Ying Chen Lien Wins Udall Scholarship

University of Pittsburgh junior Ying Chen “Bailey” Lien has been awarded a 2016 Udall Undergraduate Scholarship. 

The Udall Scholarship honors sophomores and juniors for their leadership, public service, and commitment to careers related to the environment or the advancement of American Indian nations. The award is given by the Udall Foundation, which was established by the U.S. Congress in 1992 and named for the late Congressmen Morris King Udall and Stewart Lee Udall, both of Arizona.

Lien is Pitt’s ninth Udall Scholar and one of only 60 scholarship winners in the nation for 2016. Udall Scholars receive as much as $7,000 in tuition support.

Lien, a neuroscience major within the Dietrich School, would like to become a physician and focus on public health and environmental affairs. In particular, she is interested in conducting research on either neurodevelopmental disorders caused by air pollutants or chronic allergy and respiratory illnesses. 

Lien serves as president of the environmental division of Pitt’s chapter of Global Brigades, a nongovernmental organization that promotes sustainable development in Ghana, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. As a freshman, she traveled to rural Panama to work on a Global Brigades sustainability project. She plans to work on another Global Brigades project there this summer. 

Lien has held prominent positions on Pitt’s Student Health Advisory Board and, through that organization, helped to develop a tobacco-free campus campaign.

She has conducted neuroscience and psychology-based research in the lab of Pitt Department of Psychology Professor Julie Fiez. Lien also was active in Pitt’s Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign, the Student Government Board’s environmental committee, University Honors College’s Peer Mentor Program, and the medical fraternity Phi Delta Epsilon.

In 2014, Lien was a part of a student team that won Pitt’s 2014 Sustainable Solutions Competition, sponsored by the University’s Division of Student Affairs. Lien’s team proposed a series of energy-saving renovations for Litchfield Towers—such as dual-flush toilets, solar window panels, and energy-efficient LED bulbs—saving more than $40,000 over four years. 

Lien was also awarded a University Honors College Scholarship. 

A native of Taipei, Taiwan, Lien immigrated to the United States at the age of 12. She expects to graduate in spring 2017.