ARCS Scholars
ARCS Scholars from left to right: Miklos Zeller, Karima Ma, Jared O’Leary, Madeline Arnold, Molly Nicholas, Ouwei Wang, Brianna Haining.

We are pleased to announce the thirteen ARCS (Achievement Rewards for College Scientists) Foundation Scholars for this year. Top Berkeley students in STEM fields have received this prestigious fellowship since 1975.

In November, this year’s Scholars had the opportunity to meet many ARCS members at the annual Scholar Awards Dinner held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in San Francisco. The ballroom was abuzz with conversations among more than 200 student scholars and donors.

The Berkeley team was joined by ARCS scholars from UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, UC San Francisco, San Francisco State University, and Stanford.  A Scholar Panel was moderated by ARCS Scholar alumnus Jeremy Reiter, M.D., Ph.D. (UCSF).  The event raised more than $100,000 for future fellowship support from the many supporters in attendance.


2017–18 ARCS Foundation Fellowship Recipients

  • Karima Ma, First-year Ph.D. student, Computer Science
  • Madeline Arnold, First-year Ph.D. student, Molecular and Cell Biology
  • Jared O’Leary, Second-year Ph.D. student, Chemical Engineering
  • Molly Nicholas, Second-year Ph.D. student, Computer Science
  • Alexander Reinking, Second-year Ph.D. student, Computer Science
  • Brianna Haining, Third-year Ph.D. student, Plant Biology
  • Miklos Zoller, Third-year Ph.D. student, Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Audrey Ford, Fourth-year Ph.D. student, Mechanical Engineering
  • Trenton Otto, Fourth-year Ph.D. student, Chemical Engineering
  • Samantha Dixon, Fourth-year Ph.D. student, Physics
  • Andrew Brandon, Fifth-year Ph.D. student, Plant Biology
  • Ouwei Wang, Fifth-year Ph.D. student, Microbiology

The ARCS® Foundation is a nationally recognized nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization started and run entirely by women who boost American leadership and aid advancement in science and technology. To address the country’s need for new scientists and engineers, the Foundation provides unrestricted funding to help the country’s brightest graduate and undergraduate students create new knowledge and innovative technologies.