Cynthia Chen Honored with Rase Brothers Award

Cynthia Chen accepted the Rase Brothers Award along with a cash prize of $2,000 on May 20 before attending her commencement ceremony at the Frank C. Erwin Jr. Special Events Center in Austin.

The award recognizes the graduating senior with the highest GPA who started as a freshman and finished the program in four academic years.

“I’m truly honored to receive this award,” said Chen.  “I will most likely put the money towards my trip to China this summer.”

Chen will be conducting research in biomaterials this summer at Tianjin University in China.  She heads to UC Berkeley this fall to pursue a Ph.D. in chemical and biomolecular engineering under Dr. Rachel Segalman, a 1998 UT Austin B.S. ChE graduate.

“My research will focus on alternative energy and improving the efficiencies of materials and devices used for energy applications,” explained Chen.  “The aim is to decrease our dependence on oil and gas and provide cleaner and sustainable energy technologies.”