Celebrating the 2025 College of Natural Sciences Dean’s Honored Graduates

Shreya Agrawal
Dean’s Honored Graduate in Environmental Science

Shreya Agrawal will graduate with a B.S. in environmental science and a B.A. in economics. Driven by a passion for interdisciplinary problem-solving, her undergraduate experience focused on advancing sustainable and equitable outcomes across sectors. Agrawal conducted research on state environmental spending and air quality with Rachel Wellhausen and on wealth inequality in the Maya empire in Amy Thompson’s lab. As a Bill Archer Fellow, she spent a semester in Washington, D.C., interning at the Environmental and Energy Study Institute and studying public policy. At UT, she advised Goodwill Central Texas on textile waste reduction through the Global Sustainability Leadership Institute’s LIFT program. She worked for three semesters as an ESG analyst intern at Dell Technologies. She is grateful to her family, friends and mentors for their support.

Alan Baade
Dean’s Honored Graduate in Computer Science

Alan Baade will graduate with a B.S. in computer science and mathematics as a Turing Scholar. His undergraduate research focused on machine learning for speech, audio and visual understanding, working with David Harwath and Kristen Grauman. Baade is first author on four papers presented at top conferences, including the Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition and the International Conference on Learning Representations and Interspeech, and he recently defended his honors thesis, which introduced an algorithm for discovering syllable units directly from raw speech. A finalist for the Computing Research Association Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award, his long-term goal is to develop universal learning algorithms that can understand the world from raw sensory input. After graduation, Baade will pursue a Ph.D. in computer science with a focus on computer vision at Stanford University.

Hajoon Bae
Dean’s Honored Graduate in Physics

Driven by a love for teaching, Hajoon Bae will graduate with a B.S.A. in physics and a teaching certificate through the UTeach Natural Sciences program. A three-year peer mentor for both the TIP Scholars Program and the BioProspecting stream of the Freshman Research Initiative, he has supported students academically and personally throughout their undergraduate journeys. His passion for education deepened through UTeach, where he served as a student ambassador and led a workshop series for future educators. For his contributions, he received the Michael Marder Student of Excellence Award. Bae is completing his student teaching at Austin High School and plans to teach physics and math at a Texas public high school after graduation.

Lars Deutz
Dean’s Honored Graduate in Neuroscience

Combining a love for molecular biosciences with a commitment to service, Lars Deutz will graduate with a B.S. in neuroscience from the Dean’s Scholars honors program. He has conducted research in Daniel Dickinson’s lab in the Department of Molecular Biosciences, where he studied proteins that drive cell asymmetry during early embryonic development. His independent project utilized single-molecule microscopy to study protein interactions, culminating in a first-author publication in Biophysical Journal and earning him the George H. Mitchell Award. His research experiences, including two summers at the Cleveland Clinic studying liver disease, affirmed his calling to bridge basic science and clinical practice. At UT, he served as president of Synapse, co-founding a student research conference and organizing faculty-led discussions to expand undergraduate research involvement. He also led the Austin chapter of Miracle Messages, helping reconnect unhoused individuals with long-lost family members. In the fall, Deutz will begin an M.D./Ph.D. program at Johns Hopkins University.

Dat Duong
Dean’s Honored Graduate in Public Health

Dat Duong, a Terry Foundation Scholar, Impact Scholar and 2025 J.J. Pickle Citizenship Award recipient, will graduate with a B.S. in public health and a distinction in service and leadership. He is also completing an accelerated master’s of public health at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. At UT, Duong focused on food insecurity and access, serving as the inaugural co-director of the Food Security Agency and helping launch UT’s first grocery shuttle in partnership with Parking and Transportation Services. He also co-founded the West Campus Collective, a student-led food recovery initiative that has distributed over 4,000 meals and secured more than $5,000 in grant funding. Through these roles and as a member of the Natural Sciences Council, he has learned the power of collective action and community care, and remains committed to continuing his work in public health that centers equity and social impact.

