Student Awards

The Graduate College regularly recognizes outstanding research and instruction by the many talented individuals pursuing graduate education across the University of Vermont.

Nominations and Applications

For the following awards, nominate students or apply via InfoReady:

  • Dr. Roberto Fabri Fialho Research Award
  • Graduate Teaching Assistant of the Year
  • Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation
  • Outstanding Master’s Thesis
  • Rodney L. Parsons Anatomy and Neurobiology Award
  • Thomas J. Votta Graduate Scholarship

2024-2025 Planetary Health PhD Student Research Awards

  • Gwen Ellis, Biology Ph.D. Program
  • Alison Hall, Biology Ph.D. Program

 

2024-2025 Three Minute Thesis Competition

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is an internationally recognized research communication competition that challenges Ph.D. students to present a compelling oration on their research project and its significance in just 180 seconds, in language accessible to a non-specialist audience.  UVM’s 3MT is a celebration of the discoveries made by our Ph.D. students and will allow the broader community to learn about ongoing research at UVM. 

  • 1st Place: Leslie Spencer, Food Systems, “How to Save the Wild Bees?”
    Co-Advisors: Drs Stephanie Hurley & Taylor Ricketts
  • 2nd Place: Abigail Myers, Neuroscience, “A Biological Fix for Broken Clocks: Realigning Circadian Health With Living Cells”
    Advisor: Dr. James Stafford
  • People’s Choice Award: Daniel Penados Richter, Biology: “Stop, Go, Grow: Molecular Badges on the Traffic‑Cop Protein”
    Advisor: Dr. Bryan Ballif

2024-2025 Graduate Teaching Assistant of the Year

Graduate Teaching Assistant of the Year Awards recognize the accomplishments of GTAs who have demonstrated unusual excellence and creativity in their teaching and commitment to student learning. Outstanding GTAs are nominated by their programs and departments.

  • Thomas Samuel O'Leary, Biology PhD Program (Laboratory/Field Instruction Category)

2024-2025 Outstanding Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation Award

The Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award recognizes exceptional work on behalf of a doctoral student, as demonstrated by their dissertation, including significant contributions to their field of study.

  • Alireza Fath, Ph.D., “Integration and Performance Assessment of Cyber-Physical Systems for Structural Health Monitoring: A Framework for Enhanced Human Building Interaction and Structural Maintenance”, Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. Program
    Advisor: Dryver R. Huston, Ph.D.

The Outstanding Master's Thesis Award recognizes exceptional work on behalf of a Master’s student, as demonstrated by their thesis, including significant contributions to their field of study.

  • No nominations for 2024-2025

2024-2025 Rodney L. Parsons Anatomy and Neurobiology Award

Dr. Rodney L. Parsons joined UVM as Assistant Professor of Physiology in 1967. In 1979, he became chair of the then Department of Anatomy and re-purposed it to establish one of the first Anatomy and Neurobiology departments in the country. He was the founding and only chair of that department, which merged with the Department of Neurology in 2012 to become the Department of Neurological Sciences, integrating basic and clinical science under one department. The goal of the Parsons Award is to support outstanding graduate students who demonstrate excellence in both neuroscience research and teaching in any broadly defined anatomical science, the disciplines which Dr. Parsons played a key role in the growth and evolution of at UVM.

  • Ryan Hunt, Neuroscience PhD Program

 

2024-2025 Dr. Roberto Fabri Fialho Research Award

The Fialho Research Award is given annually to a University of Vermont doctoral student in support of their research in areas related to ecology, evolution, population genetics, or animal behavior. The funds are awarded in memory of Roberto Fabri Fialho, Ph.D., Biology.

Leslie Spencer, Food Systems Ph.D. Program

2024-2025 Thomas J. Votta Scholarship

The Thomas J. Votta Memorial Fund has been established by the friends and family of Tom Votta to provide annual scholarship assistance to UVM graduate students in the Grossman School of Business, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, or Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources who, like Tom, wish to make a difference in solving environmental problems and using environmental best practices to meet this goal.

  • Annabelle Stanley, Natural Resources Ph.D. Program

Past Student Award Recipients

Body

Past Three Minute Thesis Competition Award Recipients:

2024

  • First Place - Alison Hall (Biology):  “The World is Changing; How Do the Littlest Cope?”
  • Second Place - Amber Goerner (CMB):  “Investigating Host Pathogen Interactions in Chronic Toxoplasma Gondii Infection”
  • People’s Choice Award - Morgan Southgate (Plant Biology): “Branching In As Well As Out: An Ecological Story of Fern Hybridization”

Past Sustainable Campus Fund Research Project Proposals (Previously Known as The  Clean Energy Fund):

2021- Masoumeh Khodaverdi, Plant Biology Program, Hannah Lacasse, Department of Community Development and Applied Economics, Hannah Shafer, Plant Biology Program and Patrick Shafer, Food Systems Graduate Program
2020 - Irfan Tahir, Mechanical Engineering Graduate Program
2020 - Ceres Rafiq, Materials Science Graduate Program
2019 - Libin Lian, Materials Science
2018 - Lindsay Barbieri, Natural Resources; Alex Neidermeier, Natural Resources; Robin Rice, Materials Science

Past Outstanding Thesis and Dissertation Award Recipients:

    Dissertation Category
    2024 - Brett Meyer, (Senior Data Scientist, Medidata Solutions) Ph.D. in Complex Systems and Data Science
   2023 - Lubin Liang, Materials Science
   2022 - Mariana Wingood, Interprofessional Health Sciences Program (Social Sciences, Humanities, and Creative Arts Category)
    2022 - Reed Gurchiek, Mechanical Engineering (Basic and Applied Sciences Category)
    2021 - Loren Bowley Dow, ELPS Program (Social Sciences, Humanities, and Creative Arts Category)
    2021 - Sam Kriegman, Computer Science (Basic and Applied Science Category)
    2020 - Elias M. Klemperer, Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program
    2019 - Sarah E. Cleary, Chemistry Graduate Program
    2018 - Rajiv Jumani, Cellular, Molecular and Biomedical Sciences
    2017 - Tianxin Miao, Bioengineering

