iCons Seniors Present Research in Virtual Exposition and Honored with Celebration

Seniors Photo with iCons Certificates

The Integrated Concentration in Science (iCons) program held the Seventh Annual Senior Exposition on Thursday, April 30 from 3:30-6 p.m. via Zoom. This year’s Senior Expo featured the seventh cohort of iCons seniors, with each senior giving a brief online presentation about their research project on today’s pressing problems.

Following the exposition was the Seventh Annual iCons Senior Celebration, to celebrate the accomplishments of iCons seniors, and to present the Mahoney Alumni Award for the iCons Program as well as the Crowley-Nowick Award for iCons Student Leadership and Philanthropy.

The Mahoney Alumni Award is annually bestowed to one alumna(us) of the iCons program who demonstrates application of the attitudes, knowledge, and skills developed in the program and who has shown engagement and support of the iCons community since graduation. The first Mahoney Award was given in 2018.

The three Mahoney brothers – Robert ’70, Richard ’55, and William ’55 – received their degrees in chemistry from UMass Amherst. They went on to become leaders in their own industries and have served as high-level alumni advisers to the campus.

This year's recipient of the Mahoney Alumni Award was Lily Fitzgerald '14. Lily is the Policy and Government Affairs Manager for Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc. in Boston, MA.

Dr. Scott Auerbach, the Mahoney Family Sponsored Executive Director of iCons says, "Lily has remained a very close friend of the iCons Program over the years, by staying in touch with iCons students, seeking out iCons students as Ginkgo interns, representing iCons at official events in Boston, and by participating in a research study on the effects of iCons."

The Crowley-Nowick Award for iCons Student Philanthropy and Leadership was created in 2017 with a gift from Peg Crowley-Nowick ’86, founder and president of Zipher Medical Affairs. Award winners are selected based on their commitment as leaders within their cohort and for fostering a sense of community that will persist beyond graduation. This year's recipients are Andrew Guthrie of Mansfield, MA and Aurelia Reynolds of Sandwich, MA. Both students major in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology.