January 2026 Awards and Accolades

Chandra Earl

Chandra Earl is a database analyst within the Biodiversity Knowledge Integration Center. Earl was awarded the Catalyst Award from the Earth Science Information Professionals (ESIP), a nonprofit organization that provides a neutral space for exciting cross-domain collaborations.

The Catalyst Award is given to participants who have brought about positive change in ESIP by inspiring other members to take action, this award recognizes exceptional volunteer efforts.

Earl, with the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), has chaired the Data Help Desk Cluster at ESIP, and with a 2024 FUNding Friday microgrant, led the creation of resources for anyone to easily host and facilitate a Help Desk at a science conference. The help desk is now available at conferences around the world.

ESIP President Yuhan (Douglas) Rao states, “ESIP strives to empower everyone to leverage Earth science information to address pressing societal needs. The Data Help Desk has always been an effective resource for the community. Chandra's leadership to envision a sustainable future of DHD embodies the core ESIP value of collaboration. The Data Help Desk Cluster will be a tremendous asset to amplify the value of Earth science data.”

Earl is currently a data scientist at the NEON Biorepository, hosted by Arizona State University. She has previously worked in various positions in biodiversity informatics at several institutions, specializing in sustainable data infrastructure for natural history and ecological research.
 

Katelyn Cooper

Katelyn Cooper, associate professor in the School of Life Sciences, was selected as a Graduate College Outstanding Faculty Mentor for 2025-26, receiving the award for Outstanding Master’s Mentor.

The Graduate College selected Cooper based on her portfolio, coupled with strong letters of support from her students and faculty chair, which reflected the highest standards and clear evidence of her commitment to educational excellence. Every year, the Graduate College recognizes outstanding faculty members for their service to the graduate student and postdoctoral scholar communities through mentoring excellence, commitment to professional development and career advancement, and fostering inclusive, collaborative academic environments. Active, committed mentors not only offer coaching, modeling and feedback in academic and career development but also provide essential psychosocial and interpersonal connection and support.

The Cooper Lab investigates the mental health of science undergraduate, graduate, and faculty populations, examining how it intersects with cognitive and affective learning and how it affects faculty engagement in academic science. The lab’s most recent efforts focus on developing and evaluating interventions designed to foster science student well-being, performance, and persistence. In 2025, the lab launched Fail-Safe Science, a video-repository and accompanying podcast, that promotes graduate student mental health and reframes failure in science.

Cooper will be honored with other Outstanding Faculty Mentors on Tuesday, February 24th, 2026 and will be inducted into the Graduate Faculty Mentor Academy.