    Thesis Category
    2024 - Juniper M. Oxford, M.A., Master of Arts in History
    2023 - Alexandra Perlow, Master of Arts in English
    2022 - Ben Liebman, Master of Science in Pharmacology Program
    2021 - Jo Martin, Mathematics Master’s Program
    2020 - Mauricio Pereira, Mechanical Engineering Master’s Program
    2019 - Lukas Adamowicz, Mechanical Engineering Graduate Program
    2017 - Social Sciences/Humanities - Caitlin Morgan, Food Systems
    2017 - STEM/Health Discipline - Alison Denn, Geology

Past Rodney L. Parsons Anatomy and Neurobiology Award Recipients: 

   2024 - Lillian Russo-Savage, Neuroscience Graduate Program
   2023 - Helaina R. Stergas, Biology Graduate Program
   2021 - Melissa Boucher, Neuroscience
   2020 - Patrick Mullen, Neuroscience
   2019 - Katharine Beca, Neuroscience
   2018 - Megan Perkins, Neuroscience
   2017 - Riley St. Clair, Neuroscience
   2016 - Estelle Spear, Neuroscience

Past Graduate Teaching Assistant Award Recipients:

    2024 - Sarah Days-Merrill, Mathematical Sciences PHD Program (Lecture Instruction Category)
    2024 - Bertrand Black, Plant Biology PhD Program (Lab/Field Instruction Category)
    2023 - Michael VanNostrand, Human Functioning and Rehabilitation Science (Lecture Instruction Category)
    2023 - Emily Beasley, Biology PhD Program (Lab Instruction Category)
    2022 - Colin Giles, Mathematics Doctoral Program (Lecture Instruction Category)
    2022 - Lily Shapiro, Biology Master's Program (Lab Instruction Category)
    2021 - Wilson Captein, Clinical Psychology Program (Lab Instruction Category)
    2021 - Calum Buchanan, Mathematical Sciences (Lecture Instruction Category)
    2020 - Patrick Mullins, Mathmatics and Statistics (Lecture Instruction Category)
    2020 - Bijay K.C., Civil and Environmental Engineering (Lab/Field Category)
    2019 - Laboratory Instruction - Bijay K C, M.S., Civil and Environmental Engineering Doctoral Program
    2019 - Lecture Instruction - Patrick Mullins, Mathematics Master’s Program
    2018 - Laboratory Instruction - Lauren Ash, Biology Graduate Program
    2018 - Primary Instruction - Cassie van Stolk-Cooke, Clinical Psychology Graduate Program
    2017 - Primary Instruction - Virginia Peisch, Clinical Developmental Psychology Program
​    2017 - Laboratory Instruction - Emily Mikucki, Biology Graduate Program
    2016 - Lecture Instruction - Abigail Ross, Complex Systems and Data Science
​    2016 - Laboratory Instruction - Nicholas D’Alberto, Neuroscience Graduate Program
​    2015 - Nicole Lafko, Psychology
    2014 - Alice Newman, Geology, and Vincent M. Mugisha, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
    2013 - Benjamin Green, Animal Science, and Taylor Sacco, English
    2012 - Amy Paysnick, Psychology
    2011 - Julia McQuade , Psychology
    2010 - Kirsten Stor, Mathematical Sciences
    2009 - Victoria Marini, Psychology
    2008 - Derek Strong, Anatomy and Neurobiology
    2007 - Amanda Getsinger, Geology
    2006 - Patricia Connolly, English
    2005 - Krishnan Venkataraman, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
    2004 - Stevenson Flemer, Jr., Chemistry

Past Roberto Fabri Fialho Awardees:

    2024 - Anna Schmidt, Biology Ph.D Program    
    2023 - Maia Austin, Biology Graduate Program
    2022 - Csenge Petak, Biology Graduate Program
    2021 - Erika Bueno, Plant and Soil Science
    2020 - Raquel Asuncion Lima Cordon, Biology
    2019 - Emily Mikucki, Biology
    2018 - Lauren Ash, Biology
    2017 - Allison Hrycik, Biology
    2016 - Susan Fawcett, Plant Biology
    2015 - Samantha Alger, Biology
    2014 - Michael Herrmann, Biology
    2012 - Ashley Steere, Biochemistry
    2010 - Chun Yang, Biology
    2009 - Laura Bermingham, Biology

Past Thomas J. Votta Scholarship Recipients:

    2024 - Meg Fay, Master of Science Program in Civil and Environmental Engineering
    2023 - Daniel Pratson, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
    2022 - Liza Morse, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
    2022 - Taylor Smith, Sustainable Innovation, Grossman School of Business
    2021 - Elizabeth Duffy, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
    2020 - Taran Catania, Sustainable Innovation, Grossman School of Business
    2020 - Kristin Raub, Gund Graduate Fellow, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
    2019 - Joseph Ament, Gund Graduate Fellow, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
    2018 - Bonnie Reese, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources   
    2017 - Jack Reed, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences   
    2016 - Courtney Hammond Wagner, Rubenstein School of Natural Resources
    2015 - Samnuel Parker, Rubenstein School of Natural Resources
    2014 - Chester Harvey, Rubenstein School of Natural Resources
    2014 - Laura Yayac, Field Naturalist and Ecological Planning
    2012 - Julie Nash, Rubenstein School of Natural Resources