UNL grad studies awards presented to 7 scholars, teachers

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Office of Graduate Studies presented seven awards for outstanding graduate education at its annual Graduate Studies Awards event Jan. 25. Awardees were honored for their work on dissertations and master's theses and for their work as graduate assistants and graduate educators. The awardees are:

Lu Yuan, 2007 Lowe R. and Mavis M. Folsom Distinguished Doctoral Dissertation Award, funded by the Folsom family through the University of Nebraska Foundation, the award recognizes and rewards distinguished scholarship and research at the doctoral level. Yuan completed her Ph.D. in physics and astronomy in August, under Professor Sy-Hwang Liou. Her dissertation is "Study of Magnetic Layers in Magnetic Sensors." Yuan is from Tianjin, China.

Adriana Trejo Sanchez , 2007 Lowe R. and Mavis M. Folsom Distinguished Master's Thesis Award. Also funded by the Folsom family through the NU Foundation, the award recognizes and rewards distinguished scholarship and research at the master's level. Trejo Sanchez received her master's in industrial and management systems engineering in December 2005 under professor Susan Hallbeck. Trejo Sanchez's thesis is "Ergonomic Evaluation of a Laparoscopic Grasper." Trejo Sanchez is from Mexico City.

Elizabeth Ribarsky, 2007 Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, honoring graduate teaching assistants with special effectiveness in teaching undergraduates. Ribarsky is a doctoral student and graduate teaching assistant in communication studies. Ribarsky, of Frankenmuth, Mich., is "a self-reflective teacher, always looking for ways to improve her teaching and maximize student learning. She has one journal article, two book chapters and several conference presentations all related to teaching and teaching effectiveness," according to her supervisor, Professor William Seiler.

Camile Semighini and Satya Bulusu, 2007 Outstanding Graduate Research Assistant Awards, for ongoing outstanding contribution to research, future promise as a researcher, and on the originality, imagination and significance of their research or creative activity.

Semighini, of Sao Paulo, Brazil, is a doctoral student and graduate research assistant in biological sciences, with a specialization in plant pathology under the supervision of Professor Steven Harris. She has 12 publications in peer-reviewed journals, including seven as first author in the most relevant journals for fungal biologists: Genetics, Eukaryotic Cell, and Molecular Microbiology.

Bulusu earned his Ph.D. in December. As a doctoral student and graduate research assistant in chemistry under Professor Xiao Cheng Zeng, over the past five years, Bulusu has published 12 papers including nine in physical chemistry/chemical physics journals, one in Journal of The American Chemical Society, and two in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences. One of Bulusu's most important contributions is the discovery of structural transition of the boron cluster and his investigation of the growth pattern of semiconducting clusters. Bulusu is from Hyderabad, India.

Stephen Mason and James Gentry, 2007 Excellence in Graduate Education Awards, for demonstrated excellence and lasting impact on distinguished scholarly/creative activities and successful graduate research mentoring and special graduate advising or mentoring efforts. Stephen Mason is a professor in agronomy and horticulture. He has advised 22 students, 17 of whom have published one or more manuscripts on their thesis research. James Gentry is a professor of marketing. One of Gentry's successes includes the annual Ph.D. symposium initiated in 1990. The symposium attracts doctoral students from as many as 15 graduate programs in the United States.

CONTACT: Ellen Weissinger, Executive Assoc. Dean, Graduate Studies, (402) 472-2875