best phd thesis award india 2021

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Dr Balaga Mohana Rao receives Best PhD Thesis award from IIT Bombay

The financial crises have enthused a huge theoretical and empirical debate in current times due to their recurrent nature in the history of economics. To highlight the importance of an economic crisis among various sections, Kaminsky et al. (1998) quote Kindleberger (1978) saying that academics are interested in a crisis as they have had a history of fascination for the crises, policymakers are interested because they want to prevent the crisis, and financial market participants are interested as they can make money out of it. The financial crises can be divided into two broad categories—currency and sudden stop crises, and debt and banking crises. The currency crises have not only swept away Argentina (2001), Brazil (1998–1999), Latin America (the 1980s), Russia (1998), Southeast Asia (1997) and UK (1992) (to name a few) but they also have caused serious economic adversities to India and BRICS in the recent past. A currency crisis encompasses one of the following four features or a combination of them owing to a speculative attack—both successful and unsuccessful attacks—on a currency: A sharp depreciation of a currency (possibly followed by devaluation) and/or huge depletion of foreign exchange reserves or an increase in interest rates by the central bank or imposing restrictions on capital flows. In this context, Dr Balaga Mohana Rao’s thesis focuses on developing an early warning system to identify the impending crises, finding the common determinants of currency crises and the aftermath effects on macroeconomic indicators.

“One may wonder why the crisis should be prevented or mitigated. The reason is that a full-blown crisis will not be just confined to the foreign exchange market or some other segment, but it will affect the whole economy” Dr Balaga said. He plans to extend his PhD work on Currency Crises and see it in the context of the International Price System.

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Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering

Indian institute of technology guwahati, best thesis award nomination.

The award is defined as honouring the best PhD thesis defended successfully on/before the deadline declared by the Academic Section in an academic year.

Eligibility Criteria

• A candidate should have a good academic standing (no backlog in the course work; no repeat in Comprehensive Examination and State-of-the-Art Seminar) and should not have violated any code and conduct of students.
• The student submitting nomination should have successfully completed the Viva-Voce Examination of the Doctoral Thesis.
• The student should have completed all graduating requirements of the degree after the 22nd convocation.
•  Other eligibility conditions as prescribed by the concerned Department/Center and approved by the Chairman, Senate.

Nomination Process

Click here to apply

Last Date of receiving online application: 05.06.2021

For M.Tech.

The award is defined as honouring the best M.Tech thesis defended successfully on/before the deadline declared by the Academic Section in an academic year.

• The candidate should have a good academic standing (no backlog in the program) and should not have violated any code and conduct of students.
• The student submitting nomination should have successfully completed the Viva-Voce Examination of the Master Thesis/ Project Work (Final Phase).

For any information please email to: [email protected]

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ISA Best Ph.D. Thesis Award

This award was instituted in 1991 to motivate high quality fundamental and applied research amongst Ph.D. scholars in India in the field of Agronomy. This is an annual award open to all Indian students in the field of Agronomy. Only those theses are considered for this Award for which final viva-voce is completed by 31st December of the year for which the award is applied.  The award carries a citation and cash prize of Rs.10,000/-.

Research workers in the field of Agronomy interested to apply for this Award are required to send their applications through proper channel along with a copy of thesis submitted by them for their Ph.D. degree in Agronomy, together with 6 copies of synopsis, highlighting the significance of research. The nomination should be accompanied by a certificate from the concerned Head of the Department that the research work of the candidate has been a significant factor in obtaining the data presented in the thesis leading to the conferment of Ph.D. degree in Agronomy.

All the nominations together with appropriate certificates should be sent to Secretary, Indian Society of Agronomy through the concerned Head of Department by the notified date to be announced while inviting nominations.

All the theses submitted would be judged by a panel of judges appointed by Executive committee. The Executive Committee, whose decision is final, shall approve the report of the judges. The candidate whose work is judged to be the best will be awarded a citation and Rs.10,000/- as cash at the General Body Meeting of the Society. The recipient of the award is expected to deliver an illustrated talk based on his significant research work submitted for the award.

TA/DA as admissible shall be paid to recipient of the award for his journey from his place of work to the place where biennial meeting is being held, in the case the recipient fails to get the same from his organization.

Recipients of ISA Best Ph.D. Thesis Award

Recipients of ISA Best M.Sc. Thesis Award

ESI- BEST Ph.D. THESIS AWARD 2022

ESI- BEST Ph.D. THESIS AWARD-2022

Nominations from members/life members are invited for ESI Best PhD Thesis Award 2022 for his/her contributions in the field of Entomological Research

1.     Name of the Award

        ESI-Best Ph.D. Thesis Award for Outstanding Ph.D. Thesis Research in Entomology.

2.     Sponsor

         The Entomological Society of India, New Delhi.

