The University of Minnesota’s Office for Equity and Diversity awarded Kadir Hussein with their Scholarly Excellence in Equity and Diversity (SEED) Award. Kadir is an undergraduate student who does research as part of the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology under the guidance of Professor Christy Haynes at the University of Minnesota. He participated in our Research Experiences for Undergraduates program this past summer and was a pleasure to work with. The SEED award that he received “honors and acknowledges diverse students who are doing outstanding work at the University of Minnesota, both in and out of the classroom.”

In addition to doing excellent scientific work with our research center, he is president of the Oromia Student Union (Oromia, Ethiopia is where Kadir was originally from) and president of the University of Minnesota’s chapter of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers. As if this didn’t keep him busy enough, Kadir also serves as a peer mentor for the North Star STEM Alliance Program and Huntley House for African American Men, a living-learning community that aims to “build community by exploring the shared experience of African American males in and out of the classroom.”

When does he sleep?!   Congratulations Kadir!