Academics

13 graduate students receive the Alumni Association Dissertation Award

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Thirteen graduate students received the Penn State Alumni Association Dissertation Award, Distinguished Doctoral Scholar Medal, in recognition of their outstanding professional accomplishment and achievement in scholarly research in any of the disciplinary areas of fine arts and humanities; social sciences — applied and basic; physical and computational sciences — applied and basic; life and health sciences; and engineering. The graduate students were honored during the Graduate Student Awards Luncheon held on April 18 at the Nittany Lion Inn.

The Penn State Alumni Association Dissertation Award, considered to be among the most prestigious available to Penn State graduate students, provides funding to full-time research doctorate students who have passed their comprehensive examinations and have received approval of their dissertation topic.

Award recipients and their programs of study are:

  • Zakaria Al Balushi, doctoral student in materials science and engineering
  • Raeven Chandler, doctoral student in rural sociology with a dual title in demography
  • Weile Chen, doctoral student in ecology
  • Phillip Domeier, doctoral student in biomedical sciences
  • Ryan Holroyd, doctoral student in history with a dual title in Asian studies
  • Stephen Mainzer, doctoral student in architecture with a dual title in human dimensions of natural resources and the environment
  • Bastian Minkenberg, doctoral student in plant biology
  • Abdon Pena-Francesch, doctoral student in engineering science and mechanics
  • Arpita Roy, doctoral student in astronomy and astrophysics
  • Danica Slavish, doctoral student in biobehavioral health
  • Curtis Stimpson, doctoral student in mechanical engineering
  • Garrett Swan, doctoral student in psychology
  • William Turbitt, doctoral student in integrative and biomedical physiology

Each student received a $5,000 award and was recognized at the Graduate School Alumni Society’s Recognition Dinner on March 25. Funds for these awards were made possible by a gift from the Penn State Alumni Association.

More information about the Penn State Alumni Association Dissertation Award, Distinguished Doctoral Scholar Medals is available on the Graduate School’s website.

Last Updated April 26, 2017