Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award (OURMA)

The Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award (OURMA) recognizes research mentors that bring respect and excellence to the practice of mentoring undergraduates in research and scholarly activities. These individuals have a longstanding commitment to the development of research scholars. The Office of Undergraduate Research also administers the Glenn D. White, Jr. '78 Faculty Research Award, which has similar criteria to the senior award, but is given by the College of Arts and Sciences.

Eligibility

Junior Award

Will not be promoted to Associate Professor with tenure before the end of the 2026/2027 academic year, and has demonstrated a commitment to mentoring undergraduate students in research

Senior Award

Associate or Full Professor who has an established track record of mentoring in undergraduate research

Glenn D. White Jr. '78 Faculty Research Award

Associate or Full Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences who has had an extensive record of excellence in mentoring in undergraduate research

Faculty can receive each award (Junior, Senior, and Glenn D. White Jr. '78 [CAS only]) once.

Nominate your mentor here

Timeline

October 9, 2026

OURMA nomination deadline

October 16, 2026

Nomination acceptance deadline

December 1, 2026

OURMA nomination materials deadline

December 1, 2026 - January 22, 2027

OURMA review committee evaluates nominations

January 29, 2027

OURMA recipients and nominees are notified

April 2027

OURMA reception

OURMA Award Recipients

2025/2026

Physics and Biophysics

Chad Kishimoto

Glenn D. White Jr. ‘78 Faculty Research Award

Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to work side-by-side with amazing undergraduate researchers, who are tremendous humans that are intellectually curious, engaged, and intrigued by the grandeur of Nature. I appreciate the many ways that my mentees have taught me, through their personal growth, what it means to be a budding 21st century physicist; and they have shaped my perspective on mentoring the next generation of physicists. How fortunate am I to have had so many meaningful experiences whilst probing the secrets of the universe and I look forward, with hopeful anticipation, to continue to be inspired by my students to become a better scientist and a better mentor.

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Joan Schellinger

Senior Awardee

Mentoring undergraduates is honestly one of the best parts of my job. They show up with this raw curiosity and creative energy that’s really infectious, and they’re so eager to learn and get better. I love being able to work side-by-side with them—helping them figure out what questions are actually worth-asking, walking through the messy troubleshooting when experiments refuse to cooperate, and watching them trust their own instincts. To directly witness students go from needing constant guidance to genuinely owning their project, making decisions, and thinking like independent scientists is incredibly rewarding. It keeps me inspired and excited about what I do.

Psychological Sciences

Rebekah Wanic

Junior Awardee

Research mentorship is an opportunity to help cultivate resilient, motivated, and professionally prepared scholars because conducting research involves developing the skills that support a student's future leadership, innovation, and problem-solving. Watching students grow as they work to turn their intellectual curiosity into testable hypotheses that they evaluate with evidence and helping them persist in the face of challenges as they work toward their short- and long-term goals is what makes the experience so rewarding for me.

2024/2025

Psychological Sciences

Nadav Goldschmied

Glenn D. White Jr. ‘78 Faculty Research Award

Successful mentoring relationships are built on mutual respect, support, and a commitment to the mentee's growth and development. Mentoring undergraduates in research has been the part of my job that gives me great joy. I see mentorship as a lifelong pursuit that usually does not end when the formal mentorship program ends. My mentoring often evolves into life-long relationships well into the mentees' advanced careers. I follow their long-term success with great pride and joy.

Biology

Kate Boersma

Senior Awardee

Research with undergraduates is why I chose to work at USD! Nothing makes me happier than seeing students enter my lab as trainees and leave as confident scientists. I love watching students work together to build a lab community, support each other through scientific successes and failures, and find solutions to complex experimental problems. I look forward to learning from my students for the rest of my USD career!

Biology

Cawa Tran

Junior Awardee

Mentoring undergraduate researchers has been the utmost privilege in this dream job of mine, as they advance scientific progress with their diverse perspectives and inspire me to grow alongside them. My students are my source of pride, as I watch them chase their dreams, work through challenges, and defy expectations. Symbiosis isn't just our study focus; it represents the mentor-student relationship we model.

