Dissertation fellowships awarded to 17 grad students

The Graduate College has awarded 17 Dissertation Fellowships to support outstanding doctoral students who are in the final stages of post-candidacy doctoral work.

Fellowships are awarded across five areas: arts, humanities and social sciences; natural sciences and mathematics; engineering; professional programs and education; and interdisciplinary research.

The fellows' research varies widely across these topics. A few of their diverse research subjects include:

• anti-reflecting coatings for high efficiency solar cells

• the psychology of intentional forgetting

• international relations and security studies in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand

• new methods for biological and environmental protein fingerprinting

• archaeology of the ancestral Zuni region of Arizona and New Mexico

• struggles for justice and reconciliation in Colombia

• physiology and ecology of a Sonoran desert bird

• an assessment of aqueous environments and potential habitability of the planet Mars

Nominees must have demonstrated the ability to carry out original research at a high level, have already advanced to doctoral candidacy by February 1 of the academic year and be within one year of completion of the dissertation upon receipt of the award. For full details and eligibility, see graduate.asu.edu/dissfellowship.

"These fellowships provide students who have performed outstanding research the resources to complete their dissertation,” says Andrew Webber, associate vice provost. “The selection process was very competitive, and these students represent the very best of our Ph.D. students."

The 17 dissertation fellowships were awarded to:

• Adam M. R. de Graff, Department of Physics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Haralambos “Bobby” Fokidis, School of Life Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Nestor Bravo Goldsmith, School of Theatre and Film (Performance Studies and Theatre), Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts

• Gabriel Ignacio Gomez, School of Social Transformation (Justice & Social Inquiry), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Erica Nicole Griffin, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College

• Whitney A. Hansen, Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Judy M. Holiday, Department of English, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Mily M. Kao, School of Politics and Global Studies (Political Science), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Andrew C. Khoury, School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Philosophy), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Marcela R. Naciff, School of International Letters and Cultures (Spanish), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Xiaotun Qiu, School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering (Electrical Engineering), Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering

• Nura Patani, School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Matthew A. Peeples, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Elizabeth B. Rampe, School of Earth and Space Exploration, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Robin C. Scott, School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy (Materials Science and Engineering Program), Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering

• Sarah J. R. Staton, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Adam J. Tompkins, School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (History), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences