Awards totaling $17,200 were presented to winners on Nov. 13, 2018. We invite you to enjoy a glimpse of the day in our 2018 GradShow Photo Gallery.
Distinction in Creativity Award.
The Distinction in Creativity award is presented in collaboration by the Graduate School and Office of Vice President for Research. This award recognizes the passion and personal contributions of these talented graduate students, and honors their commitment and efforts in their area of work.
1st place:
$250 award
- Margaret Browne - English
2nd place:
$150 award
- Christy Nelson - Art and Art History
Great Minds in Research Award.
The Great Minds in Research award is presented in collaboration by the Graduate School and the Office of Vice President for Research. This award recognizes graduate student submissions that contribute to the excellence and advancement of research, scholarship, and entrepreneurial efforts at CSU. We celebrate these rising stars, and honor these graduate students for the commitment and efforts in their field.
1st place:
$250 award
- Mohammadhasan Hedayati - Chemical and Biological Engineering
2nd place:
$150 award
- Paige Ostwald - Cell & Molecular Biology
Honorable mention:
Ten $100 awards
- Derek Schaeuble - Biomedical Sciences
- Megan Posukonis - College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
- Dustin Lee - Food Science and Human Nutrition
- Kayla Nuss - Health and Exercise Science
- Clayton Swanson - Health and Exercise Science
- Katie DeRose - Mechanical Engineering
- Camron Pearce - Micrbiology, Immunology and Pathology
- Tom Bickett - Cell & Molecular Biology
- Robert Griffin-Nolan - Graduate Degree Program In Ecology
- Grace Kuiper - Colorado School of Public Health
Founder's Award: Provided by Dr. Tammi Vacha-Haase.
Dr. Tammi Vacha-Haase envisioned and was the driving force in creating the Graduate Student Showcase during her time as associate dean of the Graduate School. Her continued dedication to celebrating the scholarship of all graduate students and facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration inspired the creation of the Founder’s Award. The award recognizes an exceptional graduate student who is forging a new path in research, creativity, or entrepreneurship.
1st place:
$250 award
- Michael Nguyen-Truong - School of Biomedical Engineering
College of Business Sustainability Award.
The College of Business is invested in projects that offer sustainable solutions to substantive problems affecting a population. Through this College of Business Sustainability Award, the College is pleased to highlight outstanding scholarship from graduate students across the campus.
1st place:
$500 award
- Evan Sproul - Mechanical Engineering
Drivers of Innovation: The CSU Ventures Awards.
The Drivers of Innovation awards highlight the leading edge of the most innovative research originating from CSU research. Awardees in this category have presented innovative research capable of solving commercial needs that benefit society. Additionally, the awardees have demonstrated a solid capability to communicate their science clearly as well as a superior ability to visually represent their research in a manner that is accessible to all audiences.
Platinum:
Two $500 awards
- Hailey Hibbard - Chemistry
- Alex Bothwell - Physics
Silver:
Two $250 awards
- Mortaza Derakhshani Molayousefi - Chemistry
- Ramesh Pandey - Physics
The Office of International Programs seeks to honor three graduate students that demonstrate an active commitment to making a Global Impact through research. Examples might include field research that was conducted at an international location, research that was accomplished by partnering with an international organization or institution, or research that has the capacity to address a significant global challenge.
Top Scholar:
Three $350 awards
- Andy Gilmore - Communication Studies
- Blessing Magonziwa - Soil and Crop Sciences
- Hillary Smith - Colorado School of Public Health
Graduate Student Council: New Graduate Student Award.
In line with the Graduate Student Council’s (GSC) overall commitment to bring graduate students together for the purposes of networking, collaboration, and advocacy the GSC is proud to sponsor the Graduate Student Showcase. Our organization has always had a strong focus on welcoming new graduate students to CSU and empowering them to succeed. Offering the New Graduate Student Award in partnership with the Graduate School, is yet another way we can help these emerging scholars reach their full potential.
The New Graduate Student Award is available to all graduate students in the first three semesters of their graduate work (anyone who started Summer/Fall 2017 or later), and four students will be selected, with each winning a $150 prize. In line with the mission of GSC, special consideration will be offered to projects focused on informing policy that may benefit graduate students and further the goals of GSC.
The New Graduate Student Award will be judged by the GSC leadership team and our administrative advisors.
