The UCF College of Graduate Studies recognized graduate students and faculty for excellence in research, teaching and mentoring at an awards ceremony during the Thirteenth Annual Graduate Research Forum on April 5, 2016.<\/p>\n
Each year the Graduate Council Program Review and Awards Committee reviews college nominations and recognizes graduate students for the University Graduate Awards of Excellence and Awards for Faculty Excellence in Mentoring Doctoral students. The nominations are very competitive and the selection is especially challenging.<\/p>\n
Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching<\/strong> Arielle Gaudiello is a doctoral student in the Mathematics PhD program. Gaudiello is a dedicated teacher who creates a welcoming environment in which students feel comfortable seeking her help and advice. Her teaching style is highly effective and students perform exceptionally well in her classes. Gaudiello also relates mathematical concepts to everyday uses and tries to integrate interesting and relatable topics into her lesson plans.<\/p>\n College Winners Award for Excellence by a Graduate Teaching Assistant<\/strong> Soheil Salehi Mobarakeh is a doctoral student in the Computer Engineering PhD program. Mobarakeh was described as the most effective, responsible, innovative and caring GTA his adviser has ever had. He helps students have a better understanding of computer organization via hands-on experience. Mobarakeh’s teaching style is highly effective, and in fact, it is so innovative that a paper outlining his pedagogy has been accepted for presentation to the American Society for Engineering Education Southeast Section Conference.<\/p>\n College Winners Award for Outstanding Master\u2019s Thesis<\/strong> Jared is from the Environmental Engineering program and was mentored by Dr. Woo Hyoung Lee.<\/p>\n Jared\u2019s thesis is titled:\u00a0Dishwashing Water Recycling System and Related Water Quality Standards for Military Use.<\/p>\n Church\u2019s thesis focused on recommending water quality standards for dishwater recycling for military use. In remote locations with limited water supply, such as those in military instillations, it is imperative to conserve freshwater. The U.S. Army and U.S. Navy have been working on standards for greywater and they have requested his paper for future consideration. Church has published his results in several national conferences and also in the journal\u00a0Science of the Total Environment. Church is continuing his studies in the Environmental Engineering PhD program at UCF and he has received the NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium doctoral fellowship for 2015-2016.<\/p>\n College Winners Award for Outstanding Dissertation<\/strong>: \u00a0Juneyoung Park, PhD, College of Engineering and Computer Science.<\/p>\n Juneyoung Park, PhD is a graduate of the Civil Engineering PhD program and was mentored by Dr. Mohamed Abdel-Aty.<\/p>\n Dr. Park\u2019s dissertation is titled:\u00a0\u00a0Exploration and development of crash modification factors and functions for single and multiple treatments.<\/p>\n Dr. Park’s research focused on a critical assessment of the newly developed Highway Safety Manual. He identified critical flaws in the manual and provided novel solutions to rectify numerous issues and improve the prediction of traffic accidents. His work has already been incorporated into the CMF Clearinghouse and will impact the future version of the Highway Safety Manual. Saving lives and suffering is the utmost objective for engineers, and his work will achieve that.<\/p>\n College Winners Two faculty members are selected each year that show great dedication and guidance in the mentorship of doctoral students for the\u00a0Award for Faculty Excellence in Mentoring Doctoral Students\u00a0<\/strong>in the following disciplines: Social Sciences, Humanities, Education, Business, Fine Arts and Health Sciences and Engineering, Physical Sciences and Life Sciences.<\/p>\n This year, the two faculty members recognized for their excellence in mentoring doctoral students are Robert Peale, PhD and Carey Rothschild, PhD.<\/p>\n Dr. Peale is with the Department of Physics. His students describe Dr. Peale as an outstanding mentor and great physicist. His eagerness to teach his students has been described as extraordinary. Dr. Peale\u2019s vision and support have enabled his students to become managers and leaders in their chosen professions, whether in academia or industry.<\/p>\n Dr. Rothschild is from the Physical Therapy program. Her students describe Dr. Rothschild as a model of research expertise. She provides guidance and assistance where needed, yet allows students the autonomy to complete their research goals. She believes that professionalism refers to upholding the core values of the physical therapy profession: altruism, excellence, caring, ethics, respect, communication and accountability.<\/p>\n The following faculty were nominated in the following categories by their graduated doctoral students.<\/p>\n Engineering, Physical Sciences and Life Sciences Nominees<\/strong> Social Sciences, Humanities, Education, Business, Fine Arts and Health Sciences Nominees<\/strong>
