Harvey Mudd College
@hmc
Official account. Premier STEM education.
#HarveyMudd has announced the launch of a new joint major in #mathematics and #climate. The #interdisciplinary program aims to equip the next generation of #STEMleaders with the mathematical fluency required to model, analyze and address the complexities of a changing planet. uqr.to/jm-cm.
#HarveyMuddCollege #engineering professor Leah Mendelson has been named #makerspace director. Read about Mendelson's goals for the 8,000-square-foot hub of student creativity as well as what she's looking forward to during her tenure. uqr.to/lm-mkr.
#HMC physics professor Eduardo Ibarra García Padilla and #physics colleagues have developed a new theory that helps explain how trions—tiny #quantum structures—form and arrange themselves into distinctive checkerboard patterns. Learn how the team worked to discover this new theory at uqr.to/eigp-nt.
#HMC students Angela Milo ’28 and Joshua Ikehara ’27 have been selected by the #AstronautScholarshipFoundation as Astronaut scholars. They join an elite cohort of undergrads recognized for exceptional academic performance, research excellence and commitment to STEM fields. uqr.to/amji-astro.
#Biology professor Danae Schulz has been awarded an #NSFGrant to advance research on #Trypanosomabrucei, the #parasite responsible for #AfricanSleepingSickness. Schulz's project embodies the #HMC mission to cultivate technical excellence alongside a commitment to global #impact. uqr.to/nsf-schulz.
#HMC welcomes Hae-Seo Kim and Sara Murphy POM ʼ18 to campus this academic year. They will join a faculty charged with educating and inspiring future scientists, engineers and mathematicians to become passionate problem solvers who understand the impact of their work on society. uqr.to/new-faculty.
Staff member Karen Angemi and music professor Bill Alves were presented with the 2026 Henry T. Mudd Prize by #HMC President Harriet Nembhard. The prize recognizes faculty and staff members whose extraordinary service has significantly benefited the College. Read more at uqr.to/kaba-mudd.
#HarveyMuddCollege has received the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge's Highly Established Action Plan Seal for 2026, recognizing institutions with strong, nonpartisan strategies to support #CivicLearning, political engagement and #StudentVoter participation. Read more at uqr.to/hmc-allin.
#HMC math and life sciences professor Heather Brooks has received an @amermathsoc.bsky.social grant. Read more on how Brooks plans to use this highly competitive national award to advance work on her project, “Using #ContinuumModels to Understand #OpinionDynamics on Networks,” at uqr.to/hb-ams.
Student entrepreneurs Kevin Xia ’28, Daniel Zhu ’29 and James Gómez CMC ’27 won the spring 2026 #SageTank pitch competition with their project, Whistle, an #agentic #ComplianceSoftware designed to help athletic departments stay compliant with #NCAA regulations. Read more at uqr.to/hmc-st26.
Congrats to all! Our spring celebrations embodied the creativity, collaboration and purpose that define the #HMC community. As we wrap up the year, we’ll be wrapping up the #MuddMinute video series and starting a new one that highlights the #CampaignForHMC. Watch the full episode at uqr.to/MMS03E11.
#HMC #engineering student Soon Young Kwon ’29 earned two prestigious international recognitions from the #ASME this spring. Kwon's prize winnings total $2,800, which he plans to use toward independent #research in #piezoelectric #actuators. Read more on our news page at uqr.to/syk-asme.
Congrats to HMC's #ClassOf2026! We are inspired by your dedication, accomplishments and kindness here at #HarveyMudd and look forward to the impact you'll make in the future. (1/2).
Ananya Venkatachalam ’26 was awarded a #FulbrightGrant to conduct research on #LiquidLiquidPhaseSeparation using physics-informed #MachineLearning at #HeidelbergUniversity in Germany. Read about Venkatachalam's research and how her time at #HMC helped her imagine a future in science at uqr.to/av-fg.
Max Schernikau ’27 earned an Outstanding Student Poster Award this spring from the #AmericanChemicalSociety Division of Physical Chemistry for his research on carbon dioxide reduction. Read more on Schernikau's award and research on our news page: uqr.to/ms-acs.