Sami Farooqui
Dean’s Honored Graduate in Public Health

Graduating with a B.S. in public health, Sami Farooqui’s dedication to serving historically marginalized communities drives both his clinical and research work. He serves as lead research coordinator at the Cena Research Institute, where he focuses on equitable clinical trial design and increasing representation of underrepresented populations in medical research. His work has resulted in multiple publications and presentations at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions and the NASA Human Research Program Investigators’ Workshop. Farooqui is an advocate for historically marginalized communities and has volunteered with sexual and gender minorities and unhoused populations through Kind Clinic, Hearts4Homeless and Community First! Village. Outside of academics and research, he finds balance through creative and physical pursuits, including photography, basketball, weight training, boxing and running. In the fall, he will begin medical school at Baylor College of Medicine.

Haley Goodwin
Dean’s Honored Graduate in Biochemistry

Having completed the Health Science Scholars honors program, Haley Goodwin is graduating with a degree in biochemistry, a minor in classics and a distinction in research. Under the mentorship of Nigel Atkinson, she has developed computational methods for predicting protein interaction networks and is first author on a forthcoming manuscript describing a publicly available web tool she created, the Protein-Protein Interaction Identifier (PPI-ID). Her thesis, “Identifying the Synaptic Pairing-Partners of an NF-κB that Modulates Alcohol Sensitivity,” reflects her interest in the molecular basis of behavior. Goodwin’s work has been recognized with several awards, including the College of Natural Sciences Advanced Research Fellowship, the Rising Researcher Award at the Undergraduate Research Forum, the Phi Kappa Phi Pioneer Award and an invitation to present her tool at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In the fall, she will begin pursuing a Ph.D. in computational and systems biology at MIT.

Kennedy Hawkins
Dean’s Honored Graduate in Nutritional Sciences

Kennedy Hawkins, a Joint Admission Medical Program Scholar from Houston, is graduating with a B.S. in nutritional sciences. At UT, she fostered her love for teaching by serving as a course assistant for physiology and nutrition courses, tutoring in subjects from organic chemistry to biochemistry and mentoring students at the Sanger Learning Center. She rose from tutor to undergraduate assistant, playing a key role in the center’s College Reading and Learning Association certification and supporting tutor recruitment and training. Outside the classroom, Hawkins competed with Longhorn Powerlifting, played for the UT Women’s Club Volleyball Team, ran marathons and baked vegan desserts. After graduation, she will begin her M.D. studies at Baylor College of Medicine.

Diego Huerta Gutierrez
Dean’s Honored Graduate in Mathematics

Diego Huerta Gutierrez, an international student from Monterrey, Mexico, is graduating with a B.S. in mathematics focusing on actuarial science and a certificate in elements of computing. On campus, he has supported the actuarial community by organizing case competitions, mentoring peers and serving as an active member of Gamma Iota Sigma. Through the Organization of Latino Actuaries, Gutierrez received the 2024 Cresta Award for his dedication to advancing Latino representation in the field and is currently helping organize the 2025 Avanza Conference. He has passed four actuarial exams and completed two internships in health and benefits strategy, and Gutierrez will return full-time to his consulting firm in Chicago after graduation. Outside the classroom, Gutierrez enjoys reading, exploring new cities and spending time with his six nieces and nephews. He hopes to continue driving inclusive innovation in healthcare through mentorship and industry leadership.

Aveen Jafari
Dean’s Honored Graduate in Biology

Aveen Jafari is a Health Science Scholar graduating with an honors B.S.A. in biology, with distinctions in research and in service and leadership. She worked in the Jung Kwak Gerontology Lab, where she helped pilot a community health worker intervention at Dell Seton Medical Center to help improve resource access for caregivers of dementia patients. Supported by Amy Bryan at the Priscilla Pond Flawn Child and Family Laboratory (Lab School), Jafari completed her honors thesis, “The Impact of Community-Based Arts Exposure on the Health and Well-Being of Children with Chronic Illness and Their Siblings,” in partnership with CoachArt. This work earned her an honorable mention at the Texas Research Showcase and an Undergraduate Research Fellowship. She also volunteered with Austin Independent School District elementary schools to teach English to Dari-, Pashto- and Farsi-speaking refugee students and served as a preschool teaching assistant at the Lab School. Jafari received the Second-Year Excellence Award and looks forward to applying to medical school during her gap year.

