Awards and Accolades

The Dietrich School Innovation Initiative award winners have been announced

The Dietrich Innovation Initiative, also known as DI², has announced the winners of this year's competition. From the website, the initiative is "a transformative opportunity to empower faculty and staff to enrich research, student learning, and community engagement and foster a sense of future-oriented, constant development. It’s an invitation to our community of learners to take on the compelling questions at the school, the University, and in higher education that engage their interest and curiosity."

There are two awards available with the initiative:

Two Dietrich School affiliates were named New Pittsburgh Courier Women of Excellence

Nine Pitt leaders and affiliates have been recognized by the New Pittsburgh Courier as Women of Excellence for their professional achievements and contributions to the Greater Pittsburgh community.

The Women of Excellence Awards celebrate those whose leadership, service and accomplishments have made a meaningful impact across sectors including education, social services, community advocacy and health.

Dr. Ivan Yotov wins Humboldt Research Award

Ivan Yotov, a professor in the Department of Mathematics at the Dietrich School, has received the Humboldt Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany.

The Humboldt Research Award is conferred to internationally recognized researchers in recognition of their entire academic record to date.

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation sponsors distinguished international scientists and scholars irrespectively of their academic discipline or nationality and maintains an international network of academic cooperation and trust.

Graham Hatfull reflected on 25 years of research in a special PNAS paper

In the late 1990s, Graham Hatfull and colleagues reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) their findings about genetic connections between distantly related bacteriophages, viruses that kill bacteria, in a paper titled “Evolutionary relationships among diverse bacteriophages and prophages: All the world’s a phage.”

Chemistry Professors win 2025 HPCwire Editors' Choice Award

Lillian Chong and Angela Gronenborn, both professors in the Department of Chemistry at the Dietrich School, and their joint graduate student, Darian Yang, received a 2025 HPCwire Editors' Choice Award for Best Use of HPC in Life Sciences.

RJ Thompson won the Dr. Tom Baker Community Leader Award

RJ Thompson has been selected as the 2025 Dr. Tom Baker Community Leader Award by Get Involved, Inc. The award, named after a longtime Pittsburgh Public Schools teacher, recognizes passionate and positive community impact.

Thompson is a teaching associate professor in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of English.

You can read the full story on Pittwire.

A Dietrich School professor earned a Dr. Larry E. Davis Award

The University of Pittsburgh will honor seven faculty members, including one Dietrich faculty member, whose achievements in scholarship, leadership, mentorship and community engagement embody the legacy of Dean Emeritus Larry E. Davis.

Seth Okyere, teaching assistant professor of urban studies in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, won the Emerging Scholar Award.

You see the full list of awardees on Pittwire.

Clark Chilson published a book about being nonreligious in Japan

Clark Chilson, an associate professor in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Religious Studies, published “On Being Nonreligious in Contemporary Japan” with Bloomsbury earlier this year.

Pitt students and staff took home awards at a statewide TRIO conference

Staff and students affiliated with two Pitt TRIO programs were honored at the 2025 PA TRIO Annual Conference.

Kamryn Abrial, a senior social work major, and Emma Young, an undeclared first-year student, won $750 PA TRIO Scholarship Awards. Kate Parker won a $750 Pitt TRIO McNair Scholarship.