Science and Engineering News

For the Record - Week of May 22, 2026

Catching up with...Shruti Mahajan

Shruti Mahajan joined Union as the Mary H. and Richard K. Templeton Assistant Professor of Computer Science shortly after earning her doctorate.

President Elizabeth Kiss featured in Inside Higher Ed

Scholarship, creativity and innovation on display at annual Steinmetz Symposium

Wellington Matos Bias was among the more than 500 students who took part in the 36th annual Steinmetz Symposium Friday. Overseen by Matt Anderson, director of undergraduate research and associate professor of computer science, the symposium showcases the type of hands-on, faculty-mentored research that is a staple of the Union experience. This included 190 oral presentations and 118 poster presentations. Also, more than 200 students were involved in dance performances, two musical concerts and an art exhib

Dani Brown ’26 and Mai Tran ’26 win top honors at Prize Day

Dani Brown ’26 and Mai Tran ’26 captured the top two awards at Prize Day Saturday afternoon in Memorial Chapel. More than 100 awards were presented to honor students for achievement in academics, leadership and community service. Many of the prizes carry a monetary reward.

Prize Day winners 2026

Distinguished Lecture Series 2026

Guest speaker: Nikhil Srivastava (UC Berkeley)

Tuesday, May 19, 4:45 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Olin Rotunda reception
Tuesday, May 19, 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Nott Memorial talk

For the Record - Week of May 8, 2026

Phi Beta Kappa elects new members

Ukrainian children affected by war focus of Projects for Peace winner Elsie Paxton '27

As a first-year student, Elsie Paxton '27 joined a project led by Kristin A. Bidoshi, professor of Russian, to teach English to Ukrainian children affected by the ongoing war with Russia. Since then, the mechanical engineering major has taught (via Zoom) more than 60 children aged 6-16. “Despite coming from families fractured by the war, our lessons are filled with silliness,” said Paxton, who recently completed her minor in English literature. “Laughter is a common language, connecting us even when words f