Gillian-Daniel receives Shakhashiri Public Science Engagement Award

Anne Lynn Gillian-Daniel, distinguished teaching faculty III and director of education/outreach in the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has received the Bassam Z. Shakhashiri Public Science Engagement Award. Ahna Skop, a professor in the Departments of Genetics and Medical Genetics, also received the award.

This award is supported by UW–Madison’s Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and the Morgridge Institute for Research.

“This year’s awardees, Ahna and Anne Lynn, are truly inspiring. They are finding creative ways from improv to baking and massive art installations, to make STEAM outreach more accessible, furthering the Wisconsin Idea and inspiring the next generation of researchers,” says Dorota Brzezinska, the UW-Madison vice chancellor for research.

“I join in offering my congratulations to this year’s awardees,” says Shakhashiri. “Our scholarly research satisfies our curiosity, and we enjoy it. However, we have a responsibility to serve society. We must succeed in enabling people to make informed choices, to be skeptical, and to reject shams, quackery, unproven conjecture, and to avoid being bamboozled into making foolish decisions where matters of science and technology are concerned. Ahna and Anne Lynn are exemplars in advancing The Wisconsin Idea, the university’s commitment to public service, and fulfilling our responsibility to advance knowledge and serve society.”

Gillian-Daniel has been the Director of Education and Outreach for the NSF-funded Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (UW-MRSEC) since 2012 and a Faculty Professional Development Co-lead in the College of Engineering since 2023.

Gillian-Daniel received a bachelor’s degree of in chemistry from the University of Michigan and a doctorate in biochemistry from UW–Madison. In the College of Engineering, Gillian-Daniel leads workshops for faculty on topics such as effective mentoring and inclusive hiring practices. Within the MRSEC, she works with Center members to engage public audiences with materials science and engineering through the development and dissemination of activities inspired by the Center’s research advances.

Additionally, Gillian-Daniel worked to broaden participation of underrepresented groups in materials science and engineering as the education lead for the NSF-funded Wisconsin/Puerto Rico Partnership for Research and Education in Materials (WiPR₂EM) where she worked with faculty, students, teachers and public audiences in Puerto Rico to expand awareness of and interest in science and engineering careers.

Gillian-Daniel leveraged her personal interest in food security to form partnerships with local food pantries that enable the MRSEC to disseminate science activities to families who are economically disadvantaged. She has also used her improvisational theater experience to co-develop and teach an improv-based science communication practicum for UW graduate students and postdocs to help them hone their verbal communication skills.

Due to broad interest in this topic, she adapted a subset of the course content into several different workshops that she has led at UW-Madison, other universities, professional societies, and other non-profit organizations across the country.

“It’s really important to me that everyone feels like science and engineering are for them and they can engage with it in whatever way is comfortable; therefore, we work to reach people who may not have many opportunities to come to a campus like ours and experience all the cool science and engineering happening here,” says Gillian-Daniel. “I’m honored to receive an award that recognizes the importance of public science engagement and honors Professor Shakhashiri who made chemistry accessible to so many people.”

A version of this press release was previously published by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education.