2012 Phoenix award winners announced

Friday, April 20, 2012

The Oklahoma State University Graduate and Professional Student Government Association and the OSU Graduate College recognized outstanding achievement during the 30th annual Phoenix Awards on Thursday.  
 
“The Graduate College is delighted to continue supporting the Graduate and Professional Student Government Association’s recognition of outstanding graduate students and faculty mentors,” said Dr. Sheryl Tucker, Dean of the Graduate College. “The Phoenix Awards are entirely student led, and a testament to the outstanding GPSGA leadership and organization.”
 
Jared Crain, a plant and soil sciences graduate student, was named Outstanding Master’s Student and Justin Lack, a zoology graduate student, was named Outstanding Doctoral Student. Each will receive $375 and their names will be engraved on the Phoenix Awards plaque located outside the Graduate  College offices in Whitehurst Hall.
 
The finalists for this year’s master’s award were Ramesh Gunaratna and Shuguang Zhang, both entomology and plant pathology graduate students.
 
“The College of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources is extremely proud to be the home of all three finalists for the Distinguished Phoenix Award for the Outstanding Master’s Student,” said Dr. Bob Whitson, Vice President, Dean and Director of the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. “Special congratulations to Jared Crain, Ramesh Guaratna and Shuguang Zhang for all their hard work.”
 
Finalists for the doctoral award were Michael Bradley and Stacey Bridges, both applied health and educational psychology doctoral students.
 
Biochemistry and molecular biology professor Dr. Ramamurthy Mahalingam was named the Outstanding Faculty member. Mahalingam received a $500 check for winning the highest award for graduate faculty members. Finalists for the award were psychology professor Dr. DeMond Grant and sociology professor Dr. J. David Knottnerus.
 
The winner of the Outstanding Teaching Assistant is Rachel Eike in Design, Housing and Merchandising. She received a $350 prize. Finalists were Danyelle Lee, zoology, and Kenneth Walker, chemical/biomedical engineering.