Andrew Kwon, a fourth-year chemical engineering major at UC Santa Barbara, has received the Donald F. and Mildred Topp Othmer Scholarship from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the world’s leading organization for chemical engineering professionals. The institute issues just fifteen student members a $1,000 scholarship each year in recognition of their academic achievements and involvement in student chapter.

A graduate of Foothill High School in Pleasanton, Kwon worked two years as an undergraduate researcher for materials assistant professor Raphaële Clément, investigating different transition-metal combinations to be used as candidates for cathode materials in sodium-ion batteries. He also conducted undergraduate research through multiple programs managed by UCSB’s Materials Research Laboratory, spending one summer at the University of Texas at El Paso as part of the Partnership for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) Program and conducting additional research through the Future Leaders in Advanced Materials (FLAM) and Research Internships in Science and Engineering (RISE) programs. 

Kwon has been an active member of UCSB’s student chapter of AIChE, serving as treasurer, internal vice president, and co-president. The group organizes professional, academic, and social events for the undergraduate chemical engineering community at UCSB. 

Kwon is the first UCSB recipient of the Donald F. and Mildred Topp Othmer Scholarship since at least 2009.