Graduate Studies honors top students, faculty

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The Office of Graduate Studies presented 10 awards for outstanding graduate education at its annual Graduate Studies Awards Reception in February.

Award winners were:

Nan Shao, Hefei, China - Lowe R. and Mavis M. Folsom Distinguished Doctoral Dissertation Award. Shao completed her doctoral degree in chemistry under professor Xiao Cheng Zeng. Her dissertation is titled "Computational Studies of Clusters."

Natalie Koziol, Lincoln - 2011 Lowe R. and Mavis M. Folsom Distinguished Master's Thesis Award. Koziol received her master's in educational psychology under professor James Bovaird. Koziol's thesis is "Evaluating Measurement Invariance with Censored Ordinal Data: A Monte Carlo Comparison of alternative Model Estimators and Scales of Measurement."

Courtney Gibbons, Woodbridge, Conn.; Sarah Steimel, Arlington, Texas; and Adam Thompson, Indianapolis - 2011 Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Awards. Gibbons is a doctoral student in mathematics and is a teaching assistant under the supervision of professor Roger Wiegand. Steimel is a doctoral student in communication studies and is a teaching assistant under the supervision of professor Kathleen Krone. Thompson is a doctoral student in philosophy and is a teaching assistant under the supervision of professor Mark van Roojen.

Alicia Klanecky, Ord; Xi He, Chongqing, China; and David Peterson, Schererville, Ind. - 2011 Outstanding Graduate Research Assistant Awards. Klanecky is a doctoral student in psychology and is working as a research assistant with assistant professor Dennis McChargue. He is a doctoral student in physics and is working as a research assistant with associate professor Christian Binek. Peterson is a doctoral student in earth and atmospheric sciences with assistant professor Jun Wang.

Shannon Bartelt-Hunt and Carolyn Pope Edwards - 2011 Dean's Award for Excellence in Graduate Education.

Bartelt-Hunt is an assistant professor in civil engineering. She has supported and advised four students who received their master's degrees in either civil or environmental engineering, currently supports and advises five doctoral students and one master's degree student in the department of civil engineering. In addition to her own students, she has served as a committee member for nine other master's degree students and one Ph.D. student in discipline areas including civil and environmental engineering, toxicology and natural resources.

Edwards is a professor in psychology. She has graduated nine Ph.D. students, five from the College of Education and Human Sciences, four from psychology, with eight more in process; and six master's students, one more in process. She has co-authored 24 refereed articles, 12 refereed book chapters, and seven other reports and publications with present or former UNL graduate students, and 53 refereed presentations at national or international meetings of professional associations. Six of her UNL Ph.Ds hold academic jobs, and the other three hold managerial positions in state government or private foundations.

- Jane Schneider, Graduate Studies