molecules 2022 best phd thesis award

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Outstanding thesis awards

• Collaboration and Impact

Chemistry library, courtesy Nathan Pitt, ©University of Cambridge

We congratulate the PhD and Masters level outstanding thesis awards for 2022 and 2021.

This year the postgraduate office awarded the Outstanding Thesis Awards to 14 students of Masters and PhD level who had submitted an outstanding thesis. We congratulate these students for this considerable achievement that marks their excellence, dedication and commitment. The 2021 and 2022 cohort were awarded at the same time due to COVID-related delays.

PhD Thesis 2021

• Althorpe group: Raz Benson for Path-integral studies of quantum statistical effects in vibrational spectroscopy.
• Archibald group: John Staunton Sykes for The impact of volcanic halogens, climate change, and sulfate aerosol geo-engineering on the atmospheric effects of volcanic eruptions.
• Gaunt group: Henry Blackwell for Visible-light-mediated synthetic strategies for the synthesis of α-tertiary amine derivatives.
• Grey group: Michael Jones for Local structures of niobium-containing cation-disordered rocksalt materials: cobalt-free cathodes for lithium-ion batteries.
• Spring group: Abigail Hanby for Synthesis of a diverse and three-dimensional fragment collection and the development of a novel platform for antibody dual functionalisation.
• Spring group: Hikaru Seki for The development of vinylheteroarene linkers for proteinogenic cysteine modification and studies towards applying (+)-discodermolide as a novel payload in antibody-drug conjugates.

PhD Thesis 2022

• Bender group: Layla Hosseini-Gerami for Using biological and chemical information to improve understanding of drug mechanism of action on the systems-level.
• Clarke group: Alexander Fellows for Using Vibrational Laser Spectroscopy to Study Biologically Relevant Interfaces.
• Goodman group: Alexander Howarth for Quantification of Molecular Structural Uncertainty Through Automated Computational Analysis of NMR Spectra.
• Grey group: Euan Bassey for Magnetic Resonance Studies of a Sodium-Ion Battery Cathode: Experiment and Theory.
• Jenkins group: Sabine Matysik Dynamics of adsorption and desorption on chiral surfaces.
• Knowles and Dobson group: Matthias Schneider for Physico-Chemical Characterisation of Disease-Related Protein-Protein Interactions in Solution.

Masters Thesis 2021

Scherman group: Hannah Lockett for Electrostatic self-assembly of semiconductor nanoparticles mediated by charged redox-active molecules.

Masters Thesis 2022

Vendruscolo group: Christine Lim for Target identification for human diseases linked to protein liquid-liquid phase separation.

Dr Aruna Edwards, Postgraduate Education and Admissions Manager, said: “The Outstanding PhD Thesis Award at the Department of Chemistry was first established in 2017 followed by the Outstanding MPhil Thesis Award in 2021. This award has been established to encourage and recognise the best doctoral and MPhil research students who submit a thesis each calendar year. There are a limited number of prizes each year and each successful candidate also receives a monetary prize for their achievements. Congratulations to all of our award winners to date.”

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• Outstanding PhD Thesis Award
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Deborah Jin Award for Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Research in Atomic, Molecular, or Optical Physics

This award recognizes doctoral thesis research of outstanding quality and achievement in atomic, molecular, or optical physics and encourages effective written and oral presentation of research results. The annual award is presented to one individual and consists of a $2,500 stipend and a certificate.

Finalists are invited to present their research at the annual DAMOP Meeting. All finalists will be reimbursed up to $1,000 for travel expenses.

Rules and eligibility

• Doctoral students who have passed their thesis defense for the Ph.D. in the disciplines of atomic, molecular, or optical physics during the two calendar years prior to the award year are eligible. For example, a person who passed their Ph.D. thesis defense in either 2018 or 2019 is eligible for the 2020 award.
• A student who has won a thesis prize in another APS unit is not eligible for an award.
• The student's thesis advisor nominates the student, and must be a member of the APS and DAMOP.
• A person, other than a member of the committee making the selection, may submit one nomination or seconding letter in any given year.
• A student may be a finalist in this competition only once.
• Eligible non-finalists may be renominated. Nominations from the previous year do not rollover. Nominators should submit a new nomination in a subsequent year, although the nomination package can contain the same material.

