ArtSci College Alumni Awards

Dr. Lara Anderson is a Professor of physics at Virginia Tech and a Rhodes Scholar whose work explores high energy- particle physics and String Theory. A Goldwater Scholar and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, she earned degrees in physics and mathematics from Utah State University and a doctorate in Mathematical Physics from the University of Oxford. Her career includes research roles at the University of Pennsylvania, the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, and Harvard University.

Dr. Anastassia Alexandrova earned a combined B.S./M.S. in chemistry from Saratov University, Russia and later completed a Ph.D. in theoretical physical chemistry at Utah State University. She held postdoctoral appointments in computational biochemistry and biophysics at Yale University. She joined the UCLA faculty in 2009, where her research focuses on computational and theoretical design of new materials, including catalysts, quantum materials, and artificial metalloenzymes, through multi-scale modeling and insights into electronic structure.

Mitch Dana graduated from Utah State University in 1964 with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and later studied at the Yale University School of Drama. He has designed more than 500 productions across the United States and Canada, including work for the Royal Opera House, Los Angeles Opera, Cleveland Orchestra, and the Muny in St. Louis. His credits also include multiple Broadway shows. He served as national vice president of United Scenic Artists Local 829.

Dr. Brad Gregory is a historian of early modern Western Europe whose work examines how Reformation-era religious conflict shaped modernity. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Utah State University and a doctorate from Princeton University. His recent scholarship explores the Anthropocene and the preindustrial roots of today’s environmental crises, and he is developing a major project on Western Christianity’s long-term environmental impact.

Mark Walton is a story artist, visual development artist, script consultant, writer, illustrator, and voice actor whose credits span 21 animated features and assorted shorts, TV episodes, and webisodes for Disney, DreamWorks, Illumination, Sony, Warner Animation Group, Sesame Workshop, Paramount, Blue Sky, Skydance, and others. He is best known for voicing Rhino the Hamster in Bolt, earning an Annie Award nomination. At USU, he co-wrote and illustrated a comic strip, with his brother, in The Utah Statesman, played Jacob Marley in A Christmas Carol, and earned a BFA in illustration. He has taught storyboarding, gesture drawing, and design at Cal Arts, Academy of Art, CGMA, and UVU. He currently lives in Salt Lake and teaches storyboarding and basic drawing at SLCC.

Dr. Thomas Coppin is a retired pathologist and distinguished military graduate who was born in Salt Lake City and raised in Provo and Brigham City. He earned degrees from Utah State University and the University of Utah School of Medicine and served 30 years in the Army, including roles as exchange officer at the Royal Army Medical College in the UK, as chief of pathology, residency program director, and consultant to the Army surgeon general. After returning to Utah, he practiced at several hospitals, was president of the Utah Society of Pathologists, and served as state commissioner for laboratory accreditation. He later became project director for Pathologists Overseas, helping restore surgical pathology services at a major teaching hospital in Ghana.

Greg Waddoups is corporate counsel at Northrop Grumman, leading legal support for its Launch and Exploration Division. He has more than 30 years of global experience in international law, government procurement, and transactional work, including senior roles at Raytheon and Acambis. A frequent lecturer and author, he also mentors Utah State University students through the Center for Anticipatory Intelligence, the Huntsman School of Business, and the Aggie Legal Network.