Graduate School Announces 2021 Award Winners

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Published:
May 3, 2021
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The Graduate School has announced the 2021 winners of its professional and student awards. The awards recognize excellence in graduate academics, teaching and professional services.

The winners represent a diverse community of students, scholars, teachers and administrators at the university. 

“The winners are a testament to the quality of teaching, research and support in graduate education that transpires on the Forty Acres,” said Mark J. T. Smith, senior vice provost for academic affairs and dean of the Graduate School. “Each winner has done something extraordinary—the winners have conducted groundbreaking research and inspired others to discover their potential and enabled them to succeed.”

Candidates for the awards are nominated by individuals across campus, and winners are determined by selection committees composed of faculty and staff members and students.


STUDENT AWARDS

Outstanding Dissertation Awards

The Outstanding Dissertation Awards were established in 1979 to recognize exceptional work and to encourage the highest levels of scholarship, research and writing. Each year, three awards are given. Of these, one is selected for the Michael H. Granof Award, the university’s top dissertation. The Outstanding Dissertation Award-winners receive $5,000, the Granof Award-winner $6,000.

 

Ruohan Gao

 

Ruohan Gao

Michael H. Granof Award winner for top dissertation

Look and Listen: From Semantic to Spatial Audio-Visual Perception

Department of Computer Science

College of Natural Sciences 

Nominated by Adam Klivans, Ph.D.

 

Daniel Thomas

 

Daniel Thomas, III

My mom used to sing "To Be Young, Gifted and Black": Black Male Teacher-Coaches Combating an AntiBlack Epistemic Order Through Critical Civic Engagement

Department of Curriculum & Instruction

College of Education

Nominated by Xiaofen Keating, Ph.D.

 

Ricardo Velasco Trujillo

 

Ricardo Velasco Trujillo

CULTURAL ECOLOGIES OF MEMORY AND SYMBOLIC REPARATION IN TRANSITIONAL COLOMBIA. Practices of Memory by State and Civil Society Actors During the Post-conflict Transition

Department of Latin American Studies

College of Liberal Arts

Nominated by Carlos Ramos-Scharrón, Ph.D.


Outstanding Master's Thesis/Report Award

The Outstanding Master’s Thesis/Report Award was established in 2003 to recognize exceptional work by master’s students and to encourage the highest levels of scholarship, research and writing. The winner receives $2,000.

 

Indigo Fischer

 

Indigo Fischer

An Audio and Visual Exploration of Music from the 18th Century to Today

Butler School of Music, Music Performance

College of Fine Arts

Nominated by Charles Carson, Ph.D.

 

Suzanne Nimoh

 

Suzanne Nimoh

Racial Narratives in Leisure Landscapes: Colonial Tourism in Santo Domingo

Department of Geography

College of Liberal Arts

Nominated by Paul Adams, Ph.D.

 

Nhat Tran

 

Nhat Quang Hoang Tran

The Epoch of Giant Planet Migration Planet Search Program A Near-Infrared Radial Velocity Jitter of Young Sun-like Stars

Department of Astronomy

College of Natural Sciences

Nominated by Harriet Dinerstein, Ph.D.


Outstanding Graduate Student Academic Employee Award

The William S. Livingston Outstanding Graduate Student Academic Employee Awards honor outstanding performance by graduate student academic employees. The winners receive $2,000.

 

Nigel O'Hearn

 

Nigel O'Hearn, Teaching Assistant

Department of English

College of Liberal Arts

Nominated by Donna Kornhaber, Ph.D.

 

 

David Barry

 

David Barry, Teaching Assistant

Department of Curriculum & Instruction

College of Education

Nominated by Christopher Brown, Ph.D.

 

 

Kaitlyn Farrell Rodriguez

 

Kaitlyn Farrell Rodriguez, Assistant Instructor

Department of English

College of Liberal Arts

Nominated by Phillip Barrish, Ph.D.


PROFESSIONAL AWARDS

Outstanding Graduate Coordinator

Graduate coordinators are instrumental to the success of graduate students enrolled at the university. The Outstanding Graduate Coordinator Award recognizes the exemplary service of one coordinator each year. The winner receives $3,000.

 

Lacy White

 

Lacy White

Graduate Coordinator

Department of Biomedical Engineering

Cockrell School of Engineering

Nominated by Andrew Dunn, Ph.D.


Outstanding Graduate Teacher         

The Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award recognizes one faculty member for distinguished graduate teaching—including demonstrated excellence in the classroom or laboratory, mentorship of students and service to students’ thesis and dissertation committees. The winner receives $3,000.

Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra, Ph.D.

Professor

Department of Classics

College of Liberal Arts

Nominated by Alison Frazier, Ph.D.


Outstanding Graduate Adviser

Graduate advisers provide invaluable services to the university and its community of students, faculty and staff members. The Outstanding Graduate Adviser Award recognizes the exemplary service of one adviser each year. The winner receives $3,000.

 

Lorraine Leu

 

Lorraine Leu, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Department of Spanish and Portuguese

College of Liberal Arts

Nominated by Jorge Pérez, Ph.D.

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