The annual Scholar Awards Luncheon for the Utah Chapter of ARCS Foundation, Inc. was held April 14, 2026 at the John A. Moran Eye Center. After the welcome by Kim Hood, ARCS Utah Chapter President, she presented Christine Klein, PhD with a recognition award for her long service to the ARCS chapter as a founding member and long time treasurer. Christine will remain on the board, but is retiring as Treasurer. Anne Erickson, PhD, who was not able to attend, was also recognized for her long service as a board member. Anne is retiring from the board.
Sue Dintelman, Chapter VP, announced the initial donation of $32,350 for the new Ruth Novak Endowed Graduate Scholarship Presentation. Several of Ruth's friends and family members were in attendance to mark the occasion. A video of Ruth's background prepared by the Women Tech Council for Ruth's 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award was shown. You can see the short version here or view the complete awards ceremony here.
Next on the program were remarks by Dr. Jeff Pettey (Professor and Chair, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences; Chair, John A. Moran Eye Center; CEO, University of Utah Vision Institute; Randall J Olson, MD, Presidential Endowed Chair) who then introduced our 2025-26 Moran Scholars:
Cameron Reinisch, MD
Amanda Wade, MD
Dr. Shima Dehghani and Dr. Jenna Jensen, ARCS Scholars 2024-25 then reviewed their research progress.
Dr. Charles Musgrave (H.E. Thomas Presidential Endowed Dean; Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering; Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering) spoke about the direction of the College of Engineering and introduced the 2025-26 College of Engineering ARCS Scholars:
Olivia Draughn, Mechanical Engineering
Isabella Hoyer, Chemical Engineering
Erica Wood, Chemical Engineering
The presentation of awards was followed by the College of Engineering research updates. Nicolas Baker, Chemical Engineering presented. Ethan Gallup was not able attend, but his research was presented by his advisor, Dr. Cody Powell. The final presentation was by Caden Hamrick, Electrical Engineering. Caden will be hosting the ARCS members meeting in May as we tour his lab and learn more about brain-controlled devices.
Kim closed the meeting by encouraging attendees to donate to Ruth's endowment and to join ARCS.
