Recognition and Awards
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UCF sponsors several awards to honor excellence in research, teaching, and mentoring in graduate students and faculty. These awards play a crucial role in acknowledging the achievements of our graduate students while enhancing their academic journey. The college annually presents multiple award categories to celebrate the outstanding contributions of our graduate students.
Just as crucial is recognizing faculty who have exceeded expectations in mentoring our graduate students. The college invites recent alumni or current faculty to actively nominate those who exemplify being a great mentor in guiding graduate students through their academic and professional growth.
Newly added in the spring semester, the Award for Excellence by a Student Researcher celebrates exceptional graduate-level research and creative scholarship. This self-nominated award recognized, available during spring and fall semesters, empowers graduate students to showcase their work and fosters recognition and potential scholarships from the Graduate Student Advisory Council.
2022-2023 Graduate Awards of Excellence
Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching
Federico López Borghesi, Conservation Biology PhD, Conservation Biology Track, College of Sciences
Honorable Mention: Terry Henley, Public Affairs PhD, Governance and Policy Research Track, College of Community Innovation and Education
Award for Excellence by a Graduate Teaching Assistant
Bingna Lin, Hospitality Management PhD, Rosen College of Hospitality Management
Honorable Mention
Kianna Greene, Creative Writing MFA, College of Arts and Humanities
Award for Outstanding Dissertation
Engineering, Physical Sciences, and Life Sciences Division
Dr. Sabin Regmi, Physics PhD, College of Sciences
Dissertation: Observation of Novel Phases of Quantum Matter Beyond Topological Insulators
Mentored by Dr. Madhab Neupane
Social Science, Humanities, Education, Business, Fine Art and Health Sciences Division
Dr. Olivia Newton, Modeling and Simulation PhD, College of Graduate Studies
Dissertation: Modeling the Effects of Diversity and Corporations on Participation Dynamics in Free/Libre and Open Source Software Ecosystems
Mentored by Dr. Stephen Fiore
Honorable Mention
Dr. Terry Henley, Public Affairs PhD, Governance and Policy Research Track, College of Community Innovation and Education
Dissertation: Financial Sustainability of Florida Cities: Comparative, Retrospective Modeling for Prospective Municipal Financial Health
Mentored by Dr. David Mitchell
Award for Outstanding Thesis
Engineering, Physical Sciences, Mathematical Science, and Life Sciences Division
Jaynlynn Sosa, Nanotechnology MS, College of Graduate Studies
Thesis: Atomic Layer Deposition for Personalized Drug Release Systems: 5-Aminosalicylic Acid as a Model Pharmaceutical
Mentored by Dr. Parag Banerjee
Social Sciences, Humanities, Education, Business, Fine Arts, and Health Sciences Division
Aaron Wizenberg, Kinesiology MS, College of Health Professions and Sciences
Thesis: The Acute Effects of Continuous and Intermittent Blood Flow Restriction on Sprint Interval Performance and Muscle Oxygen Responses
Mentored by Dr. Ethan Hill
Award for Faculty Excellence in Mentoring Doctoral Students
Engineering, Physical Sciences, Mathematical Science, and Life Sciences
Dr. Ahmad Elshennawy, Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems, College of Engineering and Computer Science
Social Sciences, Humanities, Education, Business, Fine Arts, and Health Sciences
Dr. Farshid Safi, Associate Professor, School of Teacher Education, College of Community Innovation and Education
Award for Faculty Excellence in Mentoring Postdoctoral Scholars
Early Career- tenure-earning or non-tenure earning faculty who are at the assistant level
Dr. Bethany Backes, Assistant Professor, Violence Against Women Cluster and Department of Criminal Justice, College of Community Innovation and Education
Tenured or non-tenure earning faculty who are the associate or full level
Dr. Nazanin Rahnavard, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science
Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching
Dr. Gulnora Hundley, Associate Lecturer, Department of Counselor Education and School Psychology, College of Community Innovation and Education
Award for Excellence by a Graduate Student Researcher
Spring Doctoral
Stephine Feuer, Integrative Anthropological Sciences
Spring Master’s
Sydney Snowden, Political Science