The GSA annually confers five awards in recognition of exemplary
service to graduate students at Rice University. The deadline for
submissions is around April 1 of each year. The awards committee is
chaired by the Internal Vice President (who takes office on April 1) and
includes four other graduate students chosen at a GSA meeting, as well
as the GSA faculty advisor and a member of the Rice Office of Student
Activities as ex officio members. Nominations should be submitted using
the online webform or via email to the current Internal VP.
The GSA awards are meant to encourage and recognize outstanding service
to graduate student life and education at Rice. The award criteria were
intentionally kept vague in order to permit recognition of the broadest
possible range of service to the Rice graduate community.
Faculty Teaching and Mentoring Award
Recipients are selected based on demonstrated commitment to graduate
education on teaching graduate students at Rice. The award consists of
$1,500, funded through the Office of the President, and a plaque. Up to
two awards may be conferred each year.
Recipients include:
1994: John Boles (History) and Paul Cloutier (Space Physics and Astronomy)
1995: Ellsworth Milburn (Music)
1996: John Anderson (Geology and Geophysics)
1997: Douglas Schuler (Jones School)
1998: Katherine Ensor (Statistics) and Robin Sickles (Economics)
1999:James Faubion (Anthropology) and Diana Lobel (Religious Studies)
2000: Willy Zwanaepoel (Computer Science) and Robert Patten (English)
2001: Peter Caldwell (History) and Walter Chapman (Chemical Engineering)
2002: Yildiz Bayazitoglu (Mechanical) and John Biln (Architecture)
2003: Kyriacos Athanasiou (Bioengineering) and Michelle Hebl (Psychology)
2004: John B. Boles (History) and Rebekah Drezek (Bioengineering)
2005: Chris Kelty and Hannah Landecker (Anthropology) and Steven Crowell (Philosophy)
2006: Jordan Konisky (Biochemistry and Cell Biology) and Brett Ashley Leeds (Political Science)
2007: Thomas Haskell (History) and Robert Raphael (Bioengineering)
2008: Janice Hewitt (Cain Project) and Stephan Link (Chemistry)
2010: Margaret Beier (Psychology) and Ramon Gonzalez (Chemical Engineering)
Faculty/Staff Service Award
Recipients are selected in recognition of efforts beyond the call of
duty to improve the quality of life for graduate students at Rice. The
award consists of a plaque. Up to two awards may be conferred each year.
Recipients include:
1994: Robert Patten (Studies in English Literature and English)
1995: Jane Dunham (International Services) and Diana Welch (Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering)
1996: Evelyn Nolen (Journal of Southern History)
1998: Sarah Nelson Crawford (Student Activities) and Linda Rassinier (Geology and Geophysics)
1999: Julie Kudelka (Bioengineering) and Iva Jean Jorgensen (Computer Science)
2000: Adria Baker (Office of International Students/Scholars) and Mona Hicks (Office of Student Activities)
2001: Cheryl Mattherly (Director of Career Services) and Bruce Johnson (Chemical Engineering)
2002: Tracy Michelle Voltz
2003: Theresa L. Chatman (Project Manager of AGEP) and Sandra Flechsig (Earth Science)
2004: Dr. Tianhong Dai (Postdoctoral Research Associate in Bioengineering)
2005: Somarine Sam Diep (OISS), Dolores Schwartz (Biochemistry and Cell Biology), Iva Jean Jorgensen (Computer Science)
2006: Doug Schuler (Jones School), Maria Maldonado (Facilities Engineering and Planning)
2007: Martha Alexander (ECE-LANP) and Kevin Kirby (VP Administration)
2008: Carlos Amaro (Bioengineering) and Mark Pierce (Bioengineering)
2010: Kate Abad (Student Activities)
Robert Lowry Patten Award
The Robert Lowry Patten awards, funded by an endowment, are intended to
honor graduate students who might NOT have been honored for their service
and achievements on behalf of graduate students. The award is named in
honor of the GSA's previous, esteemed faculty advisor. The award
consists of $400 and a plaque. Up to four awards may be conferred each
year.
Recipients include:
1998: Mark A. Nichols (Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science),
Heidi Elizabeth Zeimer (Psychology), Kristin Heather Griffith
(Psychology) and David J. Mendelow (Jones School).
1999: Kristin Peterson (Anthropology), Shannon Leonard (English), Scott
Berger (Mathematics) and Michelle Shearer (Geology and Geophysics).
2000: Aimee Placas (Anthropology), Desrey Fox (Linguistics), Arnaud
Chevallier and Prasanna Gandhi (Mechanical Engineering and Material
Science).
