Awards & Honors

National Awards

Clare Boothe Luce Scholarship 

The Clare Boothe Luce Program stands alone as the single most significant source of private support for women in science, engineering and mathematics. Clare Boothe Luce, the widow of Henry R. Luce, was a playwright, journalist, U.S. Ambassador to Italy, and the first woman elected to Congress from Connecticut. She appreciated, however, that many women face obstacles in their chosen professions. In her magnificent bequest establishing this program, she sought “to encourage women to enter, study, graduate, and teach” in the sciences (including mathematics) and engineering. 

  • Anna Bennett, 2010-2012
  • Jean Tsai, 2007-2009
  • Jana Watson, 2000-2002

NSF Pre-doctoral Fellowship 

The longest running education program offered by the National Science Foundation is the Graduate Research Fellowship, which provides funds and national recognition to university students working toward careers in science or engineering. 

  • Amy Battocletti, 2014
  • Catherine Depeine, 2012
  • Christopher Drummond, 2001
  • Brooke Sargent, 2001 
  • Eric Patterson, Honorable Mention, 2009
  • Doug Blackiston, Honorable Mention, 2004
  • Colleen Walls, Honorable Mention, 2004
  • David Chaves, Honorable Mention, 2002

NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant

The National Science Foundation funds graduate work towards the Ph.D. degree through its Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant. 

  • Deborah O’Donnell, 2008 for her project “Effects of vector population structure on immune function and pathogen susceptibility”
Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award

Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards are awarded for doctoral-level training to promising applicants with the potential to become productive, independent investigators.

  • Hilary North received this award for her study of “EphA4/ephrin-B1 signaling in cortical progenitor proliferation”

  • Chris Williams received this award from the NIH for 3 years of support to study “The Analysis of Sense and Antisense Transcripts During the Giardia lamblia Lifecycle”

Society Recognition

Research societies often recognize achievement by students during National and International meetings.

  • Megan Wallen won an award from the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic Marine Mammal Symposium for the best Ph.D. Student Talk in March 2014. 
  • Divya Uma was awarded the Murray F. Buell award for the outstanding oral paper presented at the 2009 Ecological Society of America’s annual meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
  • Eric Patterson received the Animal Behavior Society Cetacean Behavior and Conservation Award in 2008.
  • Eric Patterson was awarded the American Society of Mammologists Grant in Aid of Research in 2008.
  • Jennifer Urbanski won the President’s Prize for the best student presentation at the 2007 annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America in San Diego, California.
  • The Best Poster Award was given to Heather Mallory at the 2006 Entomological Society of America annual meeting for her poster “Learning across development in the praying mantis”.
  • Giny Fouda received the Young Investigator Award at the 4th annual Pan-African Malaria Meeting in November of 2005.

Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society

The Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement and promotes diversity and excellence in doctoral education and the professoriate. The Bouchet Society seeks to develop a network of preeminent scholars who exemplify academic and personal excellence, foster environments of support, serve as examples of scholarship, leadership, character, service, and advocacy for students who have been traditionally underrepresented in the academy.

  • Crystal Rogers was selected as a charter member of the Georgetown University chapter in March 2008.

Foundation Awards

Research foundations and societies provide funds to support outstanding research by graduate students in many disciplines.   

