University of Pittsburgh logo

Awards and Accolades

Professor Alexander Deiters wins 2026 ACS Cope Scholar Award

The American Chemical Society announced this week that Professor Alexander Deiters will receive a 2026 Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award.  The award is given to recognize and encourage excellence in organic chemistry.  It consists of $5,000, a certificate, and a $40,000 unrestricted research grant.  Deiters is being recognized for his work at the interface of synthetic organic chemistry and biology.  He is a pioneer in the field of optochemical biology, which uses light to activate or deactivate cellular processes with exquisite selectivity.

Meet Pitt’s 2025-26 Fulbright US Student finalists

Six University of Pittsburgh graduates, including five from the Dietrich School, have been selected as 2025-26 Fulbright U.S. Student Program finalists, continuing the University’s tradition of global scholarship and cultural exchange.

This year’s recipients will travel to five countries to teach English, pursue advanced degrees and conduct research through one of the United States’ most prestigious international academic exchange programs.

Todd Reeser will conduct research through France’s Gender Institute

Todd Reeser, a professor in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of French and Italian, was named as a 2025 chair by France’s Institut du Genre.

As a chairholder, Reeser will collaborate on teaching in the University of Paris system, one of the institute’s 34 partner institutions, and conduct research for a new book.

Pittsburgh campus awarded $489,444 to support first-generation, low-income, and students with disabilities through TRIO Student Support Services

Pittsburgh, PA — The U.S. Department of Education has awarded the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh campus a federal TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) grant totaling $489,444 annually for five years (contingent on continued Congressional approval) to improve college retention and graduation rates among low-income, first-generation students, and students with disabilities.

Senior Ryan Willis earned a Beinecke Scholarship

Ryan Willis, a senior in Pitt’s Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, has been named a Beinecke scholar. He is one of just 20 students selected nationwide for this year’s award, which supports graduate study in the arts, humanities or social sciences.

Willis — who is majoring in English literature and philosophy with a minor in French — is also pursuing a Bachelor of Philosophy degree in the David C. Frederick Honors College.

The Getty Scholars have been announced

The 2025/2026 Getty Scholars have been announced and include one Dietrich School faculty member. Huey Copeland, the Andrew W. Mellon Chair and Professor in the Department of History of Art and Architecture, has been named a Guest Scholar. He will be in residence from January until June with his work “Thinking the Unthought: From Continental Philosophy to Black Radical Study.”