In 2013, the University of Michigan Women in Science and Engineering office established the annual Willie Hobbs Moore awards to honor faculty, staff, and students who demonstrate excellence promoting STEM as a pathway for all learners. WISE celebrates achievement and outstanding advocacy for broadening participation in STEM with four awards bestowed annually at the Willie Hobbs Moore award ceremony. The ceremony is named to honor the accomplishments of Willie Hobbs Moore, the first African American woman at Michigan to earn a BS and MS in electrical engineering and the first African American woman in the country to earn a PhD in physics.
We have answered the most Frequently Asked Questions about the nomination form and ceremony at the bottom of this page. Please email us with any additional questions at [email protected].
Willie Hobbs Moore STEM Achievement Award
Awarded to individuals whose achievements in STEM (e.g. academics, research, discovery, practice, etc.) are particularly inspirational in light of the challenges or roadblocks they have faced in their pursuit of a STEM degree and/or career.
Cinda Sue Davis STEM Equity Leadership Award
Awarded to an inclusive leader who has, throughout their time as a member of the University of Michigan community, worked consistently to make STEM an accessible path for all learners who want to pursue degrees and careers in science, engineering, or math.
Sister Mary Ambrosia Fitzgerald Mentoring Award
Awarded to individuals who have served as an exemplar of formal or informal mentorship of STEM students.
Claudia Joan Alexander Trailblazer Award
Awarded to an individual or team for the development or implementation of a program, innovation, or intervention (within the last 3 years) that supports success for all students in STEM at U-M.
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2026 Winners
Willie Hobbs Moore Achievement Award
Emma Dodoo
PhD Student, Engineering Education Research
Joanne Jung
Undergraduate Student, Biophysics
Kimberlee Kearfott, ScD
Professor, Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences
Sister Mary Ambrosia Fitzgerald Mentoring Award
Albert Berahas, PhD
Assistant Professor, Industrial & Operations Engineering
Sravya Palavalasa, MBBS, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow,
Radiation Oncology
Claudia Joan Alexander Trailblazer Award
Nina White, PhD
Teaching Professor, Associate Research Scientist & Lecturer IV (Department of Mathematics); Director of the MaCSS Scholars Program
Natasha Turman, PhD and the Women in Science & Engineering Residence Program (WISE RP)
Cinda Sue Davis STEM Equity Leadership Award
Lori Isom, PhD
Maurice H. Seevers Professor and Chair of Pharmacology
Willie Hobbs Moore Nomination and Ceremony FAQs
When are nominations accepted?
Each year, nominations for the awards open by the first week of February and are due early March.
Are there eligibility requirements or restrictions?
Nominees must be a current or aspiring (*this means students!) Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math scientist or professional and a student, faculty, or staff member at one of the three U-M campuses. (We consider disciplines that are focus areas of the NSF such as social, behavior, and economic sciences to be “STEM” fields).
Previous award winners are not eligible to win the same award twice. They may, however, qualify for a different award for a new achievement.
The awards are open to everyone regardless of sex or gender identity.
Do you accept self-nominations?
Self-nominations are permitted and encouraged.
Should I submit letter of recommendation along with the nomination form?
No. The selection committee will review the short-answer statements written about the candidate (300 words or less) in the nomination form. These statements are your opportunity to explain why the nominee should be considered for the award.
Are nominations open to U-M Dearborn and U-M Flint?
Yes, we accept and look forward to nominations from all three University of Michigan campuses.
Is there only one winner for each award?
Our goals is to honor achievements at all levels. Thus, the Willie Hobbs Moore Achievement Award, Sister Mary Ambrosia Fitzgerald Mentorship Award, and the Claudia Jones Alexander Trailblazer Awards may have an “early career” winner (for students or professionals just starting out in their STEM journey) and a “late career” winner (for seasoned professionals). We encourage you to nominate any current member of the U-M community, student, faculty, or staff.