Process and selection

The nomination package consists of the following materials:

• APS Prizes and Awards nomination form (nominee’s contact information, thesis defense date and suggested citation).
• Nominator information form (nominator’s name, affiliation and contact information).
• A nomination letter from the thesis advisor citing the specific contributions of the nominee and the significance of those contributions. The thesis advisor must be a member of the APS and DAMOP prior to submitting a nomination.
• A letter from the department chair certifying the Ph.D. defense date. The defense date must occur in the two calendar years prior to the calendar year of the DAMOP meeting.
• At least two, but no more than four letters of support seconding the nomination.
• A manuscript prepared by the nominee describing the thesis research; the manuscript may not exceed 1,500 words (excluding figures and references).
• An abstract prepared by the nominee that is suitable for publication in the DAMOP Bulletin; the abstract may not exceed 1,300 characters. The name of the thesis supervisor and the graduate institution indicated in a footnote.
• A copy of the candidate's curriculum vitae.
• Demographics form (if known/wish to specify age, gender, race, and ethnicity of the nominee)

Selection Committee

• David Weld (Chair)
• Darrick Chang
• Andrew Ludlow
• Mackillo Kira
• Ehud Altman

Establishment and support

This award was established in 1992 by the Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics (DAMOP) as the Award for Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Research in Atomic, Molecular, or Optical Physics, with support from members and friends of DAMOP. In 2015, the award was endowed by M Squared Lasers . DAMOP launched a supplemental campaign in 2016 to recognize Deborah Jin’s contributions to physics by establishing the Deborah Jin Memorial Endowment. Upon achieving and exceeding the goal through the generosity of Deborah Jin’s colleagues, family, and friends, DAMOP renamed the award in her honor. The income from this endowment will supplement travel for finalists and provide new funding to enable students to attend the annual DAMOP Meeting, with an emphasis on enhancing the diversity of student attendees.

Recent recipients

Aziza suleymanzade.

2023 recipient

For the development of a high efficiency, low noise mmwave photon to optical photon quantum transducer based upon Rydberg atoms in a first-of-its-kind seamless mmwave resonator.

Harry Levine

2022 recipient

For ground-breaking contributions to the realization of programmable quantum simulators and quantum information processing based on Rydberg atom arrays.

Loïc Anderegg

2021 recipient

For pioneering work in laser cooling and the creation of an optical tweeter array of ultracold molecules.

Christie Chiu

2020 recipient

For thesis topic, "For exploring the Fermi-Hubbard model with ultracold atoms."

Ivan Kozyryev

2019 recipient

For pioneering experimental work on using laser radiation to control and cool the motion of polyatomic molecules.

The membership of APS is diverse and global, and the nominees and recipients of APS Honors should reflect that diversity so that all are recognized for their impact on our community. Nominations of members belonging to groups traditionally underrepresented in physics, such as women, LGBT+ scientists, scientists who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), disabled scientists, scientists from institutions with limited resources, and scientists from outside the United States, are especially encouraged.

Nominees for and holders of APS Honors (prizes, awards, and fellowship) and official leadership positions are expected to meet standards of professional conduct and integrity as described in the APS Ethics Guidelines . Violations of these standards may disqualify people from consideration or lead to revocation of honors or removal from office.

Join your Society

If you embrace scientific discovery, truth and integrity, partnership, inclusion, and lifelong curiosity, this is your professional home.

CERN Accelerating science

CMS 2021 Award and Thesis Award winners and 2022 Young Researchers Prize

19 July, 2022

By CMS collaboration

CMS PhD Thesis Award winners 2021

Each year, the CMS collaboration recognises exceptional PhD student work with the Thesis Award. To select the best theses of 2021, a Thesis Award committee of 29 CMS scientists was appointed by the Collaboration Board (CB) Chair.

