Congratulations to Saffron Buscemi and Madison Klak, who were selected as Drexel's nominees for the 2026 Udall Scholarship! The Udall Foundation awards scholarships to outstanding sophomore and junior level college students committed to careers related to the environment, tribal public policy, or Native American health care. Saffron and Madison were both nominated by Drexel University in the environmental category of the national Udall competition. They have spent the past few months working hard on their applications, and we wish them the best of luck!
Saffron Buscemi, custom-designed major in textile science and technology '27, Honors
Saffron is a current fourth-year student at Drexel University pursuing a custom-designed major in textile science and technology. Through this plan of study, she is concentrated within materials science and engineering, fashion design, and interactive digital media. She aims to use technology and nature-driven solutions to revolutionize the functionality and sustainability of clothing, through research focused on biomaterials, nanofibers, functional fabrics, and digital fashion.
Saffron has been involved in the Pennoni Honors College through the Honors Program, STAR Scholars (2023), and SuperNova Undergraduate Research Fellows Program.
Madison Klak, BS/MS environmental engineering '28, Honors
Madison Klak is a current third-year student at Drexel University pursuing an accelerated BS/MS in environmental engineering with a minor in law. For her master's degree, she is specializing in human risk and air pollution to have a deeper understanding of emerging technology to improve air quality issues that cause health problems in urban environments. She currently works for the Circular Innovations for Resilient Communities and Livable Environments (CIRCLE) Lab on their Circular Cities research team, where they study the gaps of circular economy initiatives within Philadelphia. She hopes to use her degree to improve the public health of disadvantaged communities by advancing pollution technology.
Special thanks to the members of Drexel’s 2026 Udall Campus Committee, who worked with Undergraduate Research and Enrichment Programs to review, interview, and advise the nominees on their applications:
Neville Vakharia, PhD, Dean of the Pennoni Honors College
Jen Britton, MS, Executive Director, Sustainable Development Strategy, Drexel Climate and Sustainability
Thank you as well to our partners who assisted with campus interviews:
Gabriella Deblasio, Center for Functional Fabrics
Andrew Frederick Smith, PhD, Professor of Philosophy and Environmental Studies, CoAS
Peter Amato, PhD, Teaching Professor of Philosophy, CoAS
Maddie Gallagher, BS/MS '21, 2020 Udall Scholar
The Udall Scholarship awards approximately 50 scholarships of up to $7,000 to sophomore and junior level college students committed to careers related to the environment, tribal public policy, or Native American health care. The Udall Foundation seeks future leaders across a wide spectrum of environmental fields, including policy, engineering, science, education, urban planning and renewal, business, health, justice, and economics.
For more information about applying for the Udall Scholarship, please email fellowships@drexel.edu.