The Cinda Sue Davis STEM Equity Leadership Award will only have one winner each year.
When will the winners be announced?
All nominees will be invited to attend the Willie Hobbs Moore Awards Dinner where we will announce the winners. The 2026 dinner will take place on Wednesday, April 8th at 5:30pm in the Michigan League Ballroom (911 N University, Ann Arbor, MI). Please register by March 30 if you would like to attend.
When will the ceremony be held and who can attend?
The ceremony is open to all who are passionate about inclusive excellence in STEM!
Each year the ceremony is held in early to mid April. The 2026 ceremony will be Wednesday, April 8.
Do nominees need to RSVP for the ceremony?
Yes, please! The deadline to RSVP is Monday, March 30.
Do award winners receive a prize or scholarship?
The winners will receive a small gift of recognition. There is not a monetary prize or scholarship associated with the awards.
Is there a dress code for the ceremony?
There is no required dress code. Most guests choose to dress business casual for the event.
Previous Winners
2025
Willie Hobbs Moore Achievement Award
Sharmane Powell
Masters Student, Robotics
Mousumi Banerjee
Anant M. Kshirsagar Collegiate Research Professor of Biostatistics, Research Professor, Global Public Health, Director, Global StatCore, Director of Biostatistics, Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium (PC4) Analytic Center
Sister Mary Ambrosia Fitzgerald Mentoring Award
Miya Paserba
Graduate Student, Biomedical Engineering
Mariana Masteling
Research Fellow, Mechanical Engineering
Jess Anand
Research Assistant Professor, Pharmacology
Claudia Joan Alexander Trailblazer Award
STAR (Scholarship, Transferable Skills, Academia, and Reasearch) Scholars Program
Department of Psychology
Daisy Haas
PhD candidate, Chemistry
Cinda Sue Davis STEM Equity Leadership Award
Cynthia Finelli
David C. Munson, Jr. Professor of Engineering, Professor EECS and Education, Director of Engineering Education Research
2024
Willie Hobbs Moore Achievement Award
Roya Ensafi
Associate Professor, Computer Science Engineering
Ann Jeffers
Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Cynthia Nunez
Graduate Student, Physics
Sister Mary Ambrosia Fitzgerald Mentoring Award
Katie Emery
Graduate Student, Neuroscience
Yulia Hristova
Associate Professor, Mathematics and Statistics
Debby Covington
Director of Strategic Partnerships and Equity Initiatives, Michigan Engineering
Claudia Joan Alexander Trailblazer Award
BME GAAP (Biomedical Engineering Graduate Application Assistance Program)
Tandem
Cinda Sue Davis STEM Equity Leadership Award
Tim McKay
Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Physics, Astronomy, Education, and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education
2023
Willie Hobbs Moore Achievement Award
Hafiz Sheriff, Graduate Student, Physics
Michele Appledorn, Graduate Student, Integrative Systems and Design
Sister Mary Ambrosia Fitzgerald Mentoring Award
Bahaar Chawla, Graduate Student, Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
Meera Kumar, Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Claudia Joan Alexander Trailblazer Award
Alexa White, Graduate Student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
ROB102, Jana Pavlasek and Chad Jenkins, Robotics
Cinda Sue Davis STEM Equity Leadership Award
Susan Cheng, Staff, Mechanical Engineering
2022
Willie Hobbs Moore Achievement Award
Oluwami Dosunmu-Ogunbi, Graduate Student, Robotics
Lisa Walsh, Undergraduate Student, Neuroscience
Sister Mary Ambrosia Fitzgerald Mentoring Award
Joi-Lynn Mondisa, Faculty, Industrial and Operations Engineering
Mariam Mahmoud, Undergraduate student, Computer Science