Johnson Ho ’27, Cole Plepel ’27 and Elio Thadhani ’27 have received the 2026 #GoldwaterScholarship, the most prestigious national award for #UndergradResearch in science, technology, math and engineering. Read more about their accomplishments and post-graduation plans at uqr.to/hpt-gw.
Last month, #Engineering Clinic teams gathered to exhibit the prototypes for their Clinic projects. HMC's #ClinicProgram engages Mudders in solving real-world, technical problems for companies and orgs like #AirMyne, #Indomo and #Ohmium. Learn more at hmc.edu/clinic. Photos by Lindsey Sands ’27.
Chengyi Tang ’27 is the winner of the prestigious 2026 Rudolph Polk Memorial Award in Music. Tang received a $1,200 prize intended to further #MusicalStudy. Read more about Tang and about Lucy Wen-Xin Will ’28, who received an honorable mention for the #PolkAward at uqr.to/tang-rpma.
#HMC humanities professor David Wilson has been awarded a prestigious research grant from the #CenterforChineseStudies at the #NationalCentralLibrary of Taiwan. Read more about how this research will allow Wilson to examine the National Day #ProjectionMapping Show in Taipei at uqr.to/wilson-ncl.
The College's annual Leadership Awards event was held last week to recognize students, faculty and staff for their outstanding contributions to the HMC community. Read about the contributions these leaders have had on campus and beyond by visiting our news page at uqr.to/hmc-la26.
Leilani Elkaslasy ’26 and Miski Nopo ’26 have won #WatsonFellowships, which provides a year of unparalleled international discovery for seniors after graduation. Read more about how Nopo and Elkaslasy exemplify the initiative and global perspective that define #WatsonFellows at uqr.to/watson26.
Yuan Garcia ’27 won second place at the 57th annual #SIGCSE. The recognition highlights #StudentLedResearch on how #AI is shaping student learning in intro #ComputerScience courses. Read more about Garcia's project, which examined how student work changes when #LLMs are introduced at uqr.to/ygarcia.
The 2026 #SummerSession at #HMC is just over a month away! This program allows #Mudders, other college students, ambitious high schoolers (including #RisingJuniors) & other lifelong learners to study with our exceptional faculty in selected courses across disciplines. Learn more at uqr.to/hmc-ss26.
Thirty-three #Mudders competed in the 2025 #PutnamMathematicalCompetition. Administered by #MAA, the competition includes a notoriously difficult six-hour exam that tests speed and depth of mathematical reasoning. Read the full article on our news page at uqr.to/pmc25. (1/2)
As we watched the #ArtemisII astronauts safely fall to Earth, Corrine Cho ’10 was watching the #OrionParachuteSystem, which she worked on years ago as the #DesignEngineer for the metal-textile interface between the parachute suspension lines and the wire ropes that connect to the capsule. (1/3).
HMC chem & #climate prof. Sarah Kavassalis was awarded a grant from the #SeaverInstitute to support research on how emissions from native SoCal vegetation interact with urban air pollution. Read more about @sc-k.bsky.social & her team's work on #VOCemissions & #AirQualityImpacts at uqr.to/sk-sis.
How is #GenerativeAI reshaping #HigherEducation? Join us for a two-day, cross-disciplinary conference examining the capabilities, ethics and cultural impact of AI in education. Register now at uqr.to/gen-ai. Receive an early bird discount through April 24. #HumanCenteredAI
In this #MuddMinute, #HMC President Harriet Nembhard talks about the role #physics alum and veteran astronaut Stan Love ’87 is playing in the #NASA #ArtemisII mission. Alumni who contributed to Artemis II exemplify how #Mudders are shaping our world. Watch the full episode at uqr.to/MMS03E10.
#CS / #math major Alspencer Omondi ’26 earned top awards in three #YCombinator #hackathons that centered on building #AgenticAI tools. “Hackathons felt like the fastest way to build, test ideas and meet people who want to create things,” Omondi said. Read more on our news page at uqr.to/ap-hkt.