Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowships are awarded to proven, outstanding students who have shown research excellence in either applied or basic sciences.

The 2026 winners of the Louis and Elsa Thomsen Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship are:

• Holly Rucker, Bacteriology, Cellular and Molecular Biology Ph.D.
• Sourav Agrwal, Biochemistry, Biophysics Ph.D.   

The winner for the Wisconsin Potato Industry Board Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship is:

• Morgan Amanda Weissner– Entomology, Entomology Ph.D.

The winner for the Jack & Marion Goetz Graduate Fellowship is:

• Jillian Abendroth, Plant & Agroecosystem Sciences, Plant Breeding & Genetics Ph.D.

The winner for the Senator Robert Caldwell Graduate Fellowship is: 

• August Easton-Calabria, Entomology, Entomology Ph.D.