Award recipients from prior years

2017-18

WMU achievements

  • Stephanie Buglione (undergraduate)—Undergraduate Research Excellence Award
  • Hanna Cohen (Ph.D.)—Graduate Research Assistantship Award
  • Esayas Gebremichael (Ph.D.)—Research and Creative Activities Poster and Performance Day's Outstanding Poster Presentation Award, Dissertation Completion Fellowship
  • Shelby Hurst (Ph.D.)—Graduate Student Research Grant, Graduate Research Assistantship Award
  • Nick Moleski (M.S.)—Department-level Graduate Teaching Effectiveness Award
  • Elizabeth Palmer (Ph.D.)—All-University Graduate Research and Creative Scholar Award, Department-level Graduate Research and Creative Scholar Award, Graduate Student Research Grant
  • Hannah Pankratz (Ph.D.)—All-University Graduate Teaching Effectiveness Award, Department-level Graduate Teaching Effectiveness Award, Graduate Research Assistantship Award
  • Bradley Rizzo (undergraduate)—Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society
  • Katharine Rose (undergraduate)—Presidential Scholar Award, Undergraduate Research Excellence Award
  • Benjamin Seiderman (M.S.)—Department-level Graduate Research and Creative Scholar Award

External achievements

  • Karem Abdelmohsen (Ph.D.)—Farouk El-Baz Student Research Grant
  • Hanna Cohen (Ph.D.)—Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM) Grant,  North Central Section and Mineralogy, Geochemistry, Petrology, and Volcanology division's Geological Society of America (GSA) Travel Grant
  • Esayas Gebremichael (Ph.D.)—National Association of Black Geoscientists (NABG) Travel Grant
  • Cameron Manche (Ph.D.)—Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM) Grant
  • Hannah Pankratz (Ph.D.)—Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) Student Travel Grant
  • Nicholas Shaw (undergraduate)—AAPG Deana and Paul Strunk Military Veterans Scholarship
  • Neal Turluck (M.S.)—Riverside Energy Michigan Inc. scholarship and the Midwest Mineralogical and Lapidary Society of Michigan Scholarship, Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG/ExxonMobil) Student Education Program Travel Grant
  • Sarah VanderMeer (Ph.D.)—USGS Best Student Geologic Map and AIPG Michigan Section Best Graduate Student Poster

2016-17

WMU achievements

  • Jake Tholen (undergraduate)—Presidential Scholar Award
  • Mustafa Emil (Ph.D.), Matthew Hemenway (M.S.)—Graduate College Research and Creative Scholar Award
  • Shelby Hurst (Ph.D.), Danielle Dupuis (M.S.), Alexander Koerber (M.S.), Ziqian Li (M.S.)—Graduate Student Research Awards
  • Mustafa Emil (Ph.D.)—Graduate Student Travel Award
  • Mustafa Emil (Ph.D.), Shelby Hurst (Ph.D.), Hannah Pankratz (Ph.D.)—Research and Creative Activities Poster and Performance Day Award Winners
  • Cameron Manche (Ph.D.), Danielle Dupuis (M.S.)—Department Graduate Teaching Effectiveness Award
  • Cameron Manche (Ph.D.)—All University Graduate Teaching Effectiveness Award
  • Esayas Gebremichael (Ph.D.), Shelby Hurst—Climate Change Research Graduate Scholarship
  • Jake Tholen (undergraduate)—Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Award

External achievements

  • Shelby Hurst (Ph.D.)—West Michigan-Air and Waste Management Association Scholarship
  • Hannah Pankratz (Ph.D.)—Society of Exploration of Geophysicists (SEG) Grant
  • Karl Backhaus (M.S.)—USGS Ed Map Award
  • Esayas Gebremichael (Ph.D.)—On to the Future Travel Grant (GSA)
  • Mohammed Al Musawi (M.S.)—Michigan Basin Geological Society (MBGS) Annual Scholarship
  • Mohammed Al Musawi (M.S.), Matthew Hemenway (M.S.), Jack Hybza (M.S.), Clayton Joupperi (M.S.), Zaid Nadhim (M.S.)—Second place in the AAPG Imperial Barrel Award Competition
  • Jake Tholen (undergraduate)—Crawford Hydrology Lab Grant
  • Sarah VanderMeer (Ph.D.)—GSA Best Student Geologic Map

