Graduate Student Awards

Outstanding Dissertation Award
Graduate Student Teaching Excellence Award
Graduate Student Service Excellence Award
Outstanding Graduate Student Award
Graduate Man and Woman of the Year Awards
William Preston Society Master's Thesis Award
Outstanding Interdisciplinary Program Student
Outstanding Graduate Alumni Achievement Award

Outstanding Dissertation Award

Two awards are given, one in sciences & engineering and one in humanities or social studies, for:

• Originality of idea
• Clarity and effectiveness of presentation of ideas
• Quality of writing
• Contribution to the field and future scholarly productivity
• Dissertations must have been submitted in Spring 2007 or Fall 2007
• Max. one nomination per department/program

Nomination Requirements

• Nomination form
• Three to five-page executive summary of the dissertation written by the student
• Nomination letter from major professor addressing all of the selection criteria
• Support letter from the department head highlighting the significance of dissertation's contributions to the discipline

Presented by: The Graduate School
Award: Plaque and $1000
Presented: At the Graduate Student Awards Banquet, during Graduate Education Week each March
Call for Nominations: Now open, due February 1, 2008

2007 Outstanding Dissertation Award - Social Sciences & Humanities
Benjamin K. Sovacool, Science and Technology in Society
Advisor: Dr. Richard Hirsh, History; Dr. Daniel Breslau, Science and Technology in Society

2007 Outstanding Dissertation Award - Science and Engineering
Mohamed N. Sellem, Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology
Advisor: Dr. Nammalwar Sriranganathan, Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology

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Graduate Student Teaching Excellence Award

• Teaching must be at Virginia Tech for a university-level course
• Teaching must have been done while the nominee was a full-time or part-time GTA for at least a full semester or for one summer session within the last year
  (students on P14 type appointment are not eligible)
• Nominee must be a currently enrolled student at the time of the nomination
• Good teaching as evidenced by:
  • Thorough knowledge of the subject matter
  • Effective communication skills
  • Enthusiasm for the subject
  • Ability to motivate students to learn
  • Effective organizational skills

Nomination Requirements:

• Nomination form
• At least two recommendations addressing criteria of good teaching
  • One from a supervising faculty member
  • One from faculty member, staff member, or graduate student who has observed the nominee's teaching skills
• Student evaluations (summaries)
• Statement of personal teaching philosophy from the candidate
• Evidence that the applicant has had sufficient teaching duties to demonstrate criteria of good teaching
• Nomination packet may not exceed 30 pages

Presented by: Alumni Affairs
Award: Plaque and $1000
Presented: At the Graduate Student Awards Banquet, during Graduate Education Week each March
Call for Nominations: Now open, due February 1, 2008

2007 Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Excellence Award
Philip K. Lehman, Psychology

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Graduate Student Service Excellence Award

• Should be for "promoting the public good," not for financial gain (service to university and/or community performed within the last year may be considered)
• No paid services may be considered
• Nominee must be a currently enrolled student at the time of the nomination
• An interview may be requested to make a final decision
  

Nomination Requirements:

• Nomination form
• Two letters of recommendation that address significance of the impact of service performed:
  • One from a supervisor of the services performed
  • One from anyone in the community who has had an opportunity to observe the performance of the service
• One letter from the nominee describing the service
  

Presented by: Alumni Affairs
Award: Plaque and $1000
Presented: At the Graduate Student Awards Banquet, during Graduate Education Week each March
Call for Nominations: Now open, due February 1, 2008

2007 Outstanding Graduate Service Award
Estella Callie Raulfs, Biochemistry

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Outstanding Graduate Student Award

One award per college is given plus one for interdisciplinary studies.

• Selection criteria is defined by the college or by the Graduate School for interdisciplinary programs
  

Notification Requirements:

• Each college is asked to develop its own criteria and select a winner. The student who best exemplifies the qualities and characteristics deemed important to the college should be chosen.
• The department should use the notification form to submit the selected student's name to the Graduate School. Include the selection criteria as it were defined by the college and list the student's accomplishments.
  

Presented by: The Graduate School
Award: Plaque and $500
Presented: At the Graduate Student Awards Banquet, during Graduate Education Week each March
Notifications must be submitted to the Graduate School by February 15, 2008

2007 Outstanding Graduate Student
College of Architecture and Urban Studies
Master's: Jonathan L. King, Architecture
Doctoral: Hooman Koliji, Environmental Design and Planning

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Master's: Brad M. Matanin, Biological Systems Engineering
Doctoral: Monique Coy, Life Sciences

College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences
Doctoral: Jonathan D. McCloud, Curriculum and Instruction

College of Engineering
Master's: Brad M. Matanin, Biological Systems Engineering
Doctoral: Pardha Pyla, Computer Science & Applications

College of Natural Resources
Master's: Brett C. Kiser, Forestery
Doctoral: Sarah DuRant, Fisheries and Wildlife

College of Science
Master's: Austin Amaya, Mathematics and Physics
Doctoral: Lori Blanc, Biological Sciences

Pamplin College of Business
Doctoral: Paula Peter, Marketing

Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine
Master's: Kara Kolster, Biomedicine and Veterinary Science
Doctoral: Shaadi Elswaifi, Biomedicine and Veterinary Science

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Graduate Man and Woman of the Year Awards

This award recognizes:

• Involvement in professional organizations, campus activities and the graduate community
• Contributions to new knowledge through teaching, research and scholarship
• Contributions to the graduate community at Virginia Tech (including all campuses and extension programs)
• Commitment to diversity
  

