Graduate College Dissertation Fellowships awarded to 17 doctoral candidates

Seventeen doctoral candidates at Arizona State University have been awarded Graduate College Dissertation Fellowships to complete their 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.

"These fellowships reward outstanding doctoral students who enrich their fields of study with significant research," says Andrew Webber, associate vice provost. “The award plus tuition allows them to devote full time to writing their dissertation.”

The fellows’ diverse research explores such topics as: how private and public interests can be aligned to support sustainable development; writing processes of English-as-a-second-language (ESL) learners; causes of infertility among disadvantaged socio-demographic groups; international relations and the politics of memory; a study of conversations and writing about race in a high school classroom; and cultural imperialism in Central America as seen in the events of the Filibuster War.

The seventeen new fellows for 2011-2012 are:

• Jessica Auchter, political science, School of Politics and Global Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Jocelyn Bernatchez, anthropology, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Subrata Bhowmik, English (Rhetoric, Composition and Linguistics), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Kyle Black, Spanish, School of International Letters and Cultures, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Michael Butler, biology, School of Life Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Meredith DeCosta-Smith, curriculum and instruction (English Education), Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College

• Marco Cabrera-Geserick, history, School of Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Andrew Karl, statistics, School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Jennifer Kitson, geography, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Megan Papesh, psychology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Denisse Roca Servat, justice studies, Justice and Social Inquiry, School of Social Transformation, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Brooke Schedneck, religious studies, School of Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• John Thieken, curriculum and instruction (Math Education), Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College

• YiRen Tsai, theatre(Theatre for Youth), School of Theatre & Film, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts

• Mayra Valadez, philosophy, School of Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Nicole Weller, sociology, School of Social and Family Dynamics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Mark Wood, sustainability, School of Sustainability, Global Institute of Sustainability