undergraduate students in Ryan’s group consistently remarked that Ryan created a safe and supportive learning environment and that he took the time to explain and demonstrate complex subject matter so that it could be easily understood. Ryan was always patient, approachable, and available to his students, but allowed them a chance to work through difficult concepts and discover solutions on their own before offering his help.

Ashley is a PhD student in Chemical Engineering and is an active member of Dr. Andrea Armani's research group. She began mentoring students as an undergraduate and has mentored numerous high school and undergraduate students and high school teachers. She served as a mentor through the CED summer institute and the NSF RET program. Ashley has also mentored undergraduates through the various USC summer and academic year undergraduate research programs, such as merit research and directed research. As a mentor, she patiently guides students through the research process, answering their numerous questions along the way and encouraging them to think "like an engineer".

Ashley is always supportive and encouraging. Even when an experiment is not working, she is always able to draw something positive from the experience. After working with her, both high school students are now pursuing undergraduate degrees in engineering and several undergraduates are now pursuing or applying to PhD programs in engineering. Given the strong correlation, there can be no doubt that this is a result of their research experiences and Ashley's positive influence.