2015-16

WMU achievements

  • Courtney Wright (undergraduate)—Presidential Scholar Award
  • Sarah VanderMeer (Ph.D.), Chanse Ford (M.S.) and Jeff Hudson (M.S.)—Graduate College Research Awards
  • Sarah VanderMeer (Ph.D.) and Abotalib Farag (Ph.D.)—All University Teaching and Research Awards
  • Matt Rine (Ph.D.) and Abotalib Farag (Ph.D.)—Research and Creative Activities Poster and Performance Day Award Winners
  • Sarah VanderMeer (Ph.D.)—Gwen Frostic Dissertation Fellowship
  • Abotalib Farag (Ph.D.)—Graduate College’s Dissertation Completion Fellowship

External achievements

  • Denisha Griffey (Ph.D.)—West Michigan Air and Waste Management Association Scholarship
  • Ben Hinks (M.S.)—Best Student Poster Award at the Institute on Lake Superior Geology conference
  • Matthew Rine (Ph.D.)—2016 Michigan Basin Geological Society Scholarship
  • Matthew Rine (Ph.D.)—2016 American Association of Petroleum Geologists Foundation Grants-in-Aid
  • Sarah VanderMeer (Ph.D.)—First place in the Graduate Student Poster Contest at the 2015 AIPG Michigan Section Meeting for her poster, "Surficial Mapping of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan: Indian Town 7.5 Minute Quadrangle"
  • Tom Brubaker (M.S.)—Second place in the Graduate Student Poster Contest at the 2015 AIPG Michigan Section Meeting for his poster, "Mystery of icicle formation: An approach based on stable isotope studies"
  • Elizabeth Palmer (Ph.D.)—Icarus published her paper, "Dielectric Properties of Asteroid Vesta's Surface as Constrained by Dawn VIR Observations"

2014-15

WMU achievements

  • Kathryn Hillenbrand (undergraduate)—Presidential Scholar Award
  • Katie Dvorak (Ph.D.), Ben Hinks (M.S.), Tom Brubaker (M.S.), Chanse Ford (M.S.) and Andrew Sasso (M.S.)—Graduate Student Research Grants
  • Racha El Kadiri (Ph.D.)—All-University Graduate Research and Creative Scholar Award
  • Abdel Mawgoud Mohammed (Ph.D.)—Dissertation Completion Fellowship
  • Richard Dudek (M.A.) and Jonathan Haynes (M.S.)—Graduate Student Research and Travel Awards
  • Abotalib Farag (Ph.D.)—Gwen Frostic Doctoral Fellowship

External achievements

  • Abotalib Farag (Ph.D.)—The GSA's On To the Future Travel Award
  • Abotalib Farag (Ph.D.)—Farouk El-Baz Student Research Grant from the GSA for his project, "Did Groundwater Processes Shape the Sahara Landscape During the Quaternary?"
  • Jake Tholen (undergraduate)—Honorable mention by The Goldwater Scholarship foundation
  • Matt Rine (Ph.D.)—Best Graduate Student Poster by the Great Lakes Section of the Society for Sedimentary Geology for his poster, “Evaluating the Sequence Stratigraphic Relationships, Lithofacies and Petrophysical Properties of the Silurian (Niagaran) Reefs for the Purpose of CCUS and EOR in the Michigan Basin”
  • Racha El Kadiri (Ph.D.)—American Geophysical Union Travel Grant
  • Anthony Boxleiter (M.S.)—Eisenbrey Travel Award
  • Abdel Mawgoud Mohammed (Ph.D.)—The GSA’s Farouk El-Baz International Student Research Award
  • Abotalib Farag (Ph.D.)—The GSA’s Research Grant
  • Abdel Mawgoud Mohammed (Ph.D.)—The GSA’s Travel Grant
  • Matt Rine (Ph.D.)—The Michigan AIPG meeting’s first place student poster
  • Lamees Mohammed (Ph.D.)—IMAGIN’s Jim Living Scholarship
  • Sarah VanderMeer (Ph.D.)—Michigan Basin Geological Society Scholarship
  • Abdel Mawgoud Mohammed (Ph.D.) and Lamees Mohammed (Ph.D.)—National Association of Black Geoscientists Scholarship
  • Lamees Mohammed (Ph.D.)—The SEG/Exxon Mobil Travel Grant
  • Ben Hinks (M.S.)—The SEG’s McKinstry Fund Grant
  • Matt Rine (Ph.D.)—The Society of Petrophysicists and Well Log Analysts’ first place award for the student oral competition at the 56th annual symposium
  • Jonathan Haynes (M.S.)—SEG's Student Research and Eisenbrey Travel Award
  • Denisha Griffey (Ph.D.)—Who’s Who among Students in American Universities and Colleges