Biden Honors UConn Faculty Members During Final Days As President

STORRS, CT — Three University of Connecticut faculty members were bestowed prestigious presidential honors during Joe Biden's final days in the White House.

On Jan. 14, UConn civil engineering Professor Arash E. Zaghi and ecology and evolutionary biology associate Professor Jill Wegrzyn were announced as two of the winners of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, or PECASE.

It is the highest award that the federal government can bestow to scientists and engineers in the early phases of their careers. Zaghi and Wegrzyn were among 400 recipients of the PECASE, which the Clinton Administration established in 1996 to recognize early career researchers and contributions to far-reaching developments in science and technology.

Biden awarded recipients who are funded through federal sources. Both UConn researchers are working on projects financed by the National Science Foundation.

Zaghi is a member of the civil engineering department in UConn's College of Engineering. His research centers on promoting a strengths-based approach to neurodiverse learning, which recognizes the unique and often exceptional strengths of neurodiverse students, UConn officials said.

Wegryzn's PECASE award recognizes her contributions to biodiversity and conservation genomics research, specifically at the intersection of computational and evolutionary biology, UConn officials said.

On Jan. 13, Linda Barry, a professor in the Department of Surgery and the Department of Health Sciences at the UConn School of Medicine, was announced as a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring.

Like the PECASE, the award is the most significant honor that the government bestows.

Barry was honored for her significant mentorship, especially for underrepresented students in medicine. During her over three decades of mentoring experience, she has encouraged more than 300 students to pursue careers in science, UConn officials said.

Additionally, the Women in Surgery Interest Group she founded has led to her mentoring of more than 400 women medical students who demonstrated an interest in a surgical career, UConn officials said.