From the 25 nominations received this year, three winners were selected by the committee and then endorsed by the CB: Michael Andrews (Carnegie Mellon University), Matteo Bonanomi (LLR – Institut Polytechnique de Paris ) and Viktoria Hinger (Institute of High Energy Physics of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and Vienna University of Technology).

The evaluation was based on the originality of the thesis author’s personal contributions, clarity, quality of content, and impact within CMS and in the broader context of high-energy physics.

Read more on the CMS collaboration’s website .

CMS Young Researchers Prize 2022

The CMS collaboration also recognises the efforts and outstanding achievements of its younger members, honouring them with the CMS Young Researchers Prize. This endorsement of their skills and dedication not only paves the way for their future careers but also motivates other young researchers to excel in the field.

Each year since 2012, at least three members have been awarded the prize, which comprises cash and a memento, for their sustained contributions and dedication in any area of the collaboration’s activities.

Congratulations to this year’s prize recipients: Davide Ceresa (CERN), Rajdeep Mohan Chatterjee (University of Minnesota), Jan Kieseler (CERN) and Yuta Takahashi (University of Zurich).

CMS Award 2021

The CMS collaboration is proud to have been successfully advancing knowledge, scientific research and technology for years, and all this would certainly not have been possible without the contribution of each of its members.

The CMS Award, which honours dedicated members of the CMS collaboration for their significant contributions and outstanding work, has been awarded every year since 2000. Nominations can be made by any CMS member, for work in a variety of fields, ranging from detector systems and coordination to outreach. The awardees are selected by a dedicated committee of five members, and the selection is then endorsed by the CMS Collaboration Board (CB) Chair.

To find out more about each of the forty-seven awardees who made incredible contributions in 2021, visit the CMS collaboration’s website !

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IUPAC offers a number of awards to honor scientific contributions and expertise.  These include:

IUPAC-SOLVAY International Award for Young Chemists Established in 2000 to encourage outstanding young research scientists at the beginning of their careers. The awards are given for the most outstanding Ph.D. theses in the general area of the chemical sciences, as described in a 1000-word essay. > 2024 Awardees > 2023 Awardees > 2022 Awardees >   2021 Awardees >   2020 Awardees

IUPAC Distinguished Women in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering Established to acknowledge and promote the work of women chemists/chemical engineers worldwide. Awardees are selected based on excellence in basic or applied research, distinguished accomplishments in teaching or education, or demonstrated leadership or managerial excellence in the chemical sciences. The Awards Committee is particularly interested in nominees with a history of leadership and/or community service during their careers. > 2025 Call for Nominations > 2023 Awardees > 2021 Awardees > 2019 Awardees > 2017 Awardees

CHEMRAWN VII Prize for Green Chemistry Established to honor a young investigator (less than 45 years of age) from a developing country who is actively contributing to research in atmospheric and green chemistry. > 2022 Vivek Polshettiwar > 2020 Huizhen Liu and Banothile Makhubela > 2018 Mirabbos Hojamberdiev

IUPAC-Richter Prize in Medicinal Chemistry Established to acknowledge the key role that medicinal chemistry plays toward improving human health by awarding an internationally recognized scientist, preferably a medicinal chemist, whose activities or published accounts have made an outstanding contribution to the practice of medicinal chemistry or to an outstanding example of new drug discovery. > 2024 Craig M. Crews > 2022 Michael E. Jung > 2020 John Macor > 2018 Peter D.J. Grootenhuis

Chemistry Education Awards The IUPAC Committee on Chemistry Education (CCE) has established three awards which recognise outstanding work being done in any part of the world to promote excellence in the teaching and learning of chemistry. These are the Distinguished Contribution to Chemistry Education Award, the Outstanding Early Career Researcher in Chemistry Education Award, and a Special Recognition Award for Excellent Service to the Committee on Chemistry Education. > 2024 Mei-Hung Chiu, Shelley Rap, and Amanda Bongers