Claudia Joan Alexander Trailblazer Award
commUNITY, Taylor Bramlett
ENGR 101, Laura Alford, James Juett, Laura Burdick, Blair Beuche, Heather Rypkema
Cinda Sue Davis STEM Equity Leadership Award
Debbie Taylor, Staff
2021
Willie Hobbs Moore Achievement Award
Dr. Miki Banu, Research Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Aspire, Advance, and Achieve Mentoring Award
Dr. Eleni Gourgou, Assistant Research Scientist, Mechanical Engineering
Jule Schatz, PhD Candidate, Computer Science Engineering
Claudia Jones Alexander Trailblazer Award
Dr. Ariangela Kozik, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
2020
Willie Hobbs Moore Achievement Award
Shanna Daly, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Co-Founder of the Center for Socially Engaged Design (CSED)
Bruna Menezes, PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering and President of the student club Movement of Underrepresented Sisters in Engineering and Science (MUSES)
Aspire, Advance, and Achieve Mentoring Award
Jessica Cote, PhD candidate in Neuroscience and Vice President of the Neuroscience Graduate Student Organization
Angela Violi, Professor of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering
Claudia Jones Alexander Trailblazer Award
Brian Beckford, Research Scientist in Physics
2019
Willie Hobbs Moore Achievement Award
Dr. Susan Montgomery (Chemical Engineering)
Nisha Pillai (Computer Science)
Aspire, Advance and Achieve Mentoring Award
Cynthia Giffen (Comprehensive Studies Program)
Darryl Koch (COE)
Jill Harland (Chemistry)
Teanna Sims (Civil Engineering)
Claudia Jones Alexander Trailblazer Award
Dr. Anne J McNeil (Chemistry and Macromolecular Science and Engineering)
Dr. Anouck Girard (Aerospace Engineering)
2018
Willie Hobbs Moore Achievement Award
Alvaro Malaga, Dentistry
Aeriel Murphy, Materials Science and Engineering
Amber Spears, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Aspire, Advance and Achieve Mentoring Award
Antara Afrin (Undergraduate Emergency Medicine and Transplant Surgery)
Dr. Joi Mondisa (Industrial and Operations Engineering)
Claudia Jones Alexander Trailblazer Award
Dr. Sue Lepri (Climate and Space Sciences Engineering)
Dr. Allison Steiner (Climate and Space Sciences Engineering)
2017
Willie Hobbs Moore Achievement Award
Aisha Bowe, Space Systems Engineering
Holly Turula, Immunology
Aspire, Advance and Achieve Mentoring Award
Mariel Lavieri (Industrial and Operations Engineering)
Quan Zhou (Biomedical Engineering)
Claudia Jones Alexander Trailblazer Award
Kim Kearfott (Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Science, Biomedical Engineering, and Radiology)
Karen Smith (Mathematics)
2016
Aspire, Advance and Achieve Mentoring Award
Dr. Christin Carter-Su (Molecular and Integrative Physiology)
Dr. Jose Diaz (Vascular Surgery)
Stacy Ramcharan (Chemical Engineering)
Jenna Walrath (Physics)
Claudia Jones Alexander Trailblazer Award
Christian Greenhill (Materials Science)
Lauren Guerrido (Nuclear Engineering and Radiology)
Jasmine Jones (Information)
2015
Aspire, Advance and Achieve Mentoring Award
Dr. Aline Cotel (Civil and Environmental Engineering)
Dr. Avery Demond (Civil and Environmental Engineering)
Claudia Jones Alexander Trailblazer Award
Julia Bourg (Biophysics)
Ariana Mirian (Computer Science Engineering)
2014
Aspire, Advance and Achieve Mentoring Award
Christine Aidala (Physics)
Aditi Rajajopal (Computer Engineering)
Jennifer Wegner (Engineering)
Claudia Jones Alexander Trailblazer Award
Jamie Sanderson (IOE)
Dawn Tilbury (Mechanical Engineering, EECS)
2013
Aspire, Advance and Achieve Mentoring Award
Lorelle Meadows
Claudia Jones Alexander Trailblazer Award
Kyla McMullen</strong.