Nomination Requirements:

• Completed application form
• Brief resume (no more than 3 pages) addressing experiences described in the selection criteria
• Essay describing the applicant's understanding of diversity and the applicant/nominee's efforts and activities to promote diversity on campus or in the community (no more than 2 pages, double-spaced)
• Two references, one academic and one non-academic (see application form for details)

Presented by: The Graduate School
Award: Plaque and $500
Presented: Recipients will be recognized at the USLA Ceremony and the Graduate Student Awards Banquet during Graduate Education Week in March.
Call for Nominations: Now open, due February 1, 2008

2007 Graduate Man and Woman of the Year Awards
O. Thompson Mefford, Macromolecular Science and Engineering
Sharnnia Artis, Industiral and Systems Engineering

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William Preston Society Master's Thesis Awards

The William Preston Society is comprised of former members of the Board of Visitors, the current president and past presidents. The thesis award is given to a graduate student whose master's thesis presents the best original research with potential to benefit all people. Two awards are given each year, but the disciplines rotate each year. For the 2006-07 academic year, the categories were for the Humanities and Fine Arts and the second category was for Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Engineering.

Preston Thesis Award winners are selected in the Fall by a committee convened by the Graduate School Associate Dean. Winners also are recognized at the Fall semester William Preston Society Weekend awards banquet and automatically become the VT nominees for the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools annual Master's Thesis Award competition.

Eligibility Requirements:

• Secured theses are not eligible for consideration for the award .
• Nominees must have completed their thesis in the last academic year including summer.

Nomination Requirements (to be submitted by the student's department)

• A letter of nomination (including quality, relevance, and significance of the research)
• A copy of the abstract and access information for the thesis
• A copy of the nominee's CV.

Call for Nominations: In early fall

Successful candidates will be notified and will be invited to provide a brief overview of his/her thesis at the William Preston's Society annual meeting. Awards will be presented at this meeting.

2005-2006 William Preston Thesis Award Winners

Evan S. Nobel, MS, History
Category: Humanities and Fine Arts
Thesis: Marshall Plan Films and Americanization

Amanda Young, MS, Aerospace Engineering
Category: Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Engineering
Thesis: Adaptive Control of Nonaffine Systems with Applications to Flight Control

Also nominated for the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools Master’s Thesis Award:

Lauren Shupp, MS, Computer Science
Category: 2007 Innovative Application of Technology
Thesis: The Effects of Curving Large, High-Resolution Displays on User Performance

Outstanding Interdisciplinary Program Student

The nominee must meet the following:

• Student must be enrolled in one of the following three official, VT defined, interdisciplinary Ph.D. degree programs: 1.) Biomedical Engineering; 2.) Genetics, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology; 3.) Macromolecular Science and Engineering
• Student must demonstrate an academic contribution at the graduate level across a minimum of two academic colleges
• Student must be engaged in academic efforts (teaching, research and /or service) that expand and promote the concept of interdisciplinary studies across a minimum of two academic college
• Student must demonstrate originality of interdisciplinary ideas either in teaching, research or service
• Student must demonstrate clarity and effectiveness of presentation of interdisciplinary ideas either in teaching, research or service

Nomination Requirements:

• Nomination Form
• Only Ph.D. students enrolled full-time at the time of the application
• Only one nomination per approved Interdisciplinary degree program
• One page Nomination letter from the major professor addressing all of the selection criteria
• Additional one page letter of recommendation from an individual or representative of an academic college other than that of the major professor
• Executive Summary not to exceed three pages on the novel interdisciplinary activity (teaching, research or service) clearly identifying the contribution across a minimum of two academic colleges
• Four copies of the nomination must be submitted by the deadline
• Nomination packet may not exceed 6 pages including Nomination Form

Presented by: The Graduate School
Award: Plaque and $500
Presented: At the Graduate Student Awards Banquet, during Graduate Education Week each March
Notifications must be submitted to the Graduate School by February 1, 2008

2007 Outstanding Interdisciplinary Program Student
Jory Z. Ruscio, Genetics Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

Outstanding Graduate Alumni Achievement Award

• Established by the  Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Graduate School and Virginia Tech Alumni Association in 2003
• Must be an alumni of an officially recognized Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University masters or doctoral graduate program
• Must demonstrate outstanding national and/or international achievement and exemplary contribution to their profession, discipline, community or society
• Must be engaged in efforts that enhance the reputation of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University to a national and/or international audience
• Must not be the subject of any past or ongoing ethical investigations or circumstances that would discredit Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Nomination Requirements:

• Nomination Form
• Only alumni who have obtained a graduate degree from Virginia Tech are eligible.  VT undergraduate alumni who have obtained their sole graduate degree from another institution are not eligible
• Only one nomination per College
• One to two page nomination letter from a Virginia Tech  employee providing some national and/or international context to the nature of the candidate’s credentials since the application will be reviewed by faculty from multiple disciplines
• Additional one to two page letter of recommendation from an individual or representative familiar with the candidate’s achievement and exemplary contribution to their profession, discipline, community or society
• Copy of the nominee’s full VITA
• Ten copies of the complete nomination packet submitted by deadline

Presented by: The Graduate School and Alumni Association
Award: Plaque
Presented: During Spring Commencement
Call for Nominations: Now open, due February 15, 2008

Award details may be subject to revision each year.
For more information contact: 540/231-4558