This spring, the Graduate Faculty Council awarded its second annual awards for outstanding contributions to graduate studies and graduate staff excellence awards to recognize those who have gone above and beyond to serve the graduate student body. This year’s nominees were:

Graduate Staff Excellence Award:
• Kathy Wagner – graduate studies
• Misty House – graduate studies
• Christian Lehman – student affairs coordinator
• Tina Balch – chemistry
• Dawn Davis – computer science
• Krista Welschmeyer – chemical and biochemical engineering
• Lucy Sutcliffe – Speech Communication Center

Outstanding Contributions to Graduate Studies:
• Dr. V.A. Samaranayake, Curators’ Teaching Professor of mathematics and statistics
• Dr. Jagannathan Sarangapani, Rutledge-Emerson Distinguished Professor of electrical and computer engineering
• Dr. Nathan Weidner, assistant professor of psychological science
• Dr. Honglan Shi, associate research professor of chemistry
• Dr. Muthanna Al-Dahhan, chair and professor of chemical and biochemical engineering
• Dr. Joseph Smith, the Laufer Endowed Energy Chair Professor of chemical and biochemical engineering and director of Energy Research and Development Center
• Dr.  Wayne Huebner, professor of materials science and engineering.

House was the winner of the Graduate Staff Excellence Award; and Heubner was the winner of the Outstanding Contributions to Graduate Studies Award, both of which were presented on April 29.