SCHOOLWIDE OUTSTANDING BACHELOR OF SCIENCE

Ryan Chaiyakul

Computer Engineering
Bachelor of Science, Spring 2025

Ryan Chaiyakul is graduating with a B.S. in computer engineering. During his time at UCLA, Chaiyakul contributed to the Structures-Computer Interaction Lab, led by mechanical and aerospace engineering associate professor M. Khalid Jawed, by creating and maintaining a Python-based physics simulator that models soft, flexible structures. His open-source project is now a major pillar of a multi-university effort to create a complete simulation framework for modelling soft robotics. 

Previously, as a member of electrical and computer engineering associate professor Sam Emaminejad’s Interconnected & Integrated Bioelectronics Lab, Chaiyakul developed miniature biosensing electrodes that could analyze electrochemical reactions in the body. Chaiyakul also earned a prestigious fellowship from the Internet Research Initiative at UCLA, which funded and provided mentorship for a year of independent research into large language model-produced conversational patterns in debates. He submitted his research findings to the Cognitive Science Society this year. After graduation, Chaiyakul intends to continue studying at UCLA for a master’s degree in electrical engineering. 

RUSSELL R. O’NEILL DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD (undergraduate)

Jacqueline Thuy-Tram Duong 

Electrical Engineering
Bachelor and Master of Science, Spring 2025

Jacqueline Duong is graduating with a B.S. and M.S. in electrical engineering as a part of the Departmental Scholars program. During her time at UCLA she has served in many leadership roles in the UCLA chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), most notably as the internal vice president her junior year and as president of its technical advocacy group for women and minorities, Women Advancing Technology through Teamwork (WATT). As president, she created the first STEMinist Soiree in celebration of International Women’s Day, which was the organization’s largest event of the year.

Duong was chosen as one of five students from around the world to be a student panelist at the IEEE Board of Directors Retreat in Rome, Italy, where she acted as a consultant and provided feedback to the directors. Recently, she was awarded the IEEE Coastal Los Angeles Women in Engineering Outstanding Student Leader award for her work as president of WATT and with IEEE International. In addition to working with two labs at UCLA, she completed two internships during her undergraduate career: a hardware technical programs internship with Rivian and a systems design internship with Nvidia. After graduation, she plans to return to Nvidia as a system hardware design engineer.

HARRY M. SHOWMAN PRIZE (undergraduate)

Brynn Beatty

Mechanical Engineering
Bachelor of Science, Spring 2025

Brynn Beatty is graduating with a B.S. in mechanical engineering and a technical breadth in computer science. Growing up in New Orleans, she had an arts-filled childhood, earning her certificate of artistry in creative writing while she was in high school. Pushing this passion for exploration onto the technical side of her life, Beatty chose to study mechanical engineering in college. During her time at UCLA, she has held two science writing positions — serving as an editor of UCLA’s Undergraduate Science Journal since her sophomore year and as a student writer in UCLA Samueli’s Office of Marketing Communications since July 2023. 

Beatty started as an editor at the journal, focusing on physical science and math papers. She became an assistant managing editor in her senior year, supervising six other editors. At the school’s communications office, Beatty is its longest-serving student writer. She helps draft grant and award announcements, and assists on other articles for publications. Beatty is inspired by the connections between engineering and writing, and looks forward to using her writing skills in her future research. After graduation, she will continue at UCLA Samueli, pursuing a master’s in mechanical engineering. 

HARRY M. SHOWMAN PRIZE (graduate)

Yanxi (Steven) Yang

Chemical Engineering
Doctor of Philosophy, Spring 2025 

Yanxi (Steven) Yang is graduating with a Ph.D. in chemical engineering. During his time at UCLA, Yang has been an ambassador for biomedical engineering, highlighting the discipline’s real-world impacts. His podcast, “Phage Therapy Today,” aims to bridge the information gap between academia and clinical practice by exploring the potential of bioengineered drug delivery. The program has garnered more than 7,000 streams across 72 countries. The podcast’s 20 episodes feature thought leaders from phage therapy and bioengineering startups, federal regulatory agencies, academia and others. 

Yang’s research, conducted in the Chen Lab and mentored by its director, chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Irene Chen, focuses on bioengineering viruses to develop a phage-drug conjugate drug-delivery platform, carrying drugs that target multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. In preliminary trials, Yang’s virus-based candidate treatment for multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas infections has demonstrated a 100-fold increase in efficacy over current treatment methods. Yang has also presented his research findings at several conferences and entrepreneurial pitch competitions, such as LABEST and BioVenture Nexus. After graduation, he plans to further expand this technology as founder of the UCLA spinout Paralos Bioscience.

