On Oct. 9, finalists for the 2024 Dean’s Award for Graduate Research Excellence had the opportunity to present their work to faculty and university leadership, including members of the Arts & Sciences National Council. After rounds of lightning talks, the council selected Wesley Wagner, a doctoral student in chemistry, as the prize winner.
Departments and programs across Arts & Sciences could nominate up to two graduate students for the award, which recognizes outstanding achievements in research or creative practice from the past two years.
Sophia Hayes, vice dean of graduate education and a professor of chemistry, introduced the finalists and discussed the importance of graduate students and their research. “Graduate research is one of the pillars of our university,” Hayes said. “Universities offer a terrific intellectual legacy of deep scholarly achievement, and these graduate students facilitate that. They show the best pieces of Washington University and Arts & Sciences, and this next generation that we’re training and sending out have fantastic skills in communication, teaching, research, and more.”