Lohit Jagarapu
Dean’s Honored Graduate in Mathematics

Lohit Jagarapu, from Frisco, Texas, is graduating with a B.S. in mathematics. His research spans computational geometry and computer graphics, and his honors thesis explores a diffusion-based approach to functional maps. As a member of Qixing Huang’s group, he conducted research in generative computer vision and contributed a proof of the torsion-freeness of persistence diagrams of signed distance field generated shapes. His work led to improved generative models and was published at the International Conference on Machine Learning 2024. Outside the lab, Jagarapu served as president of the Math Club, launching new initiatives to support undergraduate engagement and was awarded the John L. & Anne Crawford Endowed Presidential Scholarship. He also created the Longhorn Math Discord for undergraduate mathematics majors to build connections. He will pursue a Ph.D. in computer science at New York University, focusing on geometry processing and graphics.

Abdullah Khasawneh
Dean’s Honored Graduate in Chemistry

Abdullah Khasawneh is graduating with a B.S. in chemistry and a certificate in Spanish for medical professionals. Fascinated by the intersection of chemistry and biology, he joined the Newberry Lab, where he designed and synthesized PROTAC molecules to target neurodegenerative disease proteins, aiming to bridge the gap between science and medicine. Outside the lab, Khasawneh shared his knowledge as a course assistant in general chemistry and inspired high school students at Garza High School through tutoring. As a volunteer coordinator for Open Door Ministry, he is passionate about uplifting underserved communities. Khasawneh will be pursuing a medical degree at the Long School of Medicine in San Antonio.

Ellie Rahm Kim
Dean’s Honored Graduate in Neuroscience

Ellie Rahm Kim is an international student from Seoul, South Korea, graduating with degrees in neuroscience and government. For three summers, she conducted computational oncology research at MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Broad Institute. Her work led to a co-authorship on the paper “Oncogenic mutations shape tumor microenvironment in human brain tumors,” with more publications to come. Her efforts have been recognized with the College of Natural Sciences Second-Year Excellence Award, College of Liberal Arts Academic Excellence Award and the International Education Fee Scholarship. Motivated by her own barriers to education, Kim has supported fellow students as a teaching assistant, lead PCL STEM tutor, college readiness mentor and international orientation mentor. She also completed four certificates and two minors spanning computing, statistics and the philosophy of law. This fall, Kim will begin Ph.D. studies in bioinformatics and integrative genomics at Harvard Medical School, where she aspires to become a successful scientist and professor to pay forward the generous support she has received from her mentors.

Sohmee Kim
Dean’s Honored Graduate in Neuroscience

Guided by curiosity about how we understand the world around us, Sohmee Kim is graduating with a B.S. in neuroscience honors and with distinctions in research and in service and leadership. Her thesis in Franco Pestilli’s lab explores the structural and functional role of white matter in the human brain. She also contributed to research on sleep behavior in Ank3 mouse models in Laura Colgin’s lab and fear memory attenuation in Stephen Maren’s lab. As a Nudelman Pioneer, four-time Women in Neuroscience intern and Animal Behavior teaching assistant, Kim has supported her peers and worked to make science more inclusive. Her academic interests lie in using data-driven approaches to connect basic science with real-world applications. Outside of neuroscience, Kim studied abroad for two semesters at Seoul National University, where she served as a cultural ambassador, conducted research on the history of traditional Korean performance arts, performed pungmul (a form of traditional Korean folk music) and worked as a museum guide.

Caroline Lai
Dean’s Honored Graduate in Human Development & Family Sciences

Caroline Lai is from Dallas, Texas, graduating with a B.S. in honors in advanced human development and family sciences, a minor in Chinese and a certificate in pre-health professions. As a sophomore, she joined the Child Learning and Development Studies Lab, where she explored how bilingualism impacts early development. Her research culminated in an honors thesis, “Exploring Attention in 24- to 36-Month-Old Toddlers: The Role of Dual-Language Exposure and Parental Code-Switching,” under the mentorship of Maria M. Arredondo. Lai is a two-time Distinguished College Scholar and received a distinction in research, Second-Year Excellence Award and Chinese Language Honors Award. She spent a May term abroad in Italy, where she studied early childhood education; tutored in third-grade reading and eighth-grade math as an Ignite Fellow with Teach For America; and was a freshman girls small group leader for Epic Movement, a campus ministry. She also volunteered at multiple outpatient rehabilitation clinics and is a two-time co-ed intramural champion in ultimate frisbee. She will be pursuing a doctorate in occupational therapy at Texas Woman’s University in Dallas.