IUPAC-ThalesNano Prize in Flow Chemistry Established to honor an internationally recognized scientist, whose activities or published accounts have made an outstanding contribution in the field of flow chemistry in academia or industry. > 2020 Thimothy Noël > 2018  C. Oliver Kappe > 2016  Volker Hessel

IUPAC International Award for Advances in Harmonized Approaches to Crop Protection Chemistry Established to recognize individuals in government, intergovernmental organizations, industry, and academia who have exercised personal leadership for outstanding contributions to international harmonization for the regulation of crop protection chemistry. > 2023 Keith Solomon > 2019 Mark Lynch > 2016 Dan Kunkel

Thieme-IUPAC Prize Established to honor a scientist under 40 years of age whose research has had a major impact in synthetic organic chemistry. The prize is given on the basis of scientific merit for independent research dealing with synthesis in the broadest context of organic chemistry, including organometallic chemistry, medicinal and biological chemistry, designed molecules, and materials. > 2024  Franziska Schoenebeck > 2020 Ang Li > 2018 Seth Herzon

Polymer International – IUPAC Award Established to recognize creativity in applied polymer science or polymer technology. This award celebrates the achievements of young researchers in the polymer community. > 2024 Athina Anastasaki > 2022 Zachary Hudson > 2020 Guihua Yu > 2018 Cyrille Boyer

Hanwha-Total   IUPAC Young Scientist Award (formerly  Samsung-IUPAC Young Scientist Award) Established to honor a early career polymer chemist. The winner of the Hanwha-Total IUPAC Young Scientist Award is chosen every other year right before the World Polymer Congress from a pool of recommended candidates who are early in their career, typically within 15 years of attaining their doctorate or equivalent degree. Appropriate consideration will be given to those who have taken a career break, worked in systems where their time period to independence may vary, or who followed an alternative study path. The award is managed by the IUPAC Polymer Division and made possible by an endowment from Samsung Total Petrochemical Co. Ltd. of South Korea. > 2024 Lutz Nuhn and Rongrong Hu > 2022 Qian Chen and Eric Appel > 2020 Athina Anastasaki and Changle Chen > 2018 Andreas Walther > 2016 Moon Jeong Park and Brent Sumerlin

Stepto Lecture Award > 2024 Christine Luscombe   > 2022 Graeme Moad > presentation in CI Apr 2024 , p. 16 > 2020 Tony Ryan > 2018 Chris Ober > 2016 Michael Buback

Analytical Chemistry Awards The Analytical Chemistry Division of IUPAC has established two awards, including (i) the Emerging Innovator Award in Analytical Chemistry – an award to recognize outstanding work undertaken by an emerging analytical scientist that corresponds to the aims of the Analytical Chemistry Division; and (ii) the IUPAC Analytical Chemistry Medal – an award to recognize significant lifetime contribution to the aims of the Analytical Chemistry Division. > 2025 Call for Nominations > 2023 Janusz Pawliszyn , University of Waterloo,  received the IUPAC Analytical Chemistry Medal, and Xin Yan , Texas A&M University received the Emerging Innovator Award in Analytical Chemistry; see announcement   > 2021 Joseph Wang and Tsuyoshi Minami

Franzosini Prize Established to recognize a promising young contributor to the Solubility Data Project (SDP) to help them attend, in even years, the International Symposium on Solubility Phenomena (ISSP) and, in odd years, the annual meetings of the Subcommittee on Solubility and Equilibrium Data. In 2023 the Franzosini Award was renamed the  Franzosini Prize  and elevated to an award in recognition of outstanding and sustained contributions to the field of critical evaluation of data in solubility and related chemical equilibria. At the same time the Balarew Award was inaugurated to recognize a for an Outstanding Young Scientist working in the field of critical evaluation of solubility and/or related chemical equilibria. > 2024 Call for Nominations > History of the Franzosini Award ; announcement of the 2022  Franzosini Award given to Yongheum Jo

