Fiona and Michael Goodchild Graduate Mentoring Award

June 20, 2018

Payton Small was awarded the Fiona and Michael Goodchild Graduate Mentoring Award, which recognizes graduate students who have distinguished themselves as mentors of undergraduates. Graduate students in the College of Engineering; Mathematical, Life, and Physical Sciences Division of the College of Letters and Science; and the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management are eligible.

His graduate adviser, Dr. Brenda Major, observed “Although just completing his second year of graduate school, Payton has already distinguished himself in the area of undergraduate research supervision. He has successfully mentored six different undergraduate students in research at UCSB, helping two who are members of underrepresented groups to obtain URCA awards and present posters on their research. He invests considerable energy in introducing these students to experimental and investigative research and motivating them to achieve success. Payton also helped to initiate the PBS Mentoring Program, which provides research opportunities to undergraduates, especially minority and first-generation students.” Dr. Major also noted that “Although many graduate students invest time in mentoring undergraduate students who work on their own projects, Payton has put his ideals into practice and shown true commitment to fostering undergraduate research by investing in mentoring undergraduate student researchers from across the sub-disciplines of psychological and brain sciences.”

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