2023/2024

Psychological Sciences

Jena Hales

Glenn D. White, Jr. '78 Faculty Research Award

One of the most fulfilling aspects of being a USD professor has been observing my undergraduate students’ passion for neuroscience research grow within my lab. I strive to establish an inclusive research community in which each student can confidently and successfully contribute to the research while developing technical and critical thinking skills as neuroscientists. I believe that supporting the next generation of diverse neuroscientists is one of the most significant contributions that I can make in my career.

Biology

Arietta Fleming-Davies

Senior Awardee

Since arriving at USD, I have been sincerely surprised and honored to find that my research lab has grown into a space and community that has a life of its own far beyond what I brought to it. This is because of the amazing student researchers that I’ve mentored during this time, who have found and created a true scientific home in our lab group. My goal as a research mentor is to help students achieve their own career goals, whether that is a career in research or in a completely different field. Even more importantly, I strive to create a lab community where students can bring their whole selves to a learning environment that is so different from the structure of classes.

Computer Science

Jennifer Olsen

Junior Awardee

Mentoring students is my favorite part of my work. It is a pleasure getting to work with students as they take ownership of ideas and run with them while exploring the aspects that they do and don't enjoy within their profession. It is always rewarding getting to see the confidence and pride that students have when they present their work.

2022/2023

Physics and Biophysics

Rae Robertson-Anderson

Glenn D. White, Jr. '78 Faculty Research Award

My undergraduate research experience was a defining moment in my life, leading me to pursue a faculty position at an undergraduate liberal arts institution to be able to provide the same empowering opportunities I was afforded to students of all abilities, backgrounds and interests. I wanted to be able to devote time and energy to student learning and conduct cutting-edge research with undergraduates that can have broad-reaching societal impact. I strive to mentor each of my research students to discover the beauty of scientific inquiry and to achieve their utmost potential. Through these efforts I hope to inspire, mentor, and train a diverse pool of future compassionate scientists, and scientifically literate and engaged citizens.

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Lauren Benz

Senior Awardee

Working with undergraduates in the research lab has been a wonderful part of my career at USD over the past 13 years. It is a privilege and a joy to watch our students blossom as they dig into challenging research questions, gaining confidence while presenting their work as a part of their scientific community. I enjoy being a witness to the student's transformation from cautious spectator to capable scientist.

Integrated Engineering

Mark Chapman

Junior Awardee

My passion for mentoring students in research projects is rooted in my own experiences with the mentors I've had throughout my career. Through my experiences, I have witnessed the significant impact that mentors had on me, so I decided to make a career out of undergraduate education/mentorship in order to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. Furthermore, I believe that research has a transformational power for students, both professionally and personally speaking, so it is thrilling to get students involved in my work and watch as they access opportunities that once appeared out of reach.

2021/2022

Physics and Biophysics

Gregory Severn

Glenn D. White, Jr. '78 Faculty Research Award

As a research mentor I look for sparks in students and try then to supply opportunity, and oxygen, for that flame-it's so awesome and an amazing privilege to help students see and believe in their potential, to help them grow into it, even a little bit. And I love sharing my fascination with research in plasma physics, not to mention physics itself, with my students. It is equally a privilege to travel on the journey of research, and research is a journey, a really really fascinating one, to find out something new about how the universe works, even in a small way.

Physics and Biophysics

Chad Kishimoto

Senior Awardee

Mentoring undergraduate researchers is such an enjoyable part of my work here at USD. I've been blessed to work with great students as we engage together through the mysteries of Nature, explore the tangents that our curiosity takes us on, feed off the thrills of discovery, and watch as they confidently present their findings at national conferences. Undergraduate research so enhances the USD experience and I am thrilled that I get to do this as my job!

Integrated Engineering

Gordon Hoople

Junior Awardee

Mentoring students is one of my favorite parts of being a professor. I love the creative ideas students bring to our collaborations and find I learn just as much from them as (I hope) they do from me.

2020/2021

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Tammy Dwyer

Glenn D. White, Jr. '78 Faculty Research Award

What I love mostly about my research at USD is that I get to work with students beyond the classroom and watch them create, learn, and grow as people and as scientists. As for the work itself, I thoroughly enjoy using NMR spectroscopy to solve problems creatively and understand the extent to which the structural and electronic character of a molecule determines and controls its reactivity.