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT SPEAKER

Kendall Millett

Mechanical Engineering
Bachelor of Science, Spring 2025

Kendall Millett is graduating with a B.S. in mechanical engineering and a minor in data science engineering. She holds a 4.0 GPA and has earned summa cum laude honors. For the past three years, Millett has served on the executive board of the National Society of Black Engineers at UCLA. She has chaired the engineering honor society Tau Beta Pi’s tutoring program and served as a UCLA Engineering Ambassador. 

Millett is a co-inventor on a pending patent for a diagnostic catheter handle and a co-author of a research paper on racial bias in infrared thermometers, led by Achuta Kadambi, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. She has had two summer internships with Johnson & Johnson and will return to the company this summer as a systems integration engineer, supporting robotic surgery. This fall, she will pursue a master’s degree in electrical engineering at Stanford University.

GRADUATE STUDENT SPEAKER

McKenna Joy Davis

Aerospace Engineering
Doctor of Philosophy, Fall 2024

McKenna Joy Davis graduated with a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering in fall 2024. Supported by the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, Davis wrote her dissertation on simulating electrospray thrusters for spacecraft propulsion to enable small satellite and deep space missions. In 2021, with the support of a NASA Space Grant, Davis completed her master’s at UCLA in the same field. 

She obtained her B.S. in physics and mathematics from Rhodes College in Tennessee in 2018. That same year, she earned a Goldwater Scholarship for her gravitational wave research at the University of Birmingham in the U.K. Davis is a member of the Electric Rocket Propulsion Society and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Since earning her doctorate, she has continued her electric propulsion research as a postdoctoral associate in the Advanced Space Technology Research and Architectures Laboratory at Cornell University.

UNDERGRADUATE NATIONAL ANTHEM PERFORMER

Kelsey Greenberg 

Chemical Engineering
Bachelor of Science, Spring 2025

Kelsey Greenberg is graduating with a B.S. in chemical engineering and a minor in music industry. She worked as an undergraduate researcher in the lab of Sarah Tolbert, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry with a joint appointment in materials science and engineering. Greenberg was a founding member of Women in Music at UCLA and served as its chair of membership.

In her senior year, Greenberg became a project manager for the chemical engineering capstone course, designing an industrial chemical plant and conducting an accompanying economic study. While attending classes at UCLA, Greenberg also interned with the aerospace start-up ExLabs, the music production company Studio 37 and the biofuel start-up Bioport. After graduation, she plans to continue her work as a process engineer for Bioport in Los Angeles.

GRADUATE NATIONAL ANTHEM PERFORMER

Julie Zhu

Chemical Engineering
Doctor of Philosophy, Fall 2025

Li (Julie) Zhu is a third-year Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering on track to graduate in fall 2025. She is researching mathematical modeling and optimization for disease treatment. In particular, she focuses on the Sustainability Over Sets framework, with applications in cancer therapy, malaria control and ecological systems. She has authored six research papers, including a study on 10-dimensional ecological sustainability, and led projects optimizing the combination of chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiation therapy. She has also served as a teaching assistant. 

Zhu earned dual B.S. degrees in chemical engineering and applied mathematics from UCLA. She also holds an A.A. degree in music. Outside of academia, Zhu is an accomplished jazz vocalist who has performed at Smalls Jazz Club, Mezzrow and The Mint. After graduation, she aims to advance research in sustainable disease therapies while continuing to pursue her passions in music and education.

CHANCELLOR’S SERVICE AWARD

In addition to the school-wide honorees, five bachelor’s degree candidates received the Chancellor’s Service Award. Administered by the UCLA Volunteer Center, the campus-wide distinction recognizes graduating students (both graduate and undergraduate), who have made “significant contributions to UCLA and/or the surrounding Los Angeles community through a sustained record of outstanding service.”

This year’s honorees from UCLA Samueli, all undergraduate students, are: Spring 2025 — Renee-Randette Esinam Hlomador and Jamie Rose Weisel of chemical engineering, Mahan Pourfakhr of bioengineering and Alvina Zhan of mechanical engineering; and Summer 2025 — Annmarie Ponce of mechanical engineering.