Evensen, Kasl named winners of campus Herfurth-Kubly Awards

UW–Madison graduating seniors Claire Evensen and Patrick Kasl have been named 2020 winners of Herfurth-Kubly Awards for Comprehensive Undergraduate Excellence, among the oldest and most prestigious honors on campus.

The awards of $2,000 each are given annually to seniors who have made the most effective use of their time at UW–Madison.

A committee comprised of faculty and staff, a former award recipient, and a representative of the donor’s family selects recipients based on high academic achievement, effective communication skills, leadership in significant extra-curricular activities, financial self-support and personal initiative.

This year, 311 students were nominated by faculty and staff. The committee selected thirteen finalists and made two awards, with two honorable mentions.

The award is made possible through the generosity of Theodore Herfurth, a member of the class of 1894, and his daughter, Theodora (Teddy) Kubly.

Evensen, of Verona, Wisconsin, is the winner of the 2020 Teddy Kubly Award for Comprehensive Undergraduate Excellence. She earned a bachelor’s degree this month in biochemistry and mathematics, with comprehensive honors in biochemistry and the liberal arts.

Evensen’s research on the mechanisms of prokaryotic transcription initiation led to a Goldwater Scholarship and an Astronaut Scholarship. She served as president of UW–Madison’s chapter of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and was an active member of the clarinet studio and university wind ensemble.

Evensen was a finalist this academic year for a Rhodes Scholarship and received the Marshall Scholarship. At the University of Oxford, she will pursue a master’s degree in mathematical modelling and scientific computing.

Kasl, of Wyoming, Minnesota, is the winner of the 2020 Theodore Herfurth Award for Comprehensive Undergraduate Excellence. He earned a bachelor’s degree this month in biomedical engineering. He has spent time researching in three labs at UW–Madison. His projects have been diverse, although a unifying theme has been the development of cellularly inspired therapeutics. He was an offensive lineman for the football team on a full-ride scholarship for two years and a peer mentor through the Engineering Department. This fall, he will be attending the University of California-San Diego to pursue a Ph.D. in bioengineering.

Honorable mentions this year went to Christopher Gitter (pharmacology and toxicology, with certificates in environmental studies and global health) and Joseph Kern (materials science and engineering and computer science). Each received a $500 award.

The following students were finalists: Shiloah Coley (journalism, with certificates in studio art and African American studies); Kevin Crosby (nutritional sciences, with a certificate in environmental studies); Kenneth Fiala (biochemistry); Kristina Geiger (biomedical engineering, with certificates in business and biology in engineering); Michael Gui (microbiology and neurobiology); Helen Heo (molecular biology and neurobiology, with a certificate in stem cell sciences); Maura McDonagh (biomedical engineering and communication arts); Anusha Naik (molecular biology, anthropology, and African studies); and Luquant Singh (applied math, engineering, and physics).

A member of the Herfurth family has been involved with the awards since the establishment of the Theodore Herfurth Award in 1928. (The Teddy Herfurth Kubly Award followed in 1943.) Beth Kubly, granddaughter of Theodore Herfurth and daughter of Teddy Herfurth Kubly, currently serves on the selection committee.

“My mother used to tell me how her father would return home from the award dinner enthusiastic, impressed, and pleased,” says Beth Kubly. “For him to witness the levels to which students could rise was both inspiring and invigorating. Some winners became life-long friends. As my parents became increasingly involved they were equally impressed by the remarkable finalists. And now I, the third generation of the family to be engaged with these awards, remain likewise amazed by your accomplishments.”