Gabriela Villalpando Torres awarded Fiona and Michael Goodchild Graduate Mentoring Award

We are pleased to announce that Gabriela Villalpando Torres has been selected as a recipient of the prestigious Fiona and Michael Goodchild Graduate Mentoring Award, presented by the Graduate Division at the University of California, Santa Barbara. This esteemed recognition is one of eight awards being given out for the 2024 Mentoring Award hosted by the Graduate Division.

The Graduate Division proudly recognizes exceptional awardees for their dedication to mentoring and encouraging undergraduates in their research journeys. The Fiona and Michael Goodchild Graduate Mentoring Award is available to students in the College of Engineering; Mathematical, Life, and Physical Sciences Division of the College of Letters and Science; and the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management. (Read more here)

Gabby is a Ph.D Candidate in Mechanical Engineering and serves as a Super Mentor for CSEP's Summer Institute in Mathematics and Sciences. The Summer Institute in Mathematics and Science (SIMS) is a 3-week academic preparation and research training program for incoming first-year students intending to enroll at UCSB directly from high school. As a Super Mentor for SIMS, Gabby oversees a range of responsibilities, including leading research mentor recruitment and training initiatives, as well as overseeing the research components of the program, ensuring seamless execution and success.

Additionally, Gabby serves as the research mentor through CSEP's MARC Scholars Program; The program seeks to increase the number of highly-trained biomedical and behavioral scientists from disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds in leadership positions to significantly affect the nation's health-related research needs. As a research mentor, Gabby collaborates closely with an undergraduate scholar in the Pruitt Lab, providing one-on-one guidance to enhance their scientific skills and foster their professional growth as a researcher.