UMSI awards & honors: June 2026

Faculty, staff and students of the University of Michigan School of Information regularly earn local and national recognition for their research, service and thought leadership. UMSI awards & honors is a monthly roundup celebrating achievements submitted by members of the UMSI community. Share your own good news or recognize a colleague at umsi.info/awards. 

Awards & honors

Devon Archer, assistant dean for organizational culture and community, earned the 2026 Lester Monts Award from U-M’s Center for Educational Outreach. The award honors someone who has advanced U-M’s commitment to educational outreach. Archer was selected for her unwavering commitment, visionary leadership and dedication to expanding educational access across the university and the state of Michigan. 

Associate professor Ceren Budak has been selected as an Andrew Carnegie Fellow. Budak is one of 24 scholars who will receive a $200,000 research stipend to explore the causes of political polarization and to identify possible solutions.

Abigail McFee, marketing and communications writer, earned the inaugural award for feature writing at the University of Michigan’s MaizeXBlue Summit. The MXB awards spotlight the most innovative marketing and communications work across all U-M units.

PhD candidate Aadarsh Padiyath and PhD student Haobo Zhang earned the 2025-26 Gary M. Olson Outstanding PhD Student Awards. The annual UMSI awards are given to one pre-candidate doctoral student and one PhD candidate based on progress in the program, achievements in terms of publications and presentations, and service to fellow students.

Four PhD students — Andrew Balch, Ashlyn Campbell, Seth Bernstein and Veronica Pimenova — have been awarded 2026 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships. The NSF GRFP program is one of the nation's most prestigious honors for early career researchers. 

Four PhD students were selected to receive the UMSI Dean’s Fellowship, a merit-based award that recognizes research excellence. Kenan Alkiek, Ghadir Awad, Sena Kojah and Abhishek Sekharan will each receive one semester of funding, covering tuition, stipend, benefits and a $1,000 award, to focus on advancing their dissertation research.

Katriona Voogd, a 2026 Master of Science in Information graduate, earned second place in the drama category of U-M’s Hopwood Awards for creative writing. 

Thought leadership

The Career Development Office’s student experience team will present four sessions at the 2026 National Career Development Association Conference in Minneapolis. Team members presenting include Emily Cutlip, Jordan Hansen, Krystle Forbes and Carina Wilson. 

Laura Marsh and Nick Jones of the Career Development Office will present at the 2026 National Association of Colleges and Employers Virtual Conference and Expo. Their session, “Mentorship Programs at UMSI: Building a Comprehensive, Culturally Responsive Mentorship Mosaic,” will highlight UMSI’s approach to mentorship and professional development.

Lecturer III Jim Rampton was invited to speak at Car.HMI Europe, an international conference focused on automotive human-machine interface design. He will be the only university representative among this year's speakers.

Master of Science in Information student Victoria Sung contributed to “No Strings,” a public art exhibit that invites community members to explore and compare guaranteed income and traditional public benefits. The exhibit is part of the Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor pilot program led by U-M Poverty Solutions and will be displayed throughout the Ann Arbor community in the coming months.