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Tim Clark

Senior Awardee

It is a great privilege to mentor students in undergraduate research and brings me great joy to take part in their growth as students at USD and to continue mentoring them as they move into their careers. I am thankful for all of the students that have contributed to the excitement of coming to campus every day to explore new science and at the same time develop as individuals.

Art, Architecture and Art History

Shannon Starkey

Junior Awardee

Mentoring undergraduate researchers is incredibly rewarding. It is exciting to witness a new generation of scholars discover the field and pursue new questions that expand and redefine the existing discourse. I'm honored to contribute to this vital aspect of undergraduate education at USD.

2019/2020

Environmental and Ocean Sciences

Sarah Gray

Glenn D. White, Jr. '78 Faculty Research Award

Environmental and Ocean Sciences

Nathalie Reyns

Senior Awardee

I view mentoring undergraduate research students as one of the most rewarding aspects of being a professor at USD. I strive to make science more accessible and relatable, and provide students the tools to build their confidence, enhance their critical thinking skills, and take intellectual ownership of a research project. My research students make me a better teacher, and so many of them have made me immensely proud!

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Anthony Bell

Junior Awardee

2018/2019

Physics and Biophysics

Ryan McGorty

Junior Awardee

I did not realize how collaborative, how interdisciplinary and how reliant on creativity scientific research could be until I got involved in research as an undergraduate student myself. Now, years later, to be able to share these aspects of the scientific process with the bright and curious students at USD is the highlight of my role as a professor. I am grateful for the opportunities to work side-by-side with students, preparing them for any number of careers while advancing the frontline of science.

Psychological Sciences

Jena Hales

Junior Awardee

One of the most fulfilling aspects of my work as a professor at USD has been observing my students’ passion for neuroscience research grow within my lab, often inspiring them to continue that journey after they graduate. I experienced firsthand how an engaged and supportive mentor can have a lifelong impact, and I hope to provide the same experience for my students. Teaching in a classroom setting is invigorating and wonderful in that you reach so many students, but within the laboratory the power of novel discovery and scientific inquiry really takes hold. I strive to establish a research community in which each student can confidently and successfully contribute to the research while developing their technical and critical thinking skills as neuroscientists.

2017/2018

Communications

Susannah Stern

Senior Awardee

Serving as an undergraduate research mentor is one of the most fulfilling roles I play at the University of San Diego. I design collaborative, hands-on research opportunities for Communication students so they may develop the skills and confidence to address some of the most fascinating and important questions of our time. For me, the most rewarding part of being a research mentor is watching my mentees develop into thoughtful, disciplined, ethical researchers. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to help channel undergraduates’ ambition and service-mindedness toward an ongoing quest for knowledge.

Psychological Sciences

Divya Sitaraman

Junior Awardee

Mentoring undergraduate students and bringing them into the culture of scientific research is one of the great joys of my work here at USD. No matter the outcome, every research project journey is a fruitful one and allows us to make critical contributions to science. The leadership and collaboration skills with a focus on professional development, intellectual community and accountability are an added bonus and I feel fortunate to be a part of this growth. Independent research enriched my life greatly and made me engage in science genuinely and I hope that research has the same impact in our student’s lives.

2016/2017

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Joseph Provost

Senior Awardee

Over the past 20 years I have been fortunate and blessed to have 168 young men and women work with me in my research laboratory. Helping and watching so many people gain confidence in themselves as they are pushed to become scientists is extremely rewarding. The best part of my job is sharing the excitement as they see the results of an experiment they’ve struggled with and know that they are the first person in the world to determine a new discovery.

Environmental and Ocean Sciences

Jennifer Prairie

Junior Awardee

One of the greatest strengths of USD is its focus on hands-on and experiential learning, and one of the most important roles I play as a faculty member is to mentor undergraduate researchers. I have been fortunate to have had many wonderful undergraduate students in my lab even in my short time at USD, and it has been extremely rewarding working with these students as they have undertaken cutting-edge research projects in marine and environmental science. My hope is that, through these research experiences, the undergraduate students working with me will learn about science in a much deeper way than what is possible in a traditional classroom setting, thus motivating and preparing them to pursue scientific careers.

