April 30, 2026
The associate teaching professor was recognized for helping students grow intellectually, pursue ambitious opportunities and meaningfully contribute to interdisciplinary research.聽
By Alivia Roach | Student Success
Photo by Yvonne Groner聽
Mentors play a vital role in聽the undergraduate聽research experience at the University of Missouri. They help students turn curiosity into meaningful discoveries that contribute to their fields, while also providing guidance,聽advice聽and support throughout their academic journey.听听
Each year, the Office of Undergraduate Research shines a spotlight on exceptional mentors and the meaningful impact they聽have made in their fields by awarding the Office of Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year Award, an award that is completely based on student nominations. Awards like the Mentor of the Year are聽not聽just about achievements聽on paper 鈥 they鈥檙e聽driven by the voices of the students who work alongside these mentors every day.聽
Student nominations reveal the genuine, personal connections behind each selection, highlighting not only research excellence but the mentorship, guidance and inspiration that truly set these individuals apart.聽This year, one of the awardees is Fang Wang.听听
Wang is an associate teaching professor and the director of both the undergraduate studies for the Department of 糖心Vlog传媒 and Information Technology and the Collaborative Research Environments for Extended Reality (CREXR) Lab. Her current research focuses on virtual and augmented reality, game and mobile application in healthcare and education and engineering simulation software development.听听
Nominations from students describe not only how dedicated she is to her work, but how she makes diligent efforts to create a space for her students to 鈥済row intellectually and pursue ambitious opportunities and meaningfully contribute to interdisciplinary research,鈥 Olivia Franken, Dr. Wang鈥檚 student nominator said.
With Wang鈥檚 insightful guidance, undergraduate researchers聽feel聽supported聽in the midst of聽difficult course work and busy lives. In the environment she has curated, students feel a sense of 鈥渢rust, accessibility and deep commitment,鈥 Franken said. She encourages students to remain curious, to ask hard聽questions聽and grow independently as scholars. 聽聽
With these opportunities to grow inside the classroom, student researchers feel supported to pursue opportunities outside of the classroom and successfully contribute in ways that further their own education and future. Students attribute many of their accomplishments to Wang鈥檚 commitment to her students鈥 progress.听听聽聽
鈥淒r. Wang鈥檚 mentorship has profoundly shaped my development as a researcher,鈥 Franken said.
鈥淢ost聽mentoring happens in small, everyday moments, and you聽don鈥檛聽always know how聽it鈥檚聽landing until much later.聽So,聽to hear directly from students that it made a difference really stays with me,鈥 Wang said.聽鈥淚t鈥檚聽made me more intentional about how I mentor.聽I鈥檝e聽found myself reflecting more on what students聽take聽away from the experience, both in terms of the skills,聽techniques聽and knowledge they develop through research, and how they grow in confidence and see themselves. I feel lucky to work with students who are engaged and willing to put themselves out there, which makes a real difference.鈥澛
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