Balarew Award Inaugurated in 2023 to recognize a promising young scientists working in solubility and chemical equilibria to be administered of the Subcommittee on Solubility and Equilibrium Data of IUPAC, the Award, with cash prize of US$ 1000 is made possible thanks to generous support of Professor Christo Balarew, professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sofia, Bulgaria, who is an enthusiastic supporter of the Solubility Data Project and deeply involved in IUPAC activities. > 2024 Call for Nominations

IUPAC-Zhejiang NHU International Award for Advancements in Green Chemistry Established to encourage young and experienced chemists, and to emphasize the importance of advancements in Green Chemistry and the value of sciences to human progress. The award covers all the topics of Green Chemistry, such as Green and Renewable Feedstocks, Green Synthetic Routes, Green Solvents, Green Catalysis, Green products, Green Energy, and as broadly defined by OECD as Sustainable Chemistry. > 2024 Call for Nominations > 2023 Awardees > 2021 Awardees > 2019 Awardees

PhosAgro/UNESCO/IUPAC research grants in green chemistry Established to give young scientists involved in research in green chemistry and allied areas in biochemistry, geochemistry, biotechnology, ecology and healthcare ample opportunity to demonstrate their inventiveness and provide important input to sustainable development. > 2023 Call for Application – deadline 30 June 2023 > 2020 Call for Applications – Award grants ceremony (Nov 2023) >  2019 Awardees

IUPAC Poster Prize Established to recognize outstanding undergraduate poster presentations at IUPAC Congresses and division-sponsored conferences.  

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International Natural Product Sciences Taskforce

Science guides the way

Antioxidants Young Investigator Award (2000 CHF; Deadline: 31 December 2024)

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The Spinoff Prize (by Nature)

Metabolites 2023 Young Investigator Award

Antioxidants 2023 Young Investigator Award—Deadline: 31 December 2023

Molecules Best PhD Thesis Award  

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IJERPH 2023 Travel Award—Deadline: 31 January 2023

Pharmaceutics 2023 Travel Award (Application deadline: 1 March 2023)

Biomolecules 2022 Ph.D. Thesis Award

Horticulturae 2023 Young Investigator Award

2022 Tu Youyou Award

Awards of The Society for Medicinal Plant Research (GA)

Foods 2021 Best Ph.D. Thesis Award

Bioanalysis Rising Star Award 2022

Nutrients 2021 Best Ph.D. Thesis Award (CHF 800)

Marine Drugs 2021 Travel Awards (1,000 CHF)

IJMS 2022 Travel Awards (800 CHF)—Deadline 30 November 2021

Future Science Future Star Award – 2021

Jean-Charles Fruchart Prize in Nuclear Receptors and Atherosclerosis Research

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Foods 2020 Travel Awards for junior investigators and Ph.D. students.

International Birnstiel Awards for Doctoral Research in Molecular Life Sciences

INPST Young Scientist Award 2019

2019 AAAS Martin and Rose Wachtel Cancer Research Award

Merck 2018 Life Science Awards ($10,000) for Grad Students doing research in Tumor Biology, Bioseparations, or Food and Beverage Safety

ASPET Paul M. Vanhoutte Distinguished Lectureship in Vascular Pharmacology

Metabolites 2018 Travel Award for PhD students (800 CHF)

Molecules Travel Awards 2018: 800 Swiss Francs for postdoctoral fellows and PhD students to attend an international chemistry conference

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Three Minute Thesis Competition

The Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT) is an exciting, fast-paced event showcasing the research of graduate students across campus. Each scholar is given three minutes to present their research displayed to the audience and judging panel in a single presentation slide. The competition boasts cash prizes for winners in each category.

You'll be amazed at what these scholars can fit into a three-minute presentation. You don't want to miss this competition!

