News
By Jordyn Harney, Texas A&M University Graduate and Professional School
COLLEGE STATION, April 23, 2021 – The Graduate and Professional School and The Association of Former Students have recognized 20 Aggies as Distinguished Graduate Students for 2021. As Distinguished Graduate Students, each has earned one of Texas A&M’s highest honors for their outstanding achievements in research or teaching.
“Graduate students enhance the intellectual spirit of our university, contribute to our research and teaching missions, and advance scholarship in their fields of study,” said Karen Butler-Purry, Associate Provost and Dean of the Texas A&M Graduate and Professional School. “Thanks to The Association of Former Students’ support, we are able to recognize 20 of our most exemplary graduate students this year.”
Porter S. Garner III ’79, President and CEO of The Association of Former Students praised the awardees for their contributions to University: “Year after year graduate students recognized with the Distinguished Graduate Student Award bring honor, prestige and recognition to Texas A&M, through their excellence in research and teaching,” said Garner. “Our 2021 recipients continue this tradition of excellence and have done so in the midst of an extremely challenging year. Just as we have since 1965, The Association of Former Students is proud to recognize the achievements of these Aggies, as well as their embodiment of Texas A&M’s core values of Excellence, Integrity, Leadership, Loyalty, Respect and Selfless Service.”
Each distinguished graduate student will be commended in a recognition event on April 26. A virtual program will be made available in late May for awardees and their friends or family members who cannot attend in person.
The 2021 Distinguished Graduate Student research and teaching award recipients, along with their departments, colleges, and faculty advisors are as follows:
Research Awards
Justin Andrews, Chemistry, College of Science
Faculty Advisor: Sarbajit Banerjee
Mostafa Karimi, Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Yang Shen
Pierre Lau, Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Juliana Rangel
Jose Juarez, Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Gabriel Hamer
Xinyu Li, Animal Science, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Guoyao Wu
Yao Li, Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Huilin Gao
Aniruddha Maity, Soil and Crop Sciences, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Muthukumar Bagavathiannan
Navaneeth Krishna Rajeeva Pandian, Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Abhishek Jain
Sung Hwan Park, Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Hae-Kwon Jeong
Yefan Tian, Physics and Astronomy, College of Science
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Joseph Ross Jr.
Teaching Awards
Danielle Bevan, Teaching, Learning and Culture, College of Education & Human Development
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Mary Margaret Capraro
Sakina Dixon, Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Chanda Elbert
S. Olivia Gunther, Chemistry, College of Science
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Oleg Ozerov
Elif Kaya, Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution, College of Engineering
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kamran Entesari
Sualeh Khurshid, Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Diego Donzis
Seul Lee, English, College of Liberal Arts
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Marian Eide
Sin-Ning Cindy Liu, Psychological and Brain Sciences, College of Liberal Arts
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Mindy Bergman
Shawanee’ Patrick, Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Pilwon Hur and Dr. Douglas Allaire
Maria Roque, Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Ping Ma
Landon Sadler, English, College of Liberal Arts
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Vanita Reddy
###
Media contact: Rob Dixon, Texas A&M University Graduate and Professional School, rdixon@tamu.edu or (979) 845-3631.
COLLEGE STATION, April 23, 2021 – The Graduate and Professional School and The Association of Former Students have recognized 20 Aggies as Distinguished Graduate Students for 2021. As Distinguished Graduate Students, each has earned one of Texas A&M’s highest honors for their outstanding achievements in research or teaching.
“Graduate students enhance the intellectual spirit of our university, contribute to our research and teaching missions, and advance scholarship in their fields of study,” said Karen Butler-Purry, Associate Provost and Dean of the Texas A&M Graduate and Professional School. “Thanks to The Association of Former Students’ support, we are able to recognize 20 of our most exemplary graduate students this year.”
Porter S. Garner III ’79, President and CEO of The Association of Former Students praised the awardees for their contributions to University: “Year after year graduate students recognized with the Distinguished Graduate Student Award bring honor, prestige and recognition to Texas A&M, through their excellence in research and teaching,” said Garner. “Our 2021 recipients continue this tradition of excellence and have done so in the midst of an extremely challenging year. Just as we have since 1965, The Association of Former Students is proud to recognize the achievements of these Aggies, as well as their embodiment of Texas A&M’s core values of Excellence, Integrity, Leadership, Loyalty, Respect and Selfless Service.”
Each distinguished graduate student will be commended in a recognition event on April 26. A virtual program will be made available in late May for awardees and their friends or family members who cannot attend in person.
The 2021 Distinguished Graduate Student research and teaching award recipients, along with their departments, colleges, and faculty advisors are as follows:
Research Awards
Justin Andrews, Chemistry, College of Science
Faculty Advisor: Sarbajit Banerjee
Mostafa Karimi, Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Yang Shen
Pierre Lau, Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Juliana Rangel
Jose Juarez, Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Gabriel Hamer
Xinyu Li, Animal Science, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Guoyao Wu
Yao Li, Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Huilin Gao
Aniruddha Maity, Soil and Crop Sciences, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Muthukumar Bagavathiannan
Navaneeth Krishna Rajeeva Pandian, Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Abhishek Jain
Sung Hwan Park, Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Hae-Kwon Jeong
Yefan Tian, Physics and Astronomy, College of Science
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Joseph Ross Jr.
Teaching Awards
Danielle Bevan, Teaching, Learning and Culture, College of Education & Human Development
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Mary Margaret Capraro
Sakina Dixon, Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Chanda Elbert
S. Olivia Gunther, Chemistry, College of Science
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Oleg Ozerov
Elif Kaya, Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution, College of Engineering
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kamran Entesari
Sualeh Khurshid, Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Diego Donzis
Seul Lee, English, College of Liberal Arts
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Marian Eide
Sin-Ning Cindy Liu, Psychological and Brain Sciences, College of Liberal Arts
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Mindy Bergman
Shawanee’ Patrick, Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Pilwon Hur and Dr. Douglas Allaire
Maria Roque, Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Ping Ma
Landon Sadler, English, College of Liberal Arts
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Vanita Reddy
###
Media contact: Rob Dixon, Texas A&M University Graduate and Professional School, rdixon@tamu.edu or (979) 845-3631.