2025 STAR, IMPACT Awards Honor 4 Cottrell Scholars
From left: Richard Brutchey, Jenny Ross, Eric Hegg, Michael Strauss.
Research Corporation for Science Advancement has named four members of the Cottrell Scholar community as recipients of its 2025 STAR and IMPACT Awards. CS 2010 Richard Brutchey, Chemistry, University of Southern California, and CS 2010 Jenny Ross, Physics, Syracuse University, have won STAR Awards, and CS 2002 Eric Hegg, Chemistry, Michigan State University, and CS 1997 Michael Strauss, Astronomy, Princeton University, have won IMPACT Awards.
“These exemplary teacher-scholars are leaders whose influence extends beyond their own students, institutions, and fields,” said RCSA President & CEO Daniel Linzer.
The STAR (Science Teaching And Research) Award recognizes outstanding research and educational accomplishments, while the IMPACT Award recognizes the work of a Cottrell Scholar or Holland Award recipient who has had a national impact in science through leadership and service. Both awards include a $5,000 cash prize.
The awards will be presented at the 2025 Cottrell Scholar Conference, to be held July 16-18, 2025, in Tucson, Arizona. Recipients will give brief acceptance talks and will be available throughout the coming year to provide mentoring to their early career Cottrell Scholar colleagues, according to RCSA Senior Program Director Silvia Ronco.
STAR and IMPACT Award nominees must be a Cottrell Scholar at least 12 years beyond the year of their original Cottrell Scholar award, or a Holland Awardee regardless of the year of their award. They must also hold an academic position at a research university or primarily undergraduate institution in the United States or Canada.
STAR Award recipient Richard Brutchey, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Southern California, is recognized for research that pushes the boundaries of materials synthesis, demonstrating that targeted molecular programming and innovative methodologies can unlock new classes of materials with transformative properties. He is also an advocate for engaging and retaining students in STEM by providing hands-on research opportunities for community college students, who frequently miss this critical research exposure. As part of his original Cottrell Scholar Award, Brutchey partnered with Cerritos College, where 55% of students identify as first-generation college students, to launch an eight-week summer internship program combining classroom learning with hands-on research. A key aspect of the program is continued mentorship, where graduate student and faculty mentors help interns navigate the transfer process to four-year institutions, provide letters of recommendation, and encourage students to participate in the program for multiple summers. More than 60 interns from Cerritos College have matriculated through the program, which continues today, and more than 95% of them have transferred to a four-year university and majored in STEM.
STAR Award recipient Jenny Ross, Professor of Physics and Associate Dean for Creativity, Scholarship, and Research in the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University, is an award-winning scientist breaking new ground in biophysics and active matter research, a selfless mentor and research collaborator, and an unapologetic advocate for systemic change in the scientific community. Under her leadership, the physics department at Syracuse has transformed its undergraduate curriculum, replacing the traditional introductory physics labs with “Experiencing Physics,” a set of inquiry-based CURE labs that have significantly improved teaching and learning outcomes and retention of students in the physics major. She developed a summer high-school internship program in collaboration with Syracuse City Schools creating a pipeline for students into science majors. Her leadership includes formal roles in academic leadership, high levels of service to the major scientific societies, and grassroots leadership through organization of faculty informally using listserv groups. Through each of these approaches, she seeks to support the scientific community from students to faculty.
IMPACT Award recipient Eric Hegg, Professor of Biochemistry and Dean of Michigan State University’s College of Natural Science, has made extensive contributions to scientific understanding and practical applications in the field of alternative energy research and bioenergetics. His work on lignocellulosic biomass conversion, co-developing a pretreatment process that efficiently separates lignin from cellulose and hemicellulose in woody biomass, not only facilitates the production of fermentable sugars for biofuels but also yields high-quality lignin suitable for creating valuable bioproducts, such as renewable chemicals and polyurethane applications. In the realm of enzymology, Hegg has conducted pivotal studies on cytochrome c nitrite reductase, which converts nitrite, a common environmental contaminant, into ammonia. His research has provided deeper insights into the enzyme’s electron storage and distribution mechanisms, contributing to a better understanding of the global nitrogen cycle. Additionally, Hegg has explored the biosynthesis and transport of heme a, a vital component in cellular respiration and bioenergetics. Hegg’s impact extends to various leadership roles in the Department of Energy Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center and in the DOE Center for Catalysis in Biomimetic Confinement, where his collaborative efforts have helped advance bioenergy research and the development of sustainable solutions for energy production. He has also advised the U.S. House Science, Space, and Technology Committee and provided input on draft legislation.
IMPACT Award recipient Michael Strauss, Chair of the Department of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University, is an international leader in the massive sky surveys that are transforming astronomy. He joined the Sloan Digital Sky Survey project near the beginning, playing several roles including Spokesperson of the collaboration, organizing the scientific community in writing papers based on the data and releasing it to the world, establishing a new paradigm for how astronomy and large surveys are carried out. As a researcher in the areas of extragalactic astronomy and cosmology, he and his colleagues used data from the SDSS to discover the most distant objects known at the time, quasars seen when the universe was only 5% of its present age. Strauss has also played key roles in the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time, advocating for the observatory and its survey for the 20+ years since it was first conceived. He was one of the principal organizers of the Rubin Science Collaborations, preparing the scientific community for the flood of data the 10-year survey will produce beginning later this year, and serving as editor of the LSST Science Book, which was key for convincing the astronomical community (and funding agencies) that the observatory should be built.
Research Corporation for Science Advancement is a private foundation that funds basic research in the physical sciences (astronomy, chemistry, physics, and related fields) at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. It creates and supports engaged communities of early career researchers through the Cottrell Scholar Program, Scialog, and the RCSA Fellows initiative.
