Architecture associate professor, Kapila Silva, wins K. Barbara Schowen undergraduate research mentor award

LAWRENCE — Three people were honored at the 21st Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium last month for their extraordinary commitment to mentoring undergraduate researchers at the University of Kansas.  

Derek Reed, associate professor of applied behavioral science, Kapila Silva, associate professor of architecture, each received the K. Barbara Schowen Undergraduate Research Mentor Award. This award is named after Professor Emeritus of Chemistry K. Barbara Schowen, whose efforts to promote undergraduate research at KU led to the development of the Undergraduate Research Symposium and the Undergraduate Research Awards.  Each recipient will receive $1,000. Mark Landau, associate professor of psychology, received an honorable mention for this award. 

Andrew Mongue, graduate student in ecology & evolutionary biology, was the 2018 recipient of the Undergraduate Research Mentor Award.  This award was started in 2014 at the request of undergraduate students who wanted to recognize the important role that graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and academic staff play in mentoring undergraduate researchers at KU.  The award was also presented at the Undergraduate Research Symposium and comes with a $1,000 award. Graduate student Jonathan Poquiz, psychology, received an honorable mention for this award. 

“We had an outstanding group of research mentors nominated for these awards this year,” said Nikki Perry, assistant director of the Center for Undergraduate Research. “The student recommendations highlight the high standards that these mentors hold for their students as well as the individualized support and coaching that help their students succeed.”       

Both mentor awards are coordinated through KU’s Center for Undergraduate Research. Mentors were nominated through a two-part process: Students, faculty or staff submitted recommendations for a mentor to be considered for the award, then home departments and supervisors submitted full application packets.