Miles Mackenzie
Dean’s Honored Graduate in Physics

Miles Mackenzie is graduating with an honors B.S. degree in physics, fueled by his fascination with using lasers to create precise measurement tools. His thesis, conducted in Mark Raizen’s lab with graduate student Zachary Morrison, explores ultra-sensitive acoustic detection using laser interferometry. He also collaborated with Avik Dutt at the University of Maryland on research involving photon dynamics in topological lattices, which he presented at the American Physical Society March Meeting. As an officer in Gender Minorities in Physics for two years, he helped connect fellow students with support and resources. He also served as a physics learning assistant with Greg Sitz, guiding students through lab coursework. After graduation, Mackenzie will pursue a Ph.D. in atomic, molecular and optical physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Asma Maredia
Dean’s Honored Graduate in Human Development and Family Sciences

Asma Maredia will graduate with an honors B.S. in advanced human development and family sciences, along with certificates in pre-health professions and Spanish for medical professions. Asma’s research in Elizabeth Muñoz’s CHART lab explores stress in Mexican-American adults, and her honors thesis investigates the link between stress, race and thyroid disease. She received the Second-Year Excellence Award and Student Service Award, and she is a three-time Distinguished College Scholar. Maredia mentored students as a peer academic coach and undergraduate course assistant, and served as co-president of TX HDFS, building community and organizing service events. She contributed to health disparities research as a member and communications co-director for the Dell Med Health Leadership Apprentice Program. After graduation, Maredia will return to Houston, stay engaged with her community and prepare for medical school while spending time with family, exploring coffee shops and practicing Pilates.

Jessica Oberlander
Dean’s Honored Graduate in Chemistry

Jessica Oberlander is graduating with a B.S. in chemistry and a pre-health professions certificate, with a distinction in research. In Eric Anslyn’s lab, Oberlander researched dynamic covalent chemistry to facilitate the assembly of material networks, specifically studying nanocrystal gel assemblies in non-equilibrium states. She presented her work at the 2025 Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSEC) Annual Meeting and contributed to a manuscript in preparation. She has been named a College Scholar and Distinguished College Scholar, and received the Burl Gordon Rogers Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Chemistry. Oberlander served as the undergraduate representative for the MRSEC Student Leadership Council, organizing events to foster undergraduate engagement in materials research, and she volunteered with Longhorn EMS. After graduation, she plans to attend medical school, where she aims to combine her scientific knowledge with a career in patient care.

Priscilla Olivarez
Dean’s Honored Graduate in Textiles and Apparel

Priscilla Olivarez is graduating with a B.S. in textiles and apparel, with a specialization in merchandising and a minor in entrepreneurship. She founded the National Retail Federation Foundation Student Association at UT to support retail-focused students, serving as the first NRF Foundation student ambassador. Olivarez has also held leadership roles at the Kendra Scott Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute, including as the senior events program associate intern, student board president and vice president of the “Founding Fearless” podcast. She facilitated over 35 initiatives, led 200+ students and co-hosted a podcast amplifying women entrepreneurs. She worked as a brand intern at Kendra Scott and as PR and marketing intern at She is Cheval. With a passion for brand strategy and marketing, she aspires to work in the fashion industry, creating meaningful connections between consumers and brands while empowering women in entrepreneurship and leadership.

Marissa Perry
Dean’s Honor Graduate in Astronomy

With an academic career exploring the far reaches of the universe, Marissa Perry is graduating with an honors B.S. in astronomy and the elements of computing certificate. For the past two years, she has been part of the Galaxy Evolution Vertically Integrated Projects (GEVIP) program in the Department of Astronomy, led by Steven Finkelstein. She helped develop machine learning techniques to clean catalogs of early galaxies observed with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which were included in JWST research proposals. Her honors thesis, “The Burstiness of Star Formation: The Hα-to-UV Ratio in Galaxies at z=1–7,” uses JWST data to analyze the variability of star formation in early galaxies, and she is writing a first-author paper on the results. Perry also participated in a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates at MIT’s Haystack Observatory, leading to a first-author publication. She has received an honorable mention from the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program and the Ralph Cutler Green Endowed Scholarship. After graduation, Perry will pursue a Ph.D. in astronomy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Gabriella Salazar
Dean’s Honor Graduate in Biology

