The Virginia Tech Graduate School paid tribute to master's and doctoral degree students from across the university at the school’s annual awards dinner during Graduate Education Week.

Students received awards for top dissertations and theses and for service, teaching, and research. Vice President and Dean for Graduate Education Karen P. DePauw also recognized the nine 2016 Edward A. Bouchet Honor Society inductees and the graduate students of the year.

Doctoral and master's degree students were nominated for the awards by the university's eight colleges. This year, the selection committee chose two winners for outstanding service.

In addition to receiving their awards at the dinner, they will be recognized during the Graduate Commencement Ceremony May 11.

Dean DePauw also awarded the Graduate School's first outstanding mentor awards to professors nominated by graduate students and faculty across the university.

Student of the year and service awards

  • 2017 Graduate Students of the Year: Siddhartha Roy, of Palanpur, India, a Ph.D. candidate in the College of Engineering's civil and environmental engineering program.
  • Graduate Service Excellence Awards: Yousef Jalali, of Shahrood, Iran, a Ph.D. sutdent in the College of Engineering's engineering education program; Anurag Mantha, of Hyderabad, India, a Ph.D. student in the College of Engineering's civil and environmental engineering program.

Thesis and dissertation awards

  • Outstanding Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Dissertation Award: Andrew Brantley Hall, of Christiansburg, Va., who earned his Ph.D. in the genetics, bioinformatics, and computational biology interdisciplinary graduate education program.
  • Outstanding Social Sciences, Business, Education, and Humanities (SSBEH) Dissertation Awards: Francine Rossone de Paula, of, Rio de Janiero, Brazil, who earned a Ph.D. in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences' Alliance for Social Political, Ethical, and Cultural Thought (ASPECT) program.
  • William Preston Master's Thesis Award, STEM: Kathleen Hamre, of Blacksburg, who earned a masters' degree from the College of Science’s biological sciences program.
  • William Preston Master's Thesis Award, SSBEH: Carmen Bolt, of Floyd, Va., who earned a master’s degree in the College of Liberal Arts and human sciences' history program.

Teaching awards

  • Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) Instructor of Record Excellence Award: Joseph "Tanner" Slagel, of Blacksburg, a Ph.D. student in the College of Science's mathematics program.
  • Graduate Teaching Assistant Excellence Award: Ricky Mullins, of Wise Va., a Ph.D. student in the education department's curriculum and instruction: history and social science education program.

Outstanding doctoral degree students

  • College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: Adam Geiger, of Brillion, Wisconsin, in the animal Science, dairy program.
  • College of Architecture and Urban Studies: Eric Wetzel, of Auburn, Alabama, in the Building Construction program.
  • College of Engineering: William Rhoads, of Joplin Missouri, in the civil and environmental engineering program.
  • College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences: Shekila Melchior, of Dale City, Va., who earned her Ph.D. in the School of Education’s counselor education program.
  • College of Natural Resources and Environment: Anne Hilborn, of Seattle, Wa., a Ph.D. candidate in the fish and wildlife conservation program.
  • College of Science: Jonathan Doubek, of Menominee, Michigan, in the biology department
  • Pamplin College of Business: Richard Gruss, of Blacksburg, in the business information technology program.
  • Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine: Shaohua Lei, of Yongzhou, China, in the biomedical and veterinary sciences program.
  • Interdisciplinary doctoral student: Laura Schoenle, of Ithaca, New York, in the interfaces of global change program.

Outstanding master's degree students

  • College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: Alicia Everette, of Virginia Beach, Va., in the human nutrition, foods, and exercise program
  • College of Architecture and Urban Studies: Meliha Aljabar, of Richmond, Va., in the urban and regional planning program.
  • College of Engineering: Eamon Campolettano, of Hicksville, New York, in the biomedical engineering and sciences program.
  • College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences: Daniel Newcomb, of Monterey, Va., in the education in curriculum and instruction program.
  • College of Natural Resources and Environment: Kayla Davis, of Ellerbe, North Carolina, in the fish and wildlife conservation program.
  • Pamplin College of Business: Nicholas Brown, of Gainesville, Va., evening master's of business administration program.
  • Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine: Noelle Muro, of East Haven, Connecticut, in the biomedical and veterinary sciences program.

Outstanding faculty mentors

  • College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: Professor David Bevan
  • College of Architecture and Urban Studies: Professor Patrick Miller
  • College of Engineering: Professor Amy Pruden
  • College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences: Associate Professor April Few-Demo
  • College of Natural Resources and Environment: Professor William A. Hopkins
  • College of Science: Professor Ann Stevens
  • Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine: Associate Professor Lijuan Yuan
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