Sixteen Pitt faculty members, including seven faculty members from the Dietrich School, have earned the 2026 Chancellor’s Distinguished Awards for exemplifying excellence in public service, research, and teaching.
Each honoree will receive a $2,000 cash prize and a $3,000 grant to support their work and will be recognized at the Faculty Honors Convocation on March 31 in Alumni Hall.
Below are this year’s recipients by category and their highlighted achievements.
Public Service
Caitlin Bruce
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Recognized for co-founding and directing the Hemispheric Conversations: Urban Art Project, which, along with creating original art and public programming, has raised more than $60,000 to support community artists across Pittsburgh and abroad, mentored undergraduate researchers and “fostered meaningful cultural exchange and community engagement through public art.” Read more about Bruce’s work in Pittwire.
Research
Senior category
Corinne Richards‑Zawacki
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Recognized for her “uncommon citizen science approach that actively involves communities in frog‑watch programs,” “substantial educational outreach efforts,” and work at “the leading edge of … scientific issues central to ecological and evolutionary research and education [on amphibians] in the 21st century.” Read about Richards-Zawacki’s work in Pitt Magazine.
Daniel Shaw
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Recognized for a “rare combination of advancing scientific knowledge while also delivering practical solutions to improve lives of children and families facing economic and social challenges.” He is described by peers as “the leading developmental psychopathologist in the world” for his field of study.
Junior category
Diana Khoi Nguyen
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Recognized for “work to help reshape the field of poetics through a combination of visual art, poetry and community‑based projects.” She is described as “one of the few poets whose influence is widespread among academic establishments but also among experimental artmakers, especially upcoming generations of poets.” Read more about Nguyen in Pittwire.
Evan Schneider
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Recognized for “substantial early‑career acclaim that [her] work has received through media coverage” and “multiple recent national awards of distinction.” She is at the “forefront of galaxy‑scale simulation” and has “done some of the most important technical work in computational astrophysics in the past five years,” according to her peers.
Teaching
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Recognized for integrating “authentic‑research experiences into all Foundations of Biology Lab courses, an astounding feat that has impacted thousands of undergraduate students and places Pitt at the forefront of STEM education in the U.S.
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Recognized for her “continuous and creative innovation of astronomy instruction with particular emphasis and impact on bringing students into the discipline through general education pathways” and providing “in‑depth individual advising to undergraduate and graduate student researchers.”