Visual Arts Top Scholar:
$200 award
- Isaac Trujillo - Art and Art History
Research Top Scholar:
Three $200 awards
- Blaine McCarthy - Chemistry
- Kelley Covington - Occupational Therapy
- Noelia Altina - Cell & Molecular Biology
Undergraduate Choice Award.
The Graduate School is proud to partner with the Office for Undergraduate Research and Artistry to sponsor the Undergraduate Choice Awards through which each category of the Graduate Student Showcase will be judged by a team of undergraduate scholars. This category is designed to expose undergraduates to graduate level scholarship, facilitate the training of undergraduates in the critical analysis of scholarly products, and to reward graduate students whose work is perceived to be among the highest quality by the undergraduate team of judges.
Visual Arts Top Scholar:
$125 award
- Emily Sullivan - Art and Art History
Research Top Scholar:
Three $125 awards
- Matthew Cackovic - Chemical and Biological Engineering
- Alex Koegel - Chemistry
- Hannah Berry - Cell & Molecular Biology
Top Scholars for University Interdisciplinary Programs
Presented and offered by the Graduate School.
1st Place:
$500 award
- Sarah Leichty - Graduate Degree Program In Ecology
2nd Place :
$300 award
- Jared Luxton - Cell & Molecular Biology
3rd Place :
$250 award
- Magda Garbowski - Graduate Degree Program In Ecology
College of Agricultural Sciences Top Scholars Awards.
The College of Agricultural Sciences is proud to recognize excellence in graduate student research in agricultural sciences and related fields.
Top Scholar:
$500 award
- Daniel Oliver - Horticulture and Landscape Architecture
College of Business Dean’s Award for Research Excellence.
For the College of Business graduate student that provides a creative research solution to a substantive business problem. Through this award, the College of Business is pleased to honor a business graduate student for outstanding research.
Top Scholar:
$500 award
- Joel Schwartzkopf - College of Business
WSCOE Excellence in Research Award.
The Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering is proud to present the Excellence in Research Award.
Top Scholar:
Three $250 awards
- Faith Groff - Atmospheric Science
- Marissa Karpack - Civil and Environmental Engineering
- KC Young - Civil and Environmental Engineering
College of Health and Human Sciences Awards.
The College of Health and Human Sciences is pleased to provide three Excellence in Research and Scholarship awards and one Excellence in Creativity award.
Excellence in Creativity:
One $250 award
- Rebecca Dias - Design and Merchandising
Excellence in Research and Scholarship:
Three $250 awards
- Savannah Hobbs - Food Science and Human Nutrition
- Kati Dugan - Health and Exercise Science
- Becca Lassell - Occupational Therapy
College of Liberal Arts Awards.
Awards to Graduate Students in Liberal Arts Disciplines/Departments for highest achievements in:
Creative and Performing Arts, including visual arts, music (solo and ensemble), theatre, dance, poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction:
Top Scholar:
Two $500 awards
- Lauren Faherty - Art and Art History
- Kevin Poelking - School of Music, Theatre, and Dance
Scholarly/Research-based poster presentations:
Top Scholar:
Two $500 award
- Ray Sumner - Anthropology
- Matt Elmer - Economics
College of Natural Sciences CNS Top Scholars Award.
The College of Natural Sciences Top Scholars Award honors the scholarship of graduate students who exemplify the college’s commitment to cutting-edge research.
Top Scholar:
Four $500 awards
- Gretchen Kroh - Biology
- Chris Hosier - Chemistry
- Mj Riches - Chemistry
- Jonathan Thielman - Chemistry
College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences Awards.
CVMBS values discovery and celebrates development of the skill set to advance knowledge with original research. Our mission is to help animals, people and the planet through restorative and preventive strategies for the health of these systems – a One Health perspective. This award recognizes promise in a research student in developing the skills to advance knowledge.
Top Scholar:
Three $500 awards
- Ashley Turnidge - Biomedical Sciences
- Zaria Vick - Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences
- Kendra Andrie - Micrbiology, Immunology and Pathology
Warner College of Natural Resources Awards.
Top Scholar:
Three $500 awards
- Aung Chan - Fish, Wildlife, Conservation Biology
- Skyler Mavor - Geosciences
- Stewart Williams - Geosciences
While we do our best to provide correct and current information regarding the award categories and amounts, occasionally this information may change. All awards and award amounts are subject to change.
Tax Requirements for Awards
If you are a Graduate Assistant or other employee at CSU, the award amount will be added to your paycheck and subjected to normal tax Withholdings and paid on the usual payday.