Sixteen Pitt faculty members have earned the 2026 Chancellor’s Distinguished Awards for exemplifying excellence in public service, research and teaching.
Each honoree will receive a $2,000 cash prize and a $3,000 grant to support their work and will be recognized at the Faculty Honors Convocation on March 31 in Alumni Hall.
Below are this year’s recipients by category and their highlighted achievements.
Public Service
Caitlin Bruce, associate professor of communication, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. Recognized for co-founding and directing the Hemispheric Conversations: Urban Art Project, which, along with creating original art and public programming, has raised more than $60,000 to support community artists across Pittsburgh and abroad, mentored undergraduate researchers and “fostered meaningful cultural exchange and community engagement through public art.” Read more about Bruce’s work in Pittwire.
Kevin Conley, associate dean for undergraduate studies and chair of the Department of Sports Medicine and Nutrition, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Recognized for serving on the board of directors of Special Olympics Pennsylvania, helping to lead Project ALL STAR to evaluate long-term health impacts on athletes with intellectual disabilities and “bridging Pitt scholarship with meaningful community impact.”
Andrew McCormick, associate professor of pediatrics, School of Medicine
Recognized for “achieving national leadership in developmental disability care” as president of the board of directors for DSMIG‑USA, an organization for medical professionals who care for Down syndrome patients, and “creating innovative curricula that address structural inequities in medicine while fostering community partnerships across Southwestern Pennsylvania.”
Sheila Vélez Martínez, professor of refugee, asylum, and immigration law, co-director, Center for Civil Rights and Racial Justice, School of Law
Recognized for founding the Immigration Law Clinic, co‑founding Pitt Law’s Center for Civil Rights and Racial Justice and the School of Medicine’s Human Rights Clinic, and “spearheading rapid humanitarian responses to crises including the Afghan evacuation, Hurricane Maria and the Ukraine invasion.”
Sylvanus Wosu, associate professor of mechanical engineering & materials science and associate dean for diversity affairs, Swanson School of Engineering
Recognized for founding PITT STRIVE, a National Science Foundation-funded program supporting underrepresented engineering students, and co‑founding Kanmas Educational Support Center Inc., which has led to an average of 65% improvement in state proficiency in math and reading among more than 1,000 students.
Research
Senior category
Corinne Richards‑Zawacki, professor of biological sciences, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Recognized for her “uncommon citizen science approach that actively involves communities in frog‑watch programs,” “substantial educational outreach efforts,” and work at “the leading edge of … scientific issues central to ecological and evolutionary research and education [on amphibians] in the 21st century.” Read about Richards-Zawacki’s work in Pitt Magazine.
Daniel Shaw, distinguished professor of psychology, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Recognized for a “rare combination of advancing scientific knowledge while also delivering practical solutions to improve lives of children and families facing economic and social challenges.” He is described by peers as “the leading developmental psychopathologist in the world” for his field of study.
Wen Xie, professor and chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy
Recognized for “paradigm‑shifting work in defining the xenobiotic receptor’s role in mediating the environmental effects on human disease and morbidity.” His peers described him as “the premier investigator working on molecular biology of xenobiotics in the U.S.” and making “numerous pioneering discoveries in research.”
Junior category
Diana Khoi Nguyen, associate professor of English, interim director of Writing Program, director of Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Recognized for “work to help reshape the field of poetics through a combination of visual art, poetry and community‑based projects.” She is described as “one of the few poets whose influence is widespread among academic establishments but also among experimental artmakers, especially upcoming generations of poets.” Read more about Nguyen in Pittwire.
Evan Schneider, associate professor of physics and astronomy, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Recognized for “substantial early‑career acclaim that (her) work has received through media coverage” and “multiple recent national awards of distinction.” She is at the “forefront of galaxy‑scale simulation” and has “done some of the most important technical work in computational astrophysics in the past five years,” according to her peers.
Stephen Smagula, associate professor of psychiatry and epidemiology, School of Medicine
Recognized for “innovative research in precision depression treatments, which has already been translated into real‑world applications, including wearable technology.” Peers describe him as having an “outstanding record of innovative research” and “a uniquely strong trajectory as an early‑to‑mid career faculty investigator.”
Teaching
Jennifer Corbelli, professor of medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, School of Medicine
Recognized for her leadership roles in the School of Medicine’s Academy of Distinguished Medical Educators and Institute for Clinical Research Education as well as her “thoughtful and careful balance between high standards and wellness in cultivating future physicians.”
Brandon Grainger, associate professor and director of the Electric Power Technologies Laboratory in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Swanson School of Engineering
Recognized for his “commitment to surveying the top electric‑power engineering programs globally” to improve the Department of Electrical and Computing Engineering’s curriculum and service as director of the Electric Power Technologies Laboratory, co-director of the Energy GRID Institute and co‑director of the Advanced Magnetics for Power and Energy Development Consortium.
Nancy Kaufmann, teaching professor of biological sciences, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Recognized for integrating “authentic‑research experiences into all Foundations of Biology Lab courses, an astounding feat that has impacted thousands of undergraduate students and places Pitt at the forefront of STEM education in the U.S.”
Robert Kerestes, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, and the director of the Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Program, Swanson School of Engineering
Recognized for co-leading a modernization of the Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Program and advancing “generative artificial intelligence literacy and pedagogy across the Swanson School.”
Sandhya Rao, research professor of physics and astronomy, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Recognized for her “continuous and creative innovation of astronomy instruction with particular emphasis and impact on bringing students into the discipline through general education pathways” and providing “in‑depth individual advising to undergraduate and graduate student researchers.”