Awards

3rd place, WAGS Regional 3MT Competition, Apr 2026    

• Competed with graduate students from universities across the Western region of the U.S.A. in a 3-minute thesis competition

1st place (tied), Open Research and Creative Activities Forum, UCR, May 2025

• • • • Best oral presentation: Vargas Casillas, A. (2025). Multiscale Model of Keloid Scar Expansion. Open Research and Creative Activities Forum, 1(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.5070/J9.48778 

1st place oral presentation, Graduate Research Symposium, UCR, Apr 2025

• Received award for best oral presentation among over 40 graduate researchers in all disciplines

1st place graduate poster presentation, Mathematical Pathways to an Excellent Future, UCR, Mar 2025

• Awarded Best Graduate Student Poster among 20 presenters

Poster award, Skin Symposium, University of California, Irvine, Feb 2025

• Joint poster with collaborators from UC Irvine received a poster award among more than 30 entries

Travel grant, Graduate Student Association Conference Travel Grant, UCR, Jul 2025

• • • • Awarded travel grant for SIAM AN25 conference

Travel support, SIAM AN25: Workshop Celebrating Diversity Speaker, SIAM, Jul 2025

• • • • Speaker travel support for SIAM AN25 conference

Travel award, Skin Symposium, University of California, Irvine, Feb 2025

• Awarded travel reimbursement to attend the Skin Symposium

1st place graduate student essay, Mathematical Pathways to an Excellent Future, UCR, May 2024

• Awarded best graduate student essay for writing on my personal path within mathematics

Books and fees grant, Mathematically Gifted and Black, Sep 2020

• Awarded funding for book costs and student fees