Ph.D. Student Jingrui Liu Receives 2025 Derek Tat Memorial Award

Congratulations to U-M BME Ph.D. student Jingrui Liu, the recipient of the 2025 Derek Tat Memorial Award. This honor is named in memory of Derek Tat, a student of Cindy Chestek, Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Robotics & Electrical Engineering & Computer Science. Tat had a bright future as a researcher ahead of him when he was tragically killed in an accident in 2014. Dr. Chestek established the award to recognize second-year Ph.D. students who excel in research and mentoring others. She said that the two criterion are:

• Academic Excellence 
• Commitment to Mentoring Others

Dr. Chestek noted that “Derek had an exuberant happiness” and that he was eager to assist in mentoring students whenever he could. “I think it’s important to know that it’s never too early in one’s career to mentor whenever possible,” Dr. Chestek added.

In highlighting Liu’s accomplishments, Dr. Chestek said: “Multiple lab members at all levels, including her undergraduate mentees, recommended Rui for this award. She’s already earned co-authorships and submitted her first conference abstracts, despite being only in her second year.”