Our graduate students have had an impressive showing at the regional 3MT competition at the Western Association of Graduate Schools annual conference. In 2023, Jennifer Heppner won third place and in 2024, Kendra Isable won second place. 

The 2024 competition will be hosted in the Spring semester with two preliminary rounds in early March and the finals in April.

Learn more about our competition

Join our competition, preliminary round.

The top four contestants from groups A1, B1, A2 and B2 will be awarded $300 and will compete in the final round. Submit your presentation using the appropriate Group description link below.

Liberal Arts/Social Sciences/Education/Business

Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at 6 p.m. in the Wells Fargo Auditorium (MIKC 124)

• Group A1: Doctoral Dissertation Students
• Group B1: Master's Thesis Students

Sciences/Engineering/Mathematics/Health Sciences

Thursday, March 7, 2024, at 6 p.m. in the Wells Fargo Auditorium (MIKC 124)

• Group A2: Doctoral Dissertation Students
• Group B2: Master's Thesis Students

Final round

Thursday, April 11, 2024, at 7 p.m. in the Wells Fargo Auditorium (MIKC 124)

In the final round you'll compete against the eight finalists at your degree level:

• Group A — Doctoral Students (Four students from A1 and four students from A2)
• Group B — Master's Students (Four students from B1 and four students from B2)

Award amounts

Winners from each group of the final round will be awarded as follows:

• First Place: $1,000
• Second Place: $600
• Third Place: $400
• Peoples' Choice: $500

Deadline and application form

Applications are due February 29 by 11:59 p.m.

Preliminary submission form

Competition rules and terms

Presentation:.

• A single, static PowerPoint slide in 16x9 format is required (pdfs not allowed).
• Include your presentation title, full name, and graduate program on the slide.
• First-place winners from the last year's 3MT competition are ineligible to compete, however, last year's second- and third-place winners are eligible to compete.
• No slide transitions, animations or on-screen movement of any description are allowed.
• The slide is to be presented from the beginning of the oration.
• No additional electronic media (e.g. sound and video files) are permitted.
• No additional props (e.g. costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment) are permitted.
• Presentations are limited to three minutes maximum; competitors exceeding three minutes are disqualified.
• Presentations are to be spoken word (e.g. no poems, raps or songs).
• Presentations are to commence from the stage.
• Presentations are considered to have commenced when a presenter starts their presentation through either movement or speech.
• The decision of the adjudicating panel is final.
• All monetary awards for both preliminary and final rounds are pre-tax amounts.
• Abstracts are limited to 250 words.
• Students must be graduate students to enter the competition.
• While advancement to candidacy is not required, students must have made significant progress towards completion of their dissertation, thesis, or professional project in order to enter the competition.
• Winners will be announced approximately one week after the competition.
• You will be asked to sign a photo-video release at the event to allow the University of Nevada, Reno to use your likeness in photos/videos of the competition.

Judging criteria

Comprehension & content.

• Did the presentation provide an understanding of the background to the research question being addressed and its significance?
• Did the presentation clearly describe the key results of the research including conclusions and outcomes?
• Did the presentation follow a clear and logical sequence?
• Was the thesis topic, key results and research significance and outcomes communicated in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience?
• Did the speaker avoid scientific jargon, explain terminology and provide adequate background information to illustrate points?
• Did the presenter spend adequate time on each element of their presentation - or did they elaborate for too long on one aspect or was the presentation rushed?

Engagement & Communication

• Did the oration make the audience want to know more?
• Was the presenter careful not to trivialize or generalize their research?
• Did the presenter convey enthusiasm for their research?
• Did the presenter capture and maintain their audience's attention?
• Did the speaker have sufficient stage presence, eye contact and vocal range; maintain a steady pace, and have a confident stance?
• Did the PowerPoint slide enhance the presentation - was it clear, legible, and concise?

View past Three Minute Thesis winners

View the winners of each year since 2014!

