Congratulations to Alexandra Ramos, Ashton Aleman, Brendan Wirtz & Crystal Chen: 2024 Chemical Engineering Service Award Winners

Congratulations to Alexandra Ramos, Ashton Aleman, Brendan Wirtz & Crystal Chen for winning 2024 Chemical Engineering Service Awards!

The Chemical Engineering department has been fortunate to have a graduate student population that is involved and engaged as well as invested in the department’s culture, direction and future. This award honors and recognizes these significant contributions to the department - going above and beyond the scope of their normal research and studies to help ensure our community thrives.

Alexandra Ramos – Chemical Engineering Service Award

Alexandra has served as Chair of the ChemE DEI Committee for the past year and "has done an absolutely outstanding job." She is described as "a leader who has shown great abilities to connect with the community, understand challenges, and identify opportunities." Alexandra "operates her role with tact and discretion while focusing on the needs of her community," and "her efforts ensure that our community continues to have conversations that cultivate a sense of belonging for everyone." Her commitment to the ChemE DEI Coordinator role "will create a foundation for future committees to build upon for years to come."

Ashton Aleman – Chemical Engineering Service Award

Ashton, a co-director for the Stanford Summit Tahoma Expedition Program (SSTEP) for the 2023-2024 academic year, "is an exceptional researcher and a valuable contributor to Stanford's scientific and student communities." She "consistently demonstrates leadership through her involvement in various organizations" and "actively contributes to the ChemE department, showing leadership during Graduate Recruitment Week and participating in the Graduate Recruitment Taskforce." Ashton also "plays a vital role in promoting and improving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the Jaramillo research group as a member of the lab's DEI committee." Overall, Ashton "represents the department well through her mentoring, outreach, dedication to DEI efforts, and her goal of fostering a happy and healthy community within Stanford ChemE."

Brendan Wirtz - Chemical Engineering Service Award

Brendan is "actively engaged with the graduate student community," having served in GSAC roles such as recruitment committee social chair (AY 21-22), first-year mentoring chair (AY 22-23), and current professional development chair (AY 23-24). Beyond GSAC, Brendan has tutored high school students from the underserved community of East Palo Alto through the "Tennis and Tutoring" program and currently mentors undergraduate students in the student group Out in STEM (oSTEM). Students shared that "Brendan explains concepts well and is relatable." Those who work with him also noted that Brendan "definitely deserves this recognition as a student who goes above and beyond to build effective bridges throughout the department."

Crystal Chen - Chemical Engineering Service Award

Crystal has supported the ChemE department through her work on the recruitment committee and "has played a crucial role in encouraging students to join the ChemE department through recruitment weekends," ensuring that "both current students and prospective students were able to interact in positive and genuine settings." In addition to the recruitment committee, Crystal has served as the co-lead for the mentoring program for all current students. In this role, Crystal "helps provide guidance to first- and second-year students by pairing them with senior graduate student mentors." Through the many roles Crystal has taken on, "she has worked to help foster a positive culture in the department for all students."