Undergraduate Recognition

Dean's Medal

The Department of Psychology proudly nominated two outstanding students—Dave Young and Madison Chiu—for the Dean’s Medal in the Natural Sciences Division of the College of Arts and Sciences. We were proud to put forward both nominees and are especially proud to share that Dave Young was selected as this year’s medal recipient.

Dave Young (Deans Medal Recipient)

Graduating summa cum laude with a B.A. in Psychology and a B.S. in Biology, Dave Young has made the most of his time at UW. One of his first—and favorite—experiences in the department was working in Dr. Ione Fine’s Vision and Cognition Lab, where he explored how the brain processes sign language. That research led him to complete an honors thesis and further develop his skills and interests in science and research.

Since his freshman year, Dave has also interned at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, contributing to prostate cancer research. Over the years, he’s earned several awards for his work, including the Levinson Emerging Scholar Award, Mary Gates Research Scholarship, Guthrie Prize, and the Arc of Washington Fellowship.

Reflecting on his experience, Dave shared:

"Choosing to study psychology was one of the best decisions I’ve made in college. The coursework is incredibly diverse, and the faculty truly challenge you to think critically and engage deeply with the science."

This fall, Dave will begin the next chapter of his journey at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Madison Chu (Dean’s Medal Nominee)

Madison is graduating summa cum laude with a B.A. in Psychology and shared about how her time in the department was rewarding.

“I have my many faculty and graduate student mentors in the Psychology department to thank for the excellent research opportunities I've had at the University of Washington. I feel very lucky to have developed a research interest I'm passionate about, as well as the skills I need to pursue it.”

As part of the Honors Program, Madison completed her thesis in the UW READi Lab with Dr. Wendy Stone, where she worked on developing a framework for making caregiver-report autism screening tools more culturally sensitive.

After graduation, she will be working at UW as a Research Coordinator on projects focused on parenting and socialization, and she’s preparing to apply to Ph.D. programs in Clinical Psychology. Madison is also a recipient of the Mary Gates Research Scholarship and the Ruth H. Hagenstein Scholarship.

Hagenstein Research Travel Scholars

In spring quarter, seven students were named recipients of a Hagenstein Research Travel Scholarship. These awards are made possible by the Ruth H. Hagenstein Endowment to assist undergraduate psychology majors who plan to attend and present at professional conferences. This year's Hagenstein Scholars are: Madison Chiu, Arshia Batra, Eden McPeek, Annika Barsy, Emma Fightmaster, Elias Graham, Oliver Wu

Levinson Emerging Scholars

The Levinson Emerging Scholars (LES) Program is designed to support promising students who work on creative and sophisticated research projects in biosciences and related fields under the guidance of UW faculty. For 2024-2025, senior Mary Bun, was awarded the scholarship for her project, Using Optogenetics to Test the Limits of Multitasking, under the the mentorship of Dr. Sama Ahmed.

Mary Bun was featured in a UAA story showcasing research on fruit flies’ multitasking skills. Read story at UAA.

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program

In the spring, Mary Bun recieved the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP), a prestigious award that supports the quality, vitality, and strength of the U.S. scientific and engineering workforce. The five-year fellowship includes three years of financial support, with an annual stipend of $37,000. Mary was recognized in the Life Sciences – Neurosciences category for her work conducted under the mentorship of Dr. Sama Ahmed. 

Psychology Honors

Congratulations to the 23 students who make up this year’s Psychology Honors Program cohort. Each student has spent two years engaged in faculty-led research and completed an independent research project directed by their faculty advisor. Dr. Cheryl Kaiser is the program’s faculty director. This year’s graduating Honors Students are: Daisy Abiad, Laila Almansour, Min Cha, Madison Chiu, Cassidy Dao, Talia Eagle, Anna Fong, Stephanie Hernandez, Jillian Holbrook, Abhilasha Khanal, Emily Kim, Troye Lu, Mazzi Nowicki, Morgan Opdahl, Anastasiya Polyakova, Tiffany Sada, Savanna Stromberg, Sofia Valenzuela, Oliver Wu, Jasmine Yeung, Jinglei Yu, Catherine Zhang, Katrina Zheng.

Honors Scholar Research Awards

Three students won Honors Scholar Research Awards this year. Students can use these financial awards to pay costs associated with a research project, such as subject payments, lab equipment, and other special services. The following students and projects received funding: Hairuo Li for a paper titled," The Effects of Error-Making on the Long-Term Memory Benefits of Spaced Learning"; Lucy Nowicki for a paper titled, "Investigating the Relation Between Evidentiality and Theory of Mind in Children"; and Xinyu Quan for a paper titled "Vocal Tract Anatomy in Adults with Developmental Language Disorder: MRI-Based Comparative Analysis"

Guthrie Prize

The Guthrie Prize is awarded annually to two students for excellent writing in psychology. This year's winner for the Best Empirical Paper is Elias Graham. Graham’s paper, titled "ADHD Coaching Since the COVID-19 Pandemic: Is There a New Wave of ADHD Coaches," was completed under the direction of Dr. Margaret Sibley. The Guthrie Prize winner for the Best Conceptual Paper/Research Proposal is Maia Czerwonka. Czerwonka’s paper, titled "Exploring Individual Differences in Decision Strategy," was completed under the direction of Dr. Chantel Prat. Congratulations!

Mary Gates Research Scholars

Nine psychology majors are among the 2024-25 Mary Gates Research Scholars. The Mary Gates Endowment for Students supports University of Washington undergraduates to become independent learners and community leaders. Psychology Mary Gates Scholars (and their faculty sponsors) are: Anna Fong (Dr. Shannon Dorsey), Daneal Khurl (Dr. Sapna Cheryan), Eden McPeek (Dr. Sofia Gray), Jasmine Yeung (Dr. Ariel Starr), Madison Sydney (Dr. Wendy Stone), Maia Czerwonka (Dr. Chantel Prat), Mazzi Nowicki (Dr. Brian Flaherty), Minkyoung Cha (Dr. Jennifer Forsyth), and Nathan Chen (Dr. Jennifer Forsyth).