We are pleased to recognize the students and contributors whose outstanding work, leadership, and dedication helped make Green Chemistry Awareness Day 2026 a success.
🏆 2026 Award Winners
Outstanding Poster Presentation Awards
Undergraduate Research Category
🥇 1st Place
UR20. Mikhai Adlam1,# Agnibho Mitra2#, Muhammad Waseem Yaseen1, Xuefei Li1,3; Electrochemically Tunable and Regenerable Proton Content in Amorphous WO₃ Solid-Acid Films; 1. Department of Chemistry, Georgia State University 2. Alpharetta High School 3. Center for Diagnostics and Therapeutics, Georgia State University #: co-presenters
🥈2nd Place
UR12. Sarina Lakshmi Peou, Dr. Chayan Dutta*; Waste to Energy: Synthesizing plastic waste and waste cooking oil into biodiesel; Georgia State University
UR10. Patrick Herrera¹, Pengfei Wu¹, Johannes Leisen², Zhixu Li¹, Junkai Zhao¹, Yao Wang¹*, Dr. Letian Dou¹; Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight Recyclable Muconate–Isoprene Copolymers for Recyclable Elastomer Platforms; Emory University
🥉3rd Place
UR14. Wanqi Wang, Wen Liu, Xing Wang, Dr. Zhicheng Jin*; From Hazardous to Sustainable: DMF Alternatives and Efficient Removal Strategies; Georgia State University
UR15. Selina Huynh, Chase House, Ryan Oldham, Khang Tran, Holt Schadler, Bret Schadler, Jeremy Salzman, Dr. Daniela Tapu*; Mechanochemistry as a Sustainable Route to NHC Metal Complexes and Catalytic C-C Bond Formation; Kennesaw State University
UR21. Meera Chauhan, Nancy Dorantes Lopez, Dr. Hamed Laroui*; Switching synthetic dye with organic cabbage juice; Georgia State University
Undergraduate Science Communication Category
🥇 1st Place
US5. Talia Dobkin, Rebecca Huisman, Dr. Peter Rosado Flores*; Food for Fuel Enterprises: Anaerobic Digestion Business Proposal; Georgia College & State University
🥈2nd Place
US3. Alexis Garcia, Dr. Jianmei Cui*; When Breath Becomes a Burden: Air Pollution, Respiratory Disease, and the Geography of Breathing in Atlanta; Georgia State University
US17. Victor Adetokunboh; Synthetic Plastics: Rethinking Chemistry for a Greener Future; Georgia State University
🥉3rd Place
US4. Victor Chown, Dr. Jianmei Cui*; From Seawater to Green Hydrogen: Opportunities and Challenges; Georgia State University
US9. Josué W Lima II, Emmanuel Onasile; Grown, Not Made: Are Mycelium and Algae Materials Ready to Replace Plastic Foam? Georgia State University
US19. Harshita Agarwal, Amy Resendiz Badillo, and Tsion Gebremeskel; Reimagining Sustainable Environmental Footprints for MRI and CT Scans; Georgia State University
Graduate Student Poster Presentation
🥇 1st Place
GR8. Alex Provost, Dr. Animesh Aditya*; Green by Design: A Novel Multistep Synthesis with an Intramolecular Diels-Alder Reaction for the Undergraduate Teaching Laboratory; Kennesaw State University
🥈2nd Place
GR6. Aidan Heeman, Landry King, Simon Young, Dr. Daniela Tapu*; A Mechanochemical Approach to the Synthesis of New U-Shaped Ligands and Their Corresponding Metal Complexes; Kennesaw State University
🥉3rd Place
GR2. Kyle L. Whitaker, James Henriques, Veno Crown, Dr. Progyateg Chakma*;Chromatography-Free Purification of Sequence-Defined Amphiphilic Peptoids: A Sustainable and Green Strategy; Kennesaw State University
GCAD Flyer Design Award
Online Voting
- 1st Place — Jessica Kublenu (Flyer design #1)
- 2nd Place — Phong Nguyen (Flyer design #2)
- 3rd Place — Selamawit Birbiraw (Flyer design #3)
In-person Voting
- 1st Place — Chinecherem Godwin (Flyer design #8)
- 2nd Place — Anik Sarkar (Flyer design 11)
- 2nd Place — Tsion Gebremeskel (Flyer design #5)
- 3rd Place — Jinna Choi (Flyer design #12)
Student Volunteer Leadership Award
- Alonso Garay Lujan
- Ebony Mya Jordan
- Harshita Agarwal
- Jaikanishka Rajkumar
- Kara Pierre-Jules
- Khushi Kotekar
- Phong Nguyen
- Razan Murad