\nArielle Gaudiello, College of Sciences.<\/p>\n
\nMohamed Awwad – College of Engineering and Computer Science
\nGrant Bohl – College of Arts and Humanities
\nHeidi A. Eisenreich – College of Education and Human Performance
\nBradley A. Lang –\u00a0College of Business Administration
\nJill E. Plumer –\u00a0Rosen College of Hospitality Management<\/p>\n
\nSoheil Salehi Mobarakeh, College of Engineering and Computer Science.<\/p>\n
\nAline Zghayyar Abassian –\u00a0College of Education and Human Performance
\nVierne E. Placide – College of Health and Public Affairs
\nSara Raffel – College of Arts and Humanities
\nSara Ann Sacra –\u00a0College of Sciences<\/p>\n
\nJared Church, College of Engineering and Computer Science.<\/p>\n
\nKaylin A. Ratner –\u00a0College of Sciences
\nEmily C. Brennan –\u00a0College of Arts and Humanities
\nMassimo M. Villinger –\u00a0College of Optics and Photonics
\nMattan Hoffman – College of Education and Human Performance<\/p>\n
\nAshley J. Blount, PhD – College of Education and Human Performance
\nKumel H. Kagalwala, PhD –\u00a0College of Optics and Photonics
\nVeethika Pandey, PhD – College of Medicine
\nLeandra Preston-Sidler, PhD –\u00a0College of Arts and Humanities
\nBenjamin D. Sawyer, PhD –\u00a0College of Sciences
\nTravis J. Wiltshire, PhD –\u00a0College of Graduate Studies<\/p>\n
\nDeborah Altomare \u2014 College of Medicine
\nZenghu Cheng \u2014 College of Optics and Photonics
\nRonald DeMara \u2014 College of Engineering and Computer Science
\nSteven Duranceau \u2014 College of Engineering and Computer Science
\nAhmad Elshennawy \u2014 College of Engineering and Computer Science
\nXun Gong \u2014 College of Engineering and Computer Science
\nFlorencio Hernandez \u2014 College of Sciences
\nDmitry Kolpashchikov \u2014 College of Sciences
\nJuin Liou \u2014 College of Engineering and Computer Science
\nRobert Peale \u2014 College of Sciences
\nMichael Proctor \u2014 College of Engineering and Computer Science
\nTalat Rahman \u2014 College of Sciences
\nNazanin Rahnavard \u2014 College of Engineering and Computer Science
\nMehmet Tatari \u2014 College of Engineering and Computer Science
\nSubith Vasu \u2014 College of Engineering and Computer Science<\/p>\n
\nChristopher Blackwell \u2014 College of Nursing
\nThomas Bryer \u2014 College of Health and Public Affairs
\nMary Ann Burg \u2014 College of Health and Public Affairs
\nSusan Chase \u2014 College of Nursing
\nThomas Cox \u2014 College of Education and Human Performance
\nAnne Culp \u2014 College of Education and Human Performance
\nJuli Dixon \u2014 College of Education and Human Performance
\nDavid Gay \u2014 College of Sciences
\nPeter Hancock \u2014 College of Sciences
\nAtsusi Hirumi \u2014 College of Education and Human Performance
\nJay Hoffman \u2014 College of Education and Human Performance
\nBruce Janz \u2014 College of Sciences
\nMary Little \u2014 College of Education and Human Performance
\nBarry Mauer \u2014 College of Arts and Humanities
\nRudy McDaniel \u2014 College of Arts and Humanities
\nElsie Olan \u2014 College of Education and Human Performance
\nCarey Rothschild \u2014 College of Health and Public Affairs
\nJames Szalma \u2014 College of Sciences
\nStacy VanHorn \u2014 College of Education and Human Performance
\nStephanie Vie \u2014 College of Arts and Humanities
\nCarolyn Walker-Hopp \u2014 College of Education and Human Performance
\nJames Wright \u2014 College of Sciences<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UCF College of Graduate Studies recognized graduate students and faculty for excellence in research, teaching and mentoring at an awards ceremony during the Thirteenth Annual Graduate Research Forum on April 5, 2016. Each year the Graduate Council Program Review and Awards Committee reviews college nominations and recognizes graduate students for the University Graduate Awards of Excellence and Awards for…","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-twocol.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[5,23],"tags":[54275],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-71977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-colleges","category-research","tag-ben-sawyer"],"yoast_head":"\n