Willie Hobbs Moore Awards
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. 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. All current U-M faculty, staff, and students (regardless of sex or gender) are eligible to be nominated for these awards.
ABOUT THE AWARDS & RECENT WINNERS
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.
2026 Winners
Emma Dodoo
PhD Student, Engineering Education Research
Joanne Jung
Undergraduate Student, Biophysics
Kimberlee Kearfott, ScD
Professor, Nuclear Engineering & Radiological Sciences
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.
2026 Winner
Lori Isom
Maurice H. Seevers Professor and Chair of Pharmacology
Sister Mary Ambrosia Fitzgerald Mentoring Award
Awarded to individuals who have served as an exemplar of formal or informal mentorship of STEM students.
2026 Winners
Albert Berahas, PhD
Assistant Professor, Industrial & Operations Engineering
Sravya Palavalasa, MBBS, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Radiation Oncology
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.
2026 Winners
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)
PREVIOUS WINNERS
2025
Willie Hobbs Moore 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 Award
Miya Paserba
Graduate Student, Biomedical Engineering
Mariana Masteling
Research Fellow, Mechanical Engineering
Jess Anand
Research Assistant Professor, Pharmacology
Claudia Joan Alexander Award
STAR (Scholarship, Transferable Skills, Academia, and Research) Scholars Program
Department of Psychology
Daisy Haas
PhD Candidate, Chemistry
Cinda Sue Davis Award
Cynthia Finelli
David C. Munson, Jr. Professor of Engineering, Professor EECS and Education, Director of Engineering Education Research
2024
Willie Hobbs Moore Award
Roya Ensafi
Associate Professor, Computer Science Engineering
Ann Jeffers
Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Cynthia Nuñez
Graduate Student, Physics
Sister Mary Ambrosia Fitzgerald Award
Debby Covington
Director of Strategic Partnerships and Equity Initiatives, Michigan Engineering
Katie Emery
Graduate Student, Neuroscience
Yulia Hristova
Associate Professor, Mathematics and Statistics
Claudia Joan Alexander Award
BME GAAP (Biomedical Engineering Graduate Application Assistance Program)
Tandem
Cinda Sue Davis Award
Tim McKay
Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Physics, Astronomy, Education, and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education
2023
Willie Hobbs Moore Award
Michele Appledorn
Graduate Student, Integrative Systems and Design
Hafiz Sheriff
Graduate Student, Physics
Sister Mary Ambrosia Fitzgerald Award
Bahaar Chawla
Graduate Student, Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
Meera Kumar
Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Claudia Joan Alexander Award
Alexa White
Graduate Student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
ROB102, Jana Pavlasek and Chad Jenkins
Robotics
Cinda Sue Davis Award
Susan Cheng
Staff, Mechanical Engineering
2022
Willie Hobbs Moore Award
Oluwami Dosunmu-Ogunbi
Graduate Student, Robotics
Lisa Walsh
Undergraduate, Neuroscience
Sister Mary Ambrosia Fitzgerald Award
Mariam Mahmoud
Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
Joi-Lynn Mondisa
Faculty, Industrial and Operations Engineering
Claudia Joan Alexander Award
commUNITY, Taylor Bramlett
ENGR 101, Laura Alford, Blair Beuche, Laura Burdick, James Juett, Heather Rypkema
Cinda Sue Davis Award
Debbie Taylor
Staff, M-Engin
2021
Willie Hobbs Moore Award
Dr. Miki Banu
Research Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Aspire, Advance, and Achieve Mentoring Award
Dr. Eleni Gourgou
Assistant Research Scientist, Mechanical Engineering
Julie Schatz
PhD Candidate, Computer Science Engineering
Claudia Joan Alexander Award
Dr. Ariangela Kozik
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
2020
Willie Hobbs Moore 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 Joan Alexander Award
Brian Beckford
Research Scientist in Physics
2019
Willie Hobbs Moore Award
Dr. Susan Montgomery
Chemical Engineering
Nisha Pillai
Computer Science
Aspire, Advance, and Achieve Mentoring Award
Cynthia Giffen
Comprehensive Studies Program
Jill Harland
Chemistry
Darryl Koch
College of Engineering
Teanna Sims
Civil Engineering
Claudia Joan Alexander Award
Dr. Anne J McNeil
Chemistry and Macromolecular Science & Engineering
Dr. Anouck Girard
Aerospace Engineering
2018
Willie Hobbs Moore Award
Alvaro Malaga
Dentistry
Aeriel Murphy
Materials Science & Engineering
Amber Spears
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Aspire, Advance, and Achieve Mentoring Award
Antara Afrin
Undergraduate Emergency Medicine and Transplant Surgery
Dr. Joi Mondisa
Industrial and Operations Engineering
Claudia Joan Alexander Award
Dr. Sue Lepri
Climate & Space Sciences Engineering
Dr. Allison Steiner
Climate & Space Sciences Engineering
2017
Willie Hobbs Moore Award
Aisha Bowe
Space Systems Engineering
Holly Turula
Immunology
Aspire, Advance, and Achieve Mentoring Award
Mariel Lavieri
Industrial and Operations Engineering
Quon Zhou
Biomedical Engineering
Claudia Joan Alexander Award
Kim Kearfott
Nuclear Engineering & 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 Joan Alexander 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 & Environmental Engineering
Dr. Avery Demond
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Claudia Joan Alexander Award
Julia Bourg
Biophysics
Ariana Mirian
Computer Science & Engineering
2014
Aspire, Advance, and Achieve Mentoring Award
Christine Aidala
Physics
Aditi Pajajopal
Computer Engineering
Jennifer Wegner
College of Engineering
Claudia Joan Alexander Award
Jamie Sanderson
Industrial & Operations Engineering
Dawn Tilbury
Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering Computer Science
2013
Aspire, Advance, and Achieve Mentoring Award
Lorelle Meadows
Claudia Joan Alexander Award
Kyla McMullen