The Texas A&M Graduate and Professional School, in collaboration with The Association of Former Students, recently presented 16 Aggies with Distinguished Graduate Student Awards. This prestigious award recognizes outstanding contributions by graduate students in research or teaching. Generous contributions to The Association of Former Students' Annual Fund have made these awards possible.

“Since 1965, The Association of Former Students has been proud to honor the very best of Texas A&M’s graduate students with the Distinguished Graduate Student Award,” said Porter Garner ’79, President and CEO of The Association of Former Students. “These exceptional Aggies have made an indelible contribution to Texas A&M and our world through their teaching and research across disciplines. They embody the Aggie Core Values and represent the Aggie Network with distinction.”

Dr. Fuhui Tong, Interim Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate and Professional School, extended gratitude to The Association of Former Students and kudos to the awardees. "Thanks to The Association of Former Students for their support in helping us recognize this year’s Distinguished Graduate Students," Tong said. “And congratulations to these outstanding students for making such a positive impact on our university and the world.“

Distinguished Graduate Student Award winners were honored at the Faculty Affairs Spring Award Ceremony on Friday, April 26. Each was presented with an engraved watch and a framed certificate. 

Rachel Busselman, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Sarah Hamer

Sambandh Dhal, Computer Engineering, College of Engineering
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Stavros Kalafatis and Dr. Ulisses Braga-Neto

Wenliang He, Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Guoyao Wu

Nirmitee Sanjay Mulgaonkar, Biological and Agricultural Engineering, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Sandun Fernando and Dr. Maria King

Tejaswini Reddy, Medical Sciences, College of Medicine
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Jenny Chang and Dr. David Huston

Kara Thomas, Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Michael Golding

James Tronolone, Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Abishek Jain

Ruida Zhou, Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Chao Tian
 

Nicholas Bradley, Communication, College of Arts and Sciences
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Nathan Crick

Catherine Brooks, Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Shelley Wachsmann

Abigail Clevenger, Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Shreya Raghavan

Delaney Couri, Communication, College of Arts and Sciences
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kristan Poirot

Carla M. A. de Loera, Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Hojun Song

Avi Kister, Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Mahmoud El-Halwagi

Virginia Redwine Johnson, Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education
Faculty Advisor: Dr. John Williams, III

Xiaoyu Su, Mathematics, College of Arts and Sciences
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Guoliang Yu