Graduate students honored for excellence in graduate education
AUSTIN, Texas – May 17, 2007 – Twelve current and former University of Texas at Austin graduate students were honored for their excellence in graduate education at the annual Graduate School/University Co-op awards banquet on May 16. The University Co-operative Society generously underwrites the banquet and awards.
The Outstanding Dissertation Award was established in 1979 by the Graduate School to recognize exceptional work by doctoral students and to encourage the highest levels of scholarship, research, and writing. Three awards of $4,000 each are given annually.
The following graduates received awards for their outstanding dissertations:
Mukremin Kilic, Ph.D., Astronomy, August 2006. Dr. Kilic’s
dissertation, Cool White Dwarfs and the Age of the Galaxy, documents
his discoveries regarding small dense stars known as "white dwarfs" and
how they can be used to determine the age of the galaxy. He has already
published more than 15 articles in prestigious scientific journals, and
he is currently the Columbus Prize Fellow at Ohio State
University. Dissertation supervisors: Don Winget and Ted von Hippel.
Dimitri Nakassis, Ph.D., Classics, May, 2006. Dr. Nakassis’ dissertation, The
Individual and the Mycenaean State: Agency and Prosopography in the Linear
B Texts from Pylos, is a thorough study of the personal, occupational
and ethnic names of a complex writing system known as Linear B texts
from Pylos, in ancient Greece. His work is revolutionary not only
for identifying individuals, but for the implications it has for the
political economy and social structure of the Mycenaean kingdom of Messenia.
This summer, he is scheduled to participate in the archaeological excavations
of several Mycenaean tombs that are over 2500 years old. Dissertation
supervisor: Thomas G. Palaima.
Leighton C. Peterson, Ph.D., Anthropology, August 2006.
Dr. Peterson’s dissertation, Technology, Ideology, and Emergent
Communicative Practices among the Navajo is a groundbreaking analysis
of the ways in which new information technologies, in particular, cell-phones
and email, have impacted both the development of literacy and the maintenance
of linguistic vitality amongst the Navajo. Dr. Peterson’s findings
show how the Navajo use these technologies to maintain and enhance their
sense of community. He is currently an assistant professor at Colorado
College where he teaches a wide range of courses on linguistic anthropology
and Native North America. Dissertation supervisors: Joel Sherzer and Pauline
Strong.
The Outstanding Thesis/Report Award was established in 2003 by the Graduate School to recognize exceptional work by master's students and to encourage the highest levels of scholarship, research, and writing. Three awards of $4,000 each are given annually.
The following graduates received outstanding thesis/report awards:
Jarrett L. Johnson, M.A., Astronomy,
May, 2006. Jarrett’s thesis Towards the First Galaxies was
focused on one of the most important questions in astrophysics today: the
formation of first stars and galaxies and their impact on the subsequent
history of the universe. In his thesis, Jarrett made an important
and highly original contribution to the field related to the formation
of a new class of stars in the early universe, termed "Population
II.5," as well as addressed the cutting-edge question of how the
first supermassive black holes are assembled in the early universe. Jarrett
is currently working towards his Ph.D. in Astronomy at The University of
Texas at Austin. Thesis supervisor: Volker Bromm.
Jonathan P. Lamb, M.A., English, May, 2006. Jon’s
report Between the Brackets of Philip Sidney’s Arcadia,
uncovers the secret to the punctuation style of the most influential writer
of the English Renaissance, Philip Sidney, by arguing that the use of parentheses
in Sidney’s work created a shared, private space between the author
and the reader. Combining an analysis of the minute textual data
with one of the largest questions of the Renaissance, Jon’s work
offers a new way to think about something as basic as punctuation. He
is continuing his work toward his Ph.D. Report supervisor: Professor Douglas
Bruster.
Mason R. McWatters – M.A., Latin
American Studies, August 2006. Mason’s thesis, (De)Constructing
Paradise: Assessing Residents’ Place Experiences During an Era of
Residential Tourism Development in Boquete, Panamá delves into
the impact of residential tourism by American retirees on the area of Boquete,
Panama, and the inevitable clash of cultures. Mason identifies the impact
of this "residential tourism" and the changes it ignites in each
group in a sophisticated theoretical framework contrasting the ideas of
land and place. Thesis supervisor: Paul Adams.
The Excellence in Graduate Research Award was established in 2001 by the Graduate School and University Co-op to recognize outstanding master's or doctoral research that is substantially in progress. Three awards of $4,000 each are given annually.
The following students received the Excellence in Graduate Research Award to support their ongoing research.
Carlos A. Aguilar – Biomedical
Engineering. Working toward an M.S.E. in Mechanical Engineering and
a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, Carlos is being recognized for his research: Cardiovascular-Energized
Auxiliary Power Source for Automatic Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators
(AICDs) and Biventricular Pacemakers. His research involves the development
of nanomaterials that convert the energy of body motion into electricity
that can be used to run medical implants such as pacemakers. This
technology could reduce hospital admissions and prolong a patient’s
life. A provisional patent has been filed for this device. Dissertation
supervisor: Shaochen Chen.
Jennifer B. Barrett – Sociology. Doctors,
Clerics, Healers, and Neighbors: Religious Influences on Maternal and
Child Health in Uzbekistan. Jennifer’s research examines specific
ways through which religious beliefs influence individual behaviors that
lead to changes in reproductive and sexual health for women and children.
This research will provide valuable information in shaping health and
family policy in the region and inform the efficacy of channeling public
health resources through religious groups. Dissertation supervisor:
Cynthia J. Buckley
Hulya Yildiz – Comparative Literature. Westernization,
Nationalism, Gender and the Development of the Novel Genre in Turkey. Hulya's
dissertation research examines the emergence of the novel genre in Turkey
during the second half of the 19th century from the perspectives of modernization,
nationalism, and gender. Hulya particularly seeks to fill in gaps in
the Turkish literary and cultural archive by heeding the voices of Ottoman
women writers and how they shape the central social and political discussions
of the time. Dissertation supervisors: Ann Cvetkovich and Kamran
Asdar Ali.
The William S. Livingston Outstanding Graduate Student Academic Employee Award was established in 2004 by the Graduate School and the Graduate Student Assembly to recognize an outstanding teaching assistant, assistant instructor, and graduate research assistant. Three awards of $4,000 each are given annually.
Assaf Avni – Assistant
Instructor, Advertising.
Nominating faculty member: Gary
B. Wilcox
Ming-Yu Ngai – Graduate Research
Assistant, Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Nominating faculty
member: Michael J. Krische
Paul Griesemer – Teaching Assistant,
Aerospace Engineering.
Nominating faculty member: Alvin
Meyer
by Kathleen Mabley