View past winners

2022-2023 Finalists and winners

Doctoral category

First place: cody cris.

• Graduate program:  Cell and Molecular Biology
• Title:  Lighting the way: Tools to prepare for future pandemics
• Faculty advisor:  Subhash Verma

SECOND PLACE: Anithakrithi Balaji

• Graduate program: Biomedical Engineering
• Title: Electrifying the fight-or-flight response: Nanosecond electric pulses for neuromodulation
• Faculty advisor: Jihwan Yoon

THIRD PLACE: Noah Nieman

• Graduate program:  Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Title:  Accelerating bridge construction connections behavior during near fault motions
• Faculty advisor: Floriana Petrone

2024 Finalists:

Francisco calderon abullarade.

• Graduate program: Ph.D. History
• Title: Creating the Enemy: The origins of the inter-american cold war in the 1940s
• Faculty advisor: Renata Keller

Anithakrithi Balaji

• Graduate program: Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering
• Title: Electrifying the fight-or-flight response: Nanosecond electric pulses for neuromodulation 

Monika Bharti

• Graduate program: Ph.D. Education - Literacy Studies
• Title: P re-service teachers experiences teaching K-8 Multilingual Students' (MLS) writing
• Faculty advisor: Rachel Salas and Fares Karam

Cossette Canovas

• Graduate program: Ph.D. Clinical Psychology
• Title: Identifying predictors of racial trauma to inform treatment development 
• Faculty advisor: Lorraine Benuto
• Graduate program: Ph.D. Cell and Molecular Biology
• Title:   Lighting the way: Tools to prepare for future pandemics 
• Faculty advisor: Subhash Verma

Kaashifah 

• Graduate program: Ph.D. Education - Equity, Diversity and Language
• Title: Bridging  the gaps: Evaluating the intervention programs to overcome academic disparities 
• Faculty advisor: Donald Easton-Brooks

Noah Nieman

• Graduate program: Ph.D. Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Title: Accelerating bridge construction connections behavior during near fault motions 

Sanjeevan Pradhan

• Graduate program: Ph.D. Political Science
• Title: Tough sell: Rising powers, domestic legitimation and costly international initiatives 
• Faculty advisor: Xiaoyu Pu

Patricia Berninsone People's Choice Award

Abdulwarith kassim.

• Graduate program: Chemistry
• Title: Chemically recyclable dithioacetal polymers
• Faculty advisor:  Ying Yang

Master's category

First place: abdulwarith kassim.

• Faculty advisor: Ying Yang

SECOND PLACE (TIE): 

• Name:  Elizabeth Everest
• Graduate program: Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology
• Title: Sustaining the beating heart of Cambodia: Fisheries management in southeast Asia's largest lake
• Faculty advisors: Zeb Hogan, Sudeep Chandra, Ken Nussear
• Name:  Cathy Silliman
• Title: Winterfat restoration in a changing climate
• Faculty advisor: Elizabeth Leger 

Samantha DeTiberiis

• Graduate program: M.A. Criminal Justice 
• Title: What do our phones teach us about incarceration? A social media content analysis 
• Faculty advisor: Jennifer Lanterman

Elizabeth Everest 

• Graduate program: M.S. Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology 
• Title:   Sustaining the beating heart of Cambodia: Fisheries management in southeast Asia's largest lake 
• Faculty advisor: Zeb Hogan, Sudeep Chandra, Ken Nussear

Carolynn Fedarko 

• Title: Zeroing in on gun violence
• Faculty advisor: Weston Morrow

Shipra Goswami

• Graduate program: M.S. Biochemistry
• Title: May the pericytes be with you: Transport engineers you never knew existed!
• Faculty advisor: Albert Gonzales
• Graduate program: M.S. Chemistry 

Anthony Michell

• Graduate program: M.A. History
• Title: Pushed to the limit: How the 1998 China floods revolutionized the relationship between China and the natural world
• Faculty advisor: Hugh Shapiro

Elizabeth Morgan

• Graduate program: M.S. Teaching History (M.A.T.H.)
• Title: Dust in the wind dude: The Owens Valley everywhere except, in the Owens Valley
• Faculty advisor: Edward Schoolman

Cathy Silliman

• Graduate program: M.S. Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology
• Faculty advisor: Elizabeth Leger

• User Manual

Molecules International Award for Best PhD Thesis 2022

Awards winners.

