Randall Research Scholars

Goldwater Update: Congratulations to UA students Gabrielle Kowkabany, Blake Yuenger, Emily Gokie, and Ian Brunetz on being named 2025 Goldwater Scholars! Continuing the UA tradition of success...more details coming soon. Gabrielle and Blake are RRS Juniors.

RRS junior Melaina Munson was chosen for the 2026 Blackburn Institute New Student Class. The Blackburn Institute selects 50 students to develop a deep understanding of issues facing Alabama and work to develop the next generation of leaders to solve them. Congrats Melaina!

The new RRS lab renovation looks great! Thanks to our supporters!

RRS students helped to serve as judges and mentors for the annual STEM Showcase event (a middle-school focused science fair) this past weekend! @UACommAffairs

RRS student Lauren Geisler serves as President of the Management Consulting Academy, where she leads weekly meetings and supports ugrad professional development in strategy & management consulting. Two previous MCA presidents, Luke Turner and Joe Clark, were also RRS students.

This November, RRS students Griffin Beasley and Lance Kieswetter attended FEF's College Industry Conference where Griffin was awarded a scholarship for academic achievement. @bamaengineering

RRS junior Bailey Berry was awarded 1st place in the Food, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech division in the poster competition at the AIChE - American Institute of Chemical Engineers Annual Student Conference in Boston! Congrats Bailey! @bamaengineering

On her last day at UA, we invited Mrs. Marilyn Corder to be an honorary member of Randall Research Scholars Program with the official "graduation pin." We hope she will visit us at the Spring Awards ceremony!

John Pace (RRS '22) recently accepted a position in Montgomery as an Assistant AG with the AL AG's Office. John serves in the Special Prosecution Division focused on White Collar & Government Corruption. Photo: John during the Alabama State Bar swearing in ceremony.

What happens on the 3rd floor after hours, stays on the 3rd floor... Marilyn, we will miss you! Best wishes on your retirement!

You may know Cody and Raeed as leaders in RRS, with various superhero roles. But you may not know that they also make TV appearances on occasion...

GOOD JOB LAWSON!

We had a special “End of the Semester Rock Trivia” contest in the RRS lab this week! To recognize the 69th birthday of Randy Rhoads, I played an isolated version of the Crazy Train solo and asked for details about the song. Congrats to Kinion Fowler on winning the $100 prize!

Come join us! rrsp.ua.edu/research/live @UofAlabama

RRS senior Luke Turner had the opportunity to organize the first-ever UA School of Music Day of Service through his nonprofit, Concerts for Joy, while performing at The Birmingham Zoo, Danberry at Inverness, and Town Village Vestavia. Full Story: lnkd.in/eYDkmY9R

RRS sophomore Ellis Timmer presented her research entitled "Effect of Exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Compounds on the Behavioral Phenotype of Mangrove Rivulus Fish" at the Southeastern Fishes Council 51st Annual Meeting here in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

RRS student Rebecca Maddox participated in the Toronto Metropolitan University Thrill & Design Competition, hosted by Universal Creative in Orlando, FL. Her teammates were Rianna Cassibry and Zach Hymowitz. @bamaengineering @UofAlabama #TMTDC2025

We're always excited to see Dr. Nan Boden (COO of Alterion, former Chief of Staff at Google) on campus! She shared her experiences at 2 different talks. Nan graduated from UA (Applied Math) in the CBHP (now Randall Research Scholars) and a PhD at Caltech. @univofalabama

Samantha Hatcher, RRS Freshman in Computer Science, recently completed the NYC Marathon! Congrats Samantha! @UofAlabama @bamaengineering @uacompsci

We were honored to have President Peter Mohler visit us to share his research "Why" that led to his career path. He shared a set of "mmm" moments (not "aha" moments) that led to the key contribution areas of his career. We are so happy to have him as our new leader! @UofAlabama

In a classic Dean's Cup between RRS and the Fellows, the RRS team became back-back champions on Sunday. As usual, this match came down to the wire - great game Fellows! Group photo and video of winning kick by Garrett (1st goal by Jesse)!