2021 Award Recipients
This award was established in 2008 to recognize exceptional students who have a record of academic achievement, consistently demonstrate leadership, and make significant contributions to our community.
Danielle Whittier
Doctor of Philosophy, Biomedical Engineering
Danielle Whittier’s innovative thinking and tireless advocacy for improving the student experience have left an indelible mark.
Whittier co-founded Innovation 4 Health, a multidisciplinary health challenge that pairs teams of students with clinicians to solve healthcare challenges. As executive director for the program’s first two years, Whittier raised $80,000, and saw more than 500 students apply. Innovation 4 Health is now an established annual student-led program that is supported in part by the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program and the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking.
As president, and previously vice president events, for the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Students’ Association, Whittier helped foster a greater sense of community among graduate students and developed the Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Research Program to enhance the training experience of undergrads. Most recently as commissioner, she developed a summer tutorial series that kept students engaged throughout the pandemic.
During her studies, Whittier authored eleven peer-reviewed publications in the field of bone health and advanced medical imaging. She was a teaching assistant for two graduate-level courses, helped organize and teach an unofficial course on statistical methods, and mentored new graduate students through several mentorship programs. She directly supervised eight undergraduate summer and co-op student projects. She has also held various volunteer roles in the community.
Whittier is now an NSERC-funded postdoctoral fellow at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, Switzerland.