  • A research grant from the Lerner-Gray Fund for Marine Research (part of the American Museum of Natural History) was presented to Ewa Krzyszczyk in 2012 for her project titled, “Can a new non-invasive collection technique, blow sampling, improve our understanding of cetacean endocrinology?”
  • A Bearman Foundation/National Aquarium Blow-sampling Grant was awarded to Eric Patterson as a co-investigator in 2010.
  • An Explorers Club Exploration Fund Grant was awarded to Eric Patterson in 2010.
  • The National Geographic Young Explorers Grant was awarded to Eric Patterson for 2009-2010.
  • A 2008 Exploration and Field Research Grant was awarded to Maggie Stanton from the Washington Chapter of the Explorers Club; this will enable her to conduct research on dolphins in Shark Bay, Australia. 
  • The Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research Award was given to Divya Uma in 2006 for her project titled “A web of intrigue: factors influencing prey preferences of spider-hunting wasps “.  
  • The Center for Brain-Basis of Cognition awarded Heather Mallory a research award (April 2007).
  • The Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research Award was given to Smilja Teodorovic for her project titled “Investigation of sterile transcripts in Giardia lamblia“.  
  • American Society of Mammalogists presented its Grant-in-aid of Research Award (2003) to Quincy Gibson.
  • Rebecca Mitsch and Quincy Gibson both received awards from the Graduate School in April 2003 for Innovative Research.
  • Cetacean Behavior and Conservation Award given to Brooke Sargeant  from the Animal Behavior Society (September 2002)
  • The Research Award given to Quincy Gibson from the Animal Behavior Society (September 2002).
  • The Sigma Xi Research Award was given to Jana Watson (September 2002).  Sigma Xi is the Scientific Research Society bridging all scientific disciplines. 
  • Research Award given to Jennifer Pettis from the Office of Naval Research as one Co-Principal Investigator (2002).
  • National Geographic Society Research Grant Award given to Jana Watson with Dr. Janet Mann as Principal Investigator, 2002.

University Awards

Harold N. Glassman Dissertation Award

The Harold N. Glassman Dissertation Awards are intended to honor truly distinguished dissertations in the sciences, social sciences and humanities – one award is available in each of the three broad disciplinary areas.  The awards will be given for truly distinguished scholarship only and should be seen as significant honors.  The tangible prize consists of a certificate and a cash award. More significant, though, is the respect given the dissertation by the dissertator’s mentor, committee and the senior faculty who reviewed the dissertation.

  • 2007 – Christopher Drummond, for his dissertation entitled “Phylogenetic relationship, mating systems and population structure in Lupinus (Leguminosae)“
  • 2006 – Jana Watson-Capps, for her dissertation entitled “Female mating behavior in the context of sexual coercion and female ranging behavior of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.) in Shark Bay, Western Australia“
  • 2005 – Amorsolo (J.R.) Suguitan, for his dissertation entitled “Identification of factors that increase the risk of pre-term delivery in women infected with Plasmodium falciparum”

ARCS Fellowship

The Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation Fellowship Award is given for outstanding achievement and dedication to the study of science.

  • Theodore (Trey) Picou, ARCS Fellowship, 2012-2013
  • Eric Patterson, ARCS Fellowship, 2009-2012
  • Amanda Munson, ARCS Fellowship, 2002-2003
  • Maryam Farzad, ARCS Fellowship, 1999-2000
  • Kris Bough, ARCS Fellowship, 1998-1999
  • Michael Hickey, ARCS Fellowship, 1997-1998

University Fellows

  • Maggie Stanton, 2006-2010
  • Colleen Walls, 2003-2008
  • Quincy Gibson, 2001-2005
  • Christopher Drummond, 2000-2004
  • Jana Watson, 2000-2004

Healy Fellow

  • Christopher Williams, 2006

Georgetown University Student Research Day Award

The purpose of Student Research Days is to showcase the scientific research efforts of students and postdoctoral fellows at Georgetown University. 

  • 2011 – Meredith Clifford, first place (Donoghue laboratory) 
  • 2004 – Laura Gehl, honorable mention  (Neale laboratory)
  • 2003 – Maryam Farzad, first place  (Elmendorf laboratory)
Georgetown University Center for the Environment Grant
  • Eric Patterson, 2009-2011

Department Awards 

Outstanding Graduate Student Award

  • Elizabeth Steidle, 2015-2016
  • Megan Wallen, 2015-2016
  • Xin Huang, 2014- 2015 
  • Jean Tsai, 2013-2014
  • Ewa Krzysczcyk, 2012-2013
  • Eric Patterson, 2011-2012
  • Aaron Howard, Margaret Stanton, and Christopher Williams, 2010-2011
  • Heather Mallory and Jennifer Urbanski, 2009-2010
  • Divya Bellur Uma, 2008-2009
  • Crystal Darlene Rogers, 2007-2008
  • Doug Blackiston, 2006-2007
  • Brooke Sargeant, 2005-2006
  • Dan Kjar, 2004-2005
  • Amorsolo (J.R.) Suguitan, 2003-2004
  • Maryam Farzad, 2002-2003