2015/2016

Psychological Sciences

Rachel Blaser

Senior Awardee

Science is a way of learning about the world that involves a great deal of habit formation; the only way that I know to develop a habit is to consistently engage in the behavior. People become scientists not by reading about research, but by doing it. For this reason, I think that research experience is one of the most essential components of undergraduate education. Students arrive at USD with a tremendous amount of curiosity and motivation - helping them to recognize the value of their own questions, and to consider those questions in the context of broader scientific inquiry, is one of the most rewarding aspects of teaching. Our students bring a constant source of energy and new ideas that can lead to publication-worthy research. Of course, it doesn't hurt that doing research is also the most fun part of being a professor!

Physics and Biophysics

Rae Anderson

Junior Awardee

Undergraduate research is an invaluable experience that every student should be able to participate in. Being able to mentor undergraduates in meaningful and fruitful research projects is the primary reason I pursued a faculty position at USD. I wanted a lab in which the primary researchers were undergraduates who would contribute to all aspects of research from sample preparations to writing papers. My undergraduate research experience was one of the defining experiences of my undergraduate education - teaching me so much about myself - my strengths, weaknesses and passions. It was this experience that motivated me to pursue a PhD, and I still use many of the skills I learned in that experience today. My goal is to provide every student with such a meaningful and powerful research experience that not only teaches them fundamental research skills but also teaches them about themselves, solidifies their passions, and gives them the confidence to pursue their dreams.

2014/2015

Engineering

Frank Jacobitz

Senior Awardee

Mentoring curious minds is one of the most rewarding aspects of my work. In addition to the successful progression of a research project, I believe that undergraduate research is a wonderful tool to develop a varied set of skills in students, such as information literacy, research methodology, or writing and oral communication. I immensely enjoy the interactions and discussions with the researchers, observing their professional and personal growth and development, as well as attending their presentations at meetings and conferences.

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Lauren Benz

Junior Awardee

Undergraduate research is one of the hallmarks of a USD education, and it’s one of the main reasons I chose a career at USD. I thoroughly enjoy helping students grow as critical thinkers, and my reward is that I get to be a part of their journey as they ultimately start to contribute their own independent ideas to a research project. Witnessing that growth is the most exciting part of what I do!

2013/2014

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Mitch Malachowski

Senior Awardee

In many ways, my involvement in undergraduate research activities has shaped my life as I love to teach and work in my lab, and I love to work with students. I am dedicated to student success and student outcomes, and this dedication shapes both my teaching style and my research agenda. I think that engaging with students in such intense ways as we do in the laboratory can have a powerful impact on their intellectual and affective development and in helping a student find direction and purpose in life. Seeing their development over the years is what makes it all worthwhile and satisfying.

Art, Architecture, and Art History

Daniel Lopez-Perez

Junior Awardee

At the center of my teaching philosophy is a commitment to undergraduate research and most importantly to share my own research questions with my students. In addition to giving them the opportunity to gain advanced practical skills, the virtue of this model of “shared inquiry” is driven by my deep belief in the collective spirit of critical thinking. In this context, students cease to be passive learners and become active participants – partners in the creation of new knowledge. I conceive the architectural design studio as a place for highly collaborative experimentation and intellectual risk, one where students are treated like colleagues, encouraged to take a position as the first step from which to find their own polemic. Conveying to my students that true research is after all a shared pursuit I have found this collaborative method of working most effective, particularly when they internalize the research questions and see them as their own.

2011/2012

Chemistry and Biochemistry

David DeHaan

Senior Awardee

Undergraduates are the heart of my research lab, and to date I've collaborated with 55 students. I have a commitment to mentoring extended undergraduate research experiences for racially and academically diverse students, including freshmen and sophomores. Mentoring with “big picture” motivation, low stress, and high expectations has resulted in undergraduate students doing publication-quality research. In addition, the research experience draws students to STEM careers and helps attract new students to USD.

Theater

Monica Stufft

Junior Awardee

As a performance studies scholar-practitioner working in the field of theater, I find undergraduate research an ideal way to help students bridge their interests and explore their passions. A project may be artistic, scholarly or a combination of both. Together, we think deeply and explore creatively, learning about performance in various social and cultural contexts. The work is challenging but oh so rewarding!