Mentorship Award

A group of people stand next to a plot of waist-high corn looking as a man gestures toward the field
Research assistant Kevin Kahmark explains how researchers at Michigan State University's Kellogg Biological Station are collecting greenhouse gas samples as students with the Summer Undergraduate Research Program listen. Kahmark was awarded the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center's first mentorship award.
Chelsea Mamott

Established in 2024, the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center Mentorship Award honors members who prioritize the spirit of mentorship and who strive to promote the success and development of those around them.

Trine Anderson and Brandon Kristy Anderson (left) and Kristy

2026 recipients: Trine Anderson and Brandon Kristy

Kristy, a graduate student in the Evans Lab at MSU, and Anderson, a senior scientist in the Hamberger Lab at MSU, share the 2026 Mentorship Award for their work fostering the development of undergraduate and graduate students. 

Past recipients

2025: Amy Enright Steinberger
Undergraduates, fellow grad students, postdoctoral researchers – and even her own advisor – credit UW–Madison graduate student Amy Enright Steinberger for her support in and out of the lab, which applies bacterial genetics to address critical issues in the bioeconomy and antimicrobial resistance.

2024: Kevin Kahmark
A research assistant at Michigan State University's Kellogg Biological Station, Kahmark received the first mentorship award in recognition of his work with postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and participants in the Research Experience for Undergraduates program, which provides hands-on experience to students who may not otherwise have research opportunities.Read more about Kahmark's contributions»