3.   Objectives of the Award

-   To provide recognition to outstanding original research done by Ph.D. degree students

-   To provide incentive for enhancing the quality of Ph.D. thesis research

-   To promote high quality Ph.D. thesis research in emerging priority areas

4.  Nature of the Award

This award is meant exclusively for Ph.D. thesis related to entomological sciences from any Indian University.  A total of three awards will be given and each award consists of Rs. 5,000 (Rupees five thousand only) in cash plus a citation.

5.    Eligibility

v   Any Indian who has completed Ph.D. in Entomology with thesis work focused on insect/mites/ other non-insect pests excluding nematodes and must be a   member or life member of the society.

V   the certificate of the degree/provisional degree must be dated between 1 st  july 2021 to 30 th  june, 2022. those who got best ph.d. thesis awards already in any such competition are not eligible, and a declaration to this effect in the application is required., v   the research work must be original., v   the results obtained must have the potential of enhancing the knowledge in the frontier areas., v   must have published/accepted at least two good research papers in a journal having naas rating of 6 and above (2023 naas rating). these must be relevant to the objectives of the ph.d. thesis. .

6.    Administration of the Award 

          There shall be a Judging Committee consisting of three independent members, with the President of the Society as chairperson. Wherever deemed necessary the Judging Committee may identify a panel of experts to assist it in the evaluation of the applications. Taking into consideration the evaluation by the experts the Judging Committee shall evaluate the theses and make recommendations to the President of the Society.

7.     Evaluation Criteria with Weightage

7.1     Conceptual clarity and coherence of the research problem (10)

7.2     Scientific, technological and socio-economic relevance and priority of the research problem (10)

7.3     Compilation, analysis and interpretation of existing literature, quality of illustrations and photographs (5)

7.4     Organization of research work.  Complementarity of the various experiments and investigations and their integration into a logical plan of work (10)

7.5     Conduct of the research programmes: Scientific soundness and technological modernity of the experimental methods and logical planning (10)

7.6     Scientific validity and accuracy of the analysis of experimental data (10)

7.7     Principal findings: To what extent do they meet the objectives of the research programme (10)

7.8     In what way the findings constitute a significant advance in our knowledge and understanding (10)

7.9     Research papers published and their quality as judged by the NAAS rating (20)

7.10   Patent/s copyrights applied and accepted (5)

8.   Procedure

Applications made in the prescribed form which will be available from the ESI website. The Judging Committee will screen the applications, identify outstanding entries, and make recommendations to the Society along with the draft citations. The final decision on the award (in the absence of suitable outstanding theses) rests with the President of Society.

Complete nominations are to be submitted through email in a single PDF (not more than 50 pages) including application form with all enclosures by email: [email protected] (hardcopy will not be entertained) on or before 11.59 PM of the 31 July 2023 . No correspondence will be entertained in this regard.

9.    Presentation

The presentation of the award will be made at any official event of the Society and will be informed to the awardees. The awardee would give a presentation on the achievements of his work to the audience consisting of eminent scientists. 

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NATIONAL AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN ARCHITECTURAL THESIS 2020

The Council of Architecture, with a view to encourage and motivate the students of Graduate Courses in Architecture has instituted a National Awards for Excellence in Architectural Thesis, submitted in compliance to the requirements of the bachelor’s degree program in Architecture and invites students to participate in this prestigious competition by submitting their thesis projects in accordance with the conditions and instructions.  

The term Student' shall mean a bonafide student of a College of Architecture, who has appeared for Final Year B. Arch. Examination at the end of the academic year. Each thesis project must be submitted by the head of the institute/ principal of the college, with consent from the student. Each college/school of architecture approved by the Council of Architecture may send entries as per the rules depending upon the sanctioned intake, for the Final Year B. Arch. examination at the end of the academic year. No blood relative of any member of the Board of Assessors shall take part either directly or indirectly in the awards program nor be entrusted either directly or indirectly with work connected with the award-winning thesis. No member of the promoting body or an associate an employee or any member concerned with the preparation or organizing of the competition shall be eligible to assist a student participating in the program

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Jawaharlal Nehru Award

Category name: agriculture, foundation year of award: 1969, award features: cash prize rs. 20000citation, award periodicity: annual, award recipient category: individual(m/f), announcement time: awards selection well in advance of the annual general meeting of the, objective: to provide incentive for enhancing the quality of doctoral thesis research. to provide recognition to outstanding research done by doctoral degree students. to promote high quality doctoral thesis in emerging areas of agriculture and allied sciences, criteria: all post-graduate students who have obtained the ph.d. degree during the year preceding the year of the award shall be eligible for the awards. for notable and original research in the field of agriculture/animal sciences and not for routine investigations., international:(country/ brain gain): national.

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AcSIR Best Ph.D. Thesis Award.

