OSU graduate students honored for research, scholarly accomplishments

Monday, April 20, 2015

Oklahoma State University graduate students were recognized with awards presented by the Graduate College April 15 during the college’s annual spring awards ceremony.

Graduate Research Excellence awards recognize outstanding accomplishments reflected in master’s theses or doctoral dissertations. Recipients receive a letter of commendation from OSU President Burns Hargis and a commemorative plaque from Interim Vice President for Research Sheryl Tucker. Winners of the 2015 Graduate Research Excellence Awards are:

• Paul Priyesh Vijayakumar, Ph.D., Food Science, Vellore Tamil Nadu, India
• Gabriela Karina Orquera Tornakian, M.S., Entomology and Plant Pathology, Quito, Ecuador
• Justin McBride, Ph.D., English Linguistics, Pawhuska, Okla.                          
• Kazuo Yamazaki, Ph.D., Mathematics, Pullman, Wash.
• Connor Patros, Ph.D., Psychology, Columbia, Conn.
• Joshua Jason Ringer, Ph.D., Agriculture Education, Stillwater                          

Two master’s and two doctoral students were named Honorary Commencement Marshals for academic performance and discipline-appropriate scholarly contributions that capture the essence of OSU’s land-grant mission. Recipients receive $1,000 award, are recognized at commencement and are provided special gown adornments. These four will lead the graduates in the processionals/ recessionals and awarding of the diploma covers:

• Leah Ashley Palmer, M.A., English, Oklahoma City
• Allan Axelrod, M.S., Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Fort Myers, Fla.          
• Masoud Sadeghian, Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, Isfahan Iran
• Shreyashi Chakdar, Ph.D., Physics, Kolkata, India

The Summer Dissertation Fellowships support summer research for outstanding OSU post-candidacy, doctoral students from any disciplinary or interdisciplinary program. The summer fellowships include a $6,000 stipend and a tuition waiver for up to three credit hours. This year’s Summer Dissertation Fellowships winners are:

• Joongseo Kim, Management, Seoul, South Korea
• Sharmily Khanam, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Dhaka, Bangladesh
• Mahendran Balasubramanian, Design, Housing and Merchandising, Cuddalore, India
• Andrew Davis, English, Stow, Ohio 
• LaKrisa Nichelle Walker, Curriculum Studies, Tulsa, Okla.                          
• Rebekah Hammack, Professional Educational Studies, Columbus, Ohio
• Medhavi Ambardar, Integrative Biology, Dollar Bay, Mich.
• Chelsea Medlock, History, Hutchinson, Kan.
• Adam Cobb, Natural Resources Ecology and Management, Stillwater
• Connor Patros, Ph.D., Psychology, Columbia, Conn.
• Douglas Knutson, Educational Psychology, Oklahoma City
• Robert Lewis, Biomedical Sciences, Tulsa, Okla.                          
• Sharon Andreason, Plant Pathology, Lindale, Texas
• Alexandra Holter, Educational Administration, Jenks, Okla