Gabriella Salazar is graduating with an honors B.S.A. in biology, a minor in healthcare reform and innovation and a pre-health professions certificate. She has earned a distinction in service and leadership for her role as chair of the Health Science Scholars honors program. Salazar spent two years at the Dell Pediatric Research Institute, investigating the molecular basis of neural tube defects. Her honors thesis explores protein interactions critical to neural tube development. Through the Dell Med Health Leadership Apprentice Program, she collaborated with community partners on mental health initiatives for youth. Salazar also trained Dell Seton volunteers through the College Volunteer Leadership Program and worked as a patient care technician. After graduation, she plans to pursue a medical career, focusing on improving healthcare for underserved communities.

Prasann Singhal
Dean’s Honored Graduate in Computer Science

Prasann Singhal is graduating with a B.S. in computer science and a B.A. in linguistics. Since his first semester, he has worked in Greg Durrett’s lab, conducting research in natural language processing (NLP) to improve language models like ChatGPT. Singhal has published four first-author papers at top venues, including an oral spotlight at the Conference on Language Modeling, an honor reserved for the top 2% of submissions. His research has spanned topics from efficient text processing techniques to uncovering limitations in reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF) algorithms used in both industry and academia. He is currently studying the relationship between training data and output diversity in language models. Singhal credits his growth to his advisor, Greg Durrett, and supportive mentorship from Ph.D. students in the lab. Outside of research, he has led two directed reading program groups and served as a course assistant for an NLP class. In the fall, he will begin his Ph.D. studies in computer science.

Jinglang Wilson Sun
Dean’s Honored Graduate in Biochemistry

Hailing from Richmond, Texas, Jinglang Wilson Sun is graduating with an honors B.S. in biochemistry, a certificate in elements of computing and a minor in entrepreneurship. At UT, he conducted research in Amy Lee’s lab, using patch-clamp electrophysiology to investigate the regulation of voltage-gated calcium channels. His research led to a second-author publication and a forthcoming first-author paper. Sun has also received the Richard Gray Memorial Scholarship, the National Science Foundation S-STEM Fellowship and the Undergraduate Poster Award at the 2025 Biophysical Society Meeting. He earned distinctions in service and leadership for his roles as a peer mentor in the Freshman Research Initiative, a course assistant and a student representative in the Senate of College Councils. Sun enjoys spending time with family, reading, watching history documentaries and practicing archery. After graduation, he plans to pursue postbaccalaureate research before attending graduate school.

Panisara Sutthipong
Dean’s Honored Graduate in Medical Laboratory Science

Panisara Sutthipong is graduating with a B.S. in medical laboratory science and a medical laboratory scientist certification. As a sophomore, she joined Kasia Dinkeloo’s Bioprospecting 2.0 lab, where she researched plastic-degrading bacteria from Zophobas morio enteric microbiome. She presented her work at the college’s Undergraduate Research Forum and at the Texas Plastic Pollution Symposium. Sutthipong was a course assistant for “Medical Microbiology” and served as secretary and vice president of Students in Medical Laboratory Science (SMLS). She received the Eva Stevenson Woods Presidential Scholarship, a college distinction in research and recognition as a Distinguished College Scholar. Sutthipong has also volunteered with Ascension Seton Medical Center and the Texas State Department of Health. Outside of academics, she played violin with the UT University Orchestra for three years. After graduation, she plans to work as a medical laboratory scientist while preparing for medical school, focusing on pathology.

Jimmy Xin
Dean’s Honored Graduate in Computer Science

Jimmy Xin is a Turing Scholar graduating with a B.S. in computer science and a minor in philosophy. His research focuses on formal verification systems and automation tools. His senior thesis formalizes resource ownership in programs based on probabilistic independence and contributes to a project on verifying probabilistic programs with collaborators at the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems. Xin has published research on automatic policy synthesis for robots and automatic proof generation. At UT, he co-directed the UTCS Directed Reading Program, served as a problem-writer for UT programming competitions and was a course assistant for a class on algorithms. Outside of academics, Xin enjoys outdoor climbing, crosswords, dancing and visiting bakeries.