In the Fall of 2009, the Graduate School first announced that it would recognize the achievements of outstanding doctoral students by creating the Auburn University Graduate School Distinguished Dissertation Awards.  For 2011, nominations were solicited from the colleges and schools in two categories: Biological/Life Sciences and Humanities/Fine Arts. 

Two special awards committees, made up of graduate faculty members with established records in these disciplinary areas reviewed nominations and selected four winners, three from Biological/Life Sciences and one from Humanities/Fine Arts.  The Graduate School is now pleased to announce the winners.

Biological/Life Sciences

George Matusick (Forestry and Wildlife Sciences): “Pathogenicity and virulence of root-inhabiting ophiostomatoid fungi on pinus species of the Southeastern United States.”  Advisors: Lori G. Eckhardt (chair), Scott Eneback, Katheryn Lawrence.

Larissa C. Parsley (Biological Sciences): “Discovery and Characterization of Novel Antibiotic Synthesis and Resistence Determinants from Diverse Microbial Metagenomes.”  Advisor: Mark R. Liles.

Wei Ren (Forestry and Wildlife Sciences): “Effects of Ozone Pollution and Climate Variability/Change on Spatial and Temporary Patterns of Terrestrial Primary Productivity and Carbon Storage in China.”  Advisor: Hanqin Tian (chair).

Humanities/Fine Arts

Amie Christine Seidman (English): “‘Fellowship of sense with all that breathes’: Eighteenth-Century Women Poets, War and the Environment.”  Advisor: Paula Backscheider (chair)

From among these award-winners, the awards committees selected one nominee from each category to compete for a national Distinguished Dissertation Award, sponsored by the Council of Graduate Schools and UMI Dissertations Publishing.  This special recognition goes to Amie Seidman and Larissa C. Parsley.

Winners of Distinguished Dissertation awards receive an honorarium of $500 and a certificate of citation, to be presented at the Graduate School’s annual award ceremony.

The fields of competition for 2012 will be Mathematics/Physical Sciences/Engineering and Social Sciences.  The Graduate School will again solicit nominations for these awards in Fall 2011.