Ph.D. students, who have been awarded their Ph.D. degree from AcSIR during the period  January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023 , are eligible to apply for AcSIR Best Ph.D. Thesis Award.

These awards which consists of a citation and a cash prize, will be awarded in all the five faculty disciplines.

The students, who wish to apply for these awards, must send their completed  application form  strictly in the attached word format (do not send PDF) along with copies of all  publications, patents/technology transfer/copyright   emanating only from the Ph.D. thesis-work , Thesis abstract  and  soft copy of their signed thesis  electronically to  [email protected]  not later  than April 10, 2024.

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Indian National Young Academy of Science

Indian National Young Academy of Sciences (INYAS) is happy to launch its second edition of national awards for research excellence. These awards are constituted by individual contributions from INYAS members/alumni and/or industry. This year we have awards in two additional categories, making a total of 5 awards across various fields.

INYAS member gets the Indian Medical Association Academic Excellence Award

Dr. Paramdeep Singh, our esteemed member and Additional Professor at AIIMS Bathinda, has been honored with the “IMA National Young

INYAS Members selected for the “STI Capacity Building Programme for Female Entrepreneurs and Researchers to Promote the Bio-Circular-Green Model” to be held in August 2023 in Thailand

INYAS congratulates its members, Dr. Sriparna Chatterjee, Dr. Jiban Jyoti Panda and Dr. Rohini Garg for being selected for the

Winners of ‘SARANSH – 22: Thesis Presentation Competition.’

Indian National Young Academy of Sciences feels ecstatic to announce the winners of ‘SARANSH – 22: Thesis Presentation Competition.’ After

INYAS Awards 2022

INYAS National Awards for Research Excellence 2022 For the year 2022, the INYAS research excellence awards are announced in 5

INYAS Awards 2021: Results

INYAS National Awards for Research Excellence 2021- Results     Best Research in Natural Nanofibers with Societal Impact Best PhD

INYAS Awards 2021

Indian National Young Academy of Sciences (INYAS) is happy to launch for the first time – the awards for research

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News Roundup Spring 2024

CEGE Spring Graduation Celebration and Order of the Engineer

Forty-seven graduates of the undergraduate and grad student programs (pictured above) in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering took part in the Order of the Engineer on graduation day. Distinguished Speakers at this departmental event included Katrina Kessler (MS EnvE 2021), Commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and student Brian Balquist. Following this event, students participated in the college-wide Commencement Ceremony at 3M Arena at Mariucci. 

UNIVERSITY & DEPARTMENT

The University of Minnesota’s Crookston, Duluth, and Rochester campuses have been awarded the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement, joining the Twin Cities (2006, 2015) and Morris campuses (2015), and making the U of M the country’s first and only university system at which every individual campus has received this selective designation. Only 368 from nearly 4,000 qualifying U.S. universities and colleges have been granted this designation.

CEGE contributed strongly to the College of Science and Engineering’s efforts toward sustainability research. CEGE researchers are bringing in over $35 million in funded research to study carbon mineralization, nature and urban areas, circularity of water resources, and global snowfall patterns. This news was highlighted in the Fall 2023 issue of  Inventing Tomorrow  (pages 10-11). https://issuu.com/inventingtomorrow/docs/fall_2023_inventing_tomorrow-web

CEGE’s new program for a one-year master’s degree in structural engineering is now accepting applicants for Fall 2024. We owe a big thanks to DAN MURPHY and LAURA AMUNDSON for their volunteer work to help curate the program with Professor JIA-LIANG LE and EBRAHIM SHEMSHADIAN, the program director. Potential students and companies interested in hosting a summer intern can contact Ebrahim Shemshadian ( [email protected] ).

BERNIE BULLERT , CEGE benefactor and MN Water Research Fund founder, was profiled on the website of the University of Minnesota Foundation (UMF). There you can read more about his mission to share clean water technologies with smaller communities in Minnesota. Many have joined Bullert in this mission. MWRF Recognizes their Generous 2024 Partners. Gold Partners: Bernie Bullert, Hawkins, Inc., Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and SL-serco. Silver Partners: ISG, Karl and Pam Streed, Kasco, Kelly Lange-Haider and Mark Haider, ME Simpson, Naeem Qureshi, Dr. Paul H. Boening, TKDA, and Waterous. Bronze Partners: Bruce R. Bullert; Brenda Lenz, Ph.D., APRN FNP-C, CNE; CDM Smith; Central States Water Environment Association (CSWEA MN); Heidi and Steve Hamilton; Jim “Bulldog” Sadler; Lisa and Del Cerney; Magney Construction; Sambatek; Shannon and John Wolkerstorfer; Stantec; and Tenon Systems.