2001: Jae Chung (Anthropology), Jennifer Steele (Physics and
Astronomy), Alejandro Chaoul (Religious Studies) and David Streutker
(Physics and Astronomy)
2002: Auleen Ghosh (Chemical), Xinyu (Frank) Zhao (Chemical) and Zheng Huang (Mathematics)
2003: Michelle Calabretta (Biochemistry and Cell Biology), Elizabeth
Fenton (English), Busheng Li (Chemical Engineering) and David Messmer
(English)
2004: Fefei Lou (Electrical and Computer Engineering), Eden King
(Psychology), and Miles Scotcher (Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
2005: Xiaoyang Bai (Biochemistry and Cell Biology), Vinod Kumar
(Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science), Eden King (Psychology),
Summer Nijjer (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology)
2006: Sushant Madhukul Dutta (Mechanical Engineering), Aramis Martinez
(Physics and Astronomy), Kadim Tasdemir (Electrical Engineering), Ahmand
Khoshnevis (Electrical Engineering)
2007: Jennifer Greeson (Bioengineering), Mark Little (Earth Science),
Louise Organ (Bioengineering), Hao Yang (Physics and Astronomy)
2008: Noah Bedard (Bioengineering), Laura Renee Chandler (History), Shuijing Li (Mathematics), Nadhi Thekkek (Bioengineering)
2009: Yi Chen (Physic), Nastassja Lewinski (Bioengineering), Darren Roblyer (Bioengineering), and Daniel Stark (Physics)
2011: Sayantan Chatterjee (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering), Mike Matson (Chemistry), David Splinter (Economics), and Sumedh Warudkar (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)
2012: Anne Hellebust (Bioengineering), Clark Needham (Bioengineering), Gabriel Ceriotti (Chemistry), and Victor del Carpio Neyra (Economics)
- 2013: Jeff Ahern (Ecology and Evolutionary
Biology), Heng Ji (Physics and
Astronomy), Arunima Ray (Mathematics), David Solis (Applied
Physics)
GSA Service Award
Recipients are selected based on contribution of time, effort, and
devoted service to the cause of improving graduate student life and
education at Rice. The award consists of $500, funded by the GSA, and a
plaque. Up to two awards may be conferred each year.
Recipients include:
1991: Robert Schmunk (Space Physics)
1992: Dusty Capistran (Philosophy)
1993: Sue Minkoff (Computational and Applied Mathematics)
1994: Joseph Elias (Electrical Engineering)
1995: Rob Butera (Electrical Engineering) and Laurie Feinswog (Computational and Applied Mathematics)
1996: Maeve McCarthy (Computational and Applied Mathematics)
1997: Chris Stokes (History)
1998: Joy Roth (Geology and Geophysics) and Russell Hale (Jones School)
1999: Erin Williams (Biochemistry and Cell Biology) and Heidi Ziemer (Psychology)
2000: Julia Smith-Wellner (Geology) and Andrea Frolic (Religion)
2001: Ilse Guzman-Jiminez (Chemistry) and Hillary Young (Linguistics)
2002: Zhongping Jian (Electrical) and James Yager(Biochemistry)
2003: Musie Ghebremichael (Statistics) and Miles Scotcher (Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
2004: Robert Cardnell (Biochemistry and Cell Biology) and Balaji Sitharaman (Chemistry)
2005: Joanna Papakonstantinou (Computational and Applied Mathematics) and Marcos Huerta (Physics and Astronomy)
2006: Cristina Hofmann (Chemistry) and Angela Noel Hvitved (Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
2007: Jordan Miller (Bioengineering) and Hui Zhan (Physics and Astronomy)
2008: Nikhil Gheewala (Bioengineering) and April Smith (Bioengineering)
2009: Michael Contreras (Civil Engineering) and Eileen Meyer (Physics)
"Friends of Rice Graduate Students" Award
Recipients are selected in recognition of individuals who have
significantly enhanced the lives of graduate students at Rice University
in some way. This award is a token of appreciation to honor people
within and beyond the Rice community who may not otherwise be recognized
for their service to graduate students. Candidates for the award may or
may not be members of the Rice community, but they should not be
eligible for the other four awards. The award shall consist of a plaque.
Recipients include:
2000: Mary Lou Margrave
2001: Purvez Captain
2002: John Schroeter
2003: Darlene Weist
2004: Jonel Curl and Mary Lou Margrave
2005: Abeer Mustafa and Sarah Kennedy
2007: Austin Chapter of Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic
2009: Christopher Revell
Outside GSA Awards for Graduate Students
The Rice University Service Award
Given in memory of Dean of Students Hugh Scott Cameron, it is awarded to as many as four individuals of the Rice student population, past and present, who have been most exemplary in rendering service to the student body. Contact the Office of Student Activities for information on nominations.
Sallyport Award
It is presented by the Association of Rice Alumni to recognize a deserving graduate degree candidate who has made contributions to the Rice community above his or her individual department and who may not otherwise be recognized. The winner will receive a silver bowl (with his/her name and year engraved on it) and a stole to wear at graduation. The winner's name will also appear on a plaque in the Rice Memorial Center. The Student-Alumni Liaison Committee decides the recipient of this award. Therefore, please send a faculty letter of recommendation and a resume electronically to chelmick@rice.edu or hard copies to MS-520 to nominate a graduate student for this award. Students can also be nominated using an online form at http://awards.rice.edu.
Graduate students also qualify for the Commencement Award and RWRC Impact Awards. More information on these awards may also be found at http://awards.rice.edu.