The ISGS PhD Thesis Award Prize for 2022 goes to…

October 18, 2023

ISGS PhD Thesis Awardees

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By hun bok jung, maxim i. boyanov, hiromi konishi, yubing sun, bhoopesh mishra, kenneth m. kemner, eric e. roden, and huifang xu.

The ISGS PhD Thesis Award, first launched in 2018, was created to distinguish PhD theses representing outstanding contributions to scientific and/or technological knowledge in the field of sol-gel chemistry and related fields.

The Ph.D. Award Committee for the 2022 competition was composed of Professor Masahide Takahashi , Professor Benoît Heinrichs , and Professor Marco Faustini .

The members of the PhD Award Committee examined the eight applications received, which were all of extremely high quality. All the candidates presented very strong summaries, reflecting very advanced and well-performed Thesis works.

In the present edition, the overall ranking obtained by the members of the Committee placed Dr. Mathias Stanzel top of the list. Dr. Anshul Yadav and Dr. Ann-Kathrin Koopmann placed second and third, respectively.

Dr. Mathias Stanzel ’s Ph.D. thesis, entitled “Mesoporous film architectures and step gradient formation”, was defended at Ernst-Berl-Institut für Technische und Makromolekulare Chemie, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt (Germany).

Dr. Anshul Yadav ’s Ph.D. thesis, entitled “Membrane distillation process for high saline and wastewater treatment”, was defended at the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, Ghaziabad (India).

Dr. Ann-Kathrin Koopmann ’s Ph.D. thesis, entitled “Porous Materials Made of Polyphenolic Tannin”, was defended at Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (Austria).

For the Gold Medal, the Ph.D. Award Committee would like to emphasize that the candidate made an excellent and original contribution to the fabrication of sophisticated sol-gel-derived mesoporous films by achieving great control of the spatial position of the chemical functions. He mastered and successfully applied a broad variety of methods for the characterization including optical and electrochemical methods to probe the transport of molecules in well-defined mesoarchitectures.

As Gold Medal, Silver Medal and Bronze Medal winners of the Ph.D. Thesis Award 2022, Dr. Mathias Stanzel , Dr. Anshul Yadav and Dr. Ann-Kathrin Koopmann  will receive a diploma and a 2-year ISGS membership.

Thanks to Springer sponsoring, they will receive books in the value of US$500, US$400, and US$300, respectively.

Moreover, they will be invited to contribute with a paper to the  Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology , the official journal of ISGS.

The Board of Directors of the ISGS and the ISGS PhD Thesis Award Committee wish to warmly congratulate the three awardees.

ISGS is an international, interdisciplinary, not-for-profit organization whose primary purpose and objective is the advancement of sol-gel science and technology. ISGS aims are both to represent the particular needs and aspirations of the international sol-gel community and to support this sol-gel community.

Since the inception of the highly successful Sol-Gel Workshop series in Padova during 1981, sol-gel science and technology has evolved from its origins within traditional materials science (mainly glass and ceramics) to become an extraordinarily multidisciplinary area of research, spanning chemistry, physics, biology, materials science and nanotechnology.

ISGS, grouping of scientists who are interested in sol-gel science and technology at the begining, evolved over time in a professional, fully functional, scientific society.

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PolyU PhD Thesis Award 2022

12 Oct 2022

The Graduate School is delighted to announce the result of the PolyU PhD Thesis Award 2022. The awardees have demonstrated distinctive research achievements through their graduating thesis. Congratulations to the award recipients and the honour symbolises the recognition of their endeavours to advance knowledge with applications.

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