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Red and white tulips bloom in front of the Memorial Union at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
May 8, 2026

Chemical engineering undergraduate award winners

Written By: Claire Massey

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This spring, three chemical and biological engineering students and a fellow material science and engineering student were honored at the 2026 Chancellor’s Undergraduate Awards Ceremony on April 28th for various awards. The whole department is excited to see what they do in the upcoming fall semester!

Hilldale Undergraduate/Faculty Research Fellowship

The Wisconsin Hilldale Undergraduate/Faculty Research Fellowship provides $4,000 to the student recipient and $1,000 to the faculty project advisor to offset costs of research. Two chemical engineering students received this award for the 2025-26 academic year.

Sophomore Research Fellowship

The Sophomore Research Fellowship provides $3,000 to the student recipient and $500 to the faculty project advisor to work in collaboration on research projects. A chemical engineering student and a material science and engineering student received this award from the 2025-26 academic year.

Profile photo of Grace Zhang. She has black hair tied back in a pony tail and is wearing a black jacket.

Grace Zhang wins undergraduate research award for second year in a row

Following her Sophomore Research Fellowship in 2025, Grace Zhang received the Hilldale fellowship for her project Investigating the Role of Structure-Sensitivity in Liquid Carrier Dehydrogenation Kinetics for Renewable Hydrogen Storage with Duane and Dorothy Bluemke Assistant Professor Siddarth Krishna.

Profile photo of Karrin Sackett. She has medium length blonde hair and is wearing a black jacket.

A double major in chemical engineering and chemistry, Karrin Sackett received the Hilldale fellowship for her project Identification and Mechanistic Analysis of Inhibitory Cheese Whey Impurities on Sulfuric Acid-Catalyzed Lactose Hydrolysis with Richard L. Antoine Professor George Huber.

Her project involves turning cheese whey, a waste product of cheese making, into useful products such as a low calorie sweetener. Specifically, she is looking at how impurities in the cheese whey affect the hydrolysis reaction used for this process. When not in the lab, she enjoys birding, camping, playing hockey, and spending time with family and friends.

Profile photo of Maxwell Bartlett. He has short brown hair and is wearing a blue suit.

Maxwell Bartlett received the Sophomore fellowship for his project Designing Zeolite-Based Catalysts for Simultaneous Nitrous and Nitrogen Oxide Pollution Abatement from Ammonia Engines with Dorothy Bluemke Assistant Professor Siddarth Krishna.

Next year, he’s excited to continue researching catalysis for pollution abatement. Outside of chemical engineering, he enjoys running, rock climbing, hiking, reading, and playing the piano.

Anna Rosu is hiking on a beach and posing in front of rocks placed to spell "Iceland 2025."

Anna Rosu of MS&E received the Sophomore fellowship for her project Analyzing the Impact of Interpersonal Rural-Urban Relationships on Measured Levels of Rural-Urban Polarization with Conway Assistant Professor Whitney Loo.

She is excited to work on finding ways to improve energy storage using polymers. Outside of materials engineering, she enjoys running, hiking, long walks, reading, cycling, and baking.

Featured Image Credit: Althea Dotzour