After retiring from Baker-Tilly,  NICK DRAGISICH  (BCE 1977) has taken on a new role: City Council member in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. After earning his BCE from the University of Minnesota, Dragisich earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of St. Thomas. Dragisich retired in May from his position as managing director at Baker Tilly, where he had previously served as firm director. Prior to that, he served as assistant city manager in Spokane, Washington, was the city administrator and city engineer in Virginia, Minnesota, and was mayor of Chisholm, Minnesota—all adding up to more than 40 years of experience in local government. Dragisich was selected by a unanimous vote. His current term expires in December 2024.

PAUL F. GNIRK  (Ph.D. 1966) passed away January 29, 2024, at the age of 86. A memorial service was held Saturday, February 24, at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T), where he started and ended his teaching career, though he had many other positions, professional and voluntary. In 2018 Paul was inducted into the SDSM&T Hardrocker Hall of Fame, and in 2022, he was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame, joining his mother Adeline S. Gnirk, who had been inducted in 1987 for her work authoring nine books on the history of south central South Dakota.

ROGER M. HILL  (BCE 1957) passed away on January 13, 2024, at the age of 90. His daughter, Kelly Robinson, wrote to CEGE that Roger was “a dedicated Gopher fan until the end, and we enjoyed many football games together in recent years. Thank you for everything.”

KAUSER JAHAN  (Ph.D. 1993, advised by Walter Maier), PE, is now a civil and environmental engineering professor and department head at Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering. Jahan was awarded a 3-year (2022- 2025), $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The grant supports her project, “WaterWorks: Developing the New Generation of Workforce for Water/Wastewater Utilities,” for the development of educational tools that will expose and prepare today’s students for careers in water and wastewater utilities.

SAURA JOST  (BCE 2010, advised by Timothy LaPara) was elected to the St. Paul City Council for Ward 3. She is part of the historic group of women that make up the nation’s first all-female city council in a large city.

The 2024 ASCE Western Great Lakes Student Symposium combines several competitions for students involved in ASCE. CEGE sent a large contingent of competitors to Chicago. Each of the competition groups won awards: Ethics Paper 1st place Hans Lagerquist; Sustainable Solutions team 1st place overall in (qualifying them for the National competition in Utah in June); GeoWall 2nd place overall; Men’s Sprint for Concrete Canoe with rowers Sakthi Sundaram Saravanan and Owen McDonald 2nd place; Product Prototype for Concrete Canoe 2nd place; Steel Bridge (200 lb bridge weight) 2nd place in lightness; Scavenger Hunt 3rd place; and Aesthetics and Structural Efficiency for Steel Bridge 4th place.

Students competing on the Minnesota Environmental Engineers, Scientists, and Enthusiasts (MEESE) team earned second place in the Conference on the Environment undergraduate student design competition in November 2023. Erin Surdo is the MEESE Faculty Adviser. Pictured are NIKO DESHPANDE, ANNA RETTLER, and SYDNEY OLSON.

The CEGE CLASS OF 2023 raised money to help reduce the financial barrier for fellow students taking the Fundamentals of Engineering exam, a cost of $175 per test taker. As a result of this gift, they were able to make the exam more affordable for 15 current CEGE seniors. CEGE students who take the FE exam pass the first time at a rate well above national averages, demonstrating that CEGE does a great job of teaching engineering fundamentals. In 2023, 46 of 50 students passed the challenging exam on the first try.

This winter break, four CEGE students joined 10 other students from the College of Science and Engineering for the global seminar, Design for Life: Water in Tanzania. The students visited numerous sites in Tanzania, collected water source samples, designed rural water systems, and went on safari. Read the trip blog: http://globalblogs.cse.umn.edu/search/label/Tanzania%202024

Undergraduate Honor Student  MALIK KHADAR  (advised by Dr. Paul Capel) received honorable mention for the Computing Research Association (CRA) Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award for undergraduate students who show outstanding research potential in an area of computing research.

GRADUATE STUDENTS

AKASH BHAT  (advised by William Arnold) presented his Ph.D. defense on Friday, October 27, 2023. Bhat’s thesis is “Photolysis of fluorochemicals: Tracking fluorine, use of UV-LEDs, and computational insights.” Bhat’s work investigating the degradation of fluorinated compounds will assist in the future design of fluorinated chemicals such that persistent and/or toxic byproducts are not formed in the environment.

ETHAN BOTMEN  (advised by Bill Arnold) completed his Master of Science Final Exam February 28, 2024. His research topic was Degradation of Fluorinated Compounds by Nucleophilic Attack of Organo-fluorine Functional Groups.

XIATING CHEN , Ph.D. Candidate in Water Resources Engineering at the Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory is the recipient of the 2023 Nels Nelson Memorial Fellowship Award. Chen (advised by Xue Feng) is researching eco-hydrological functions of urban trees and other green infrastructure at both the local and watershed scale, through combined field observations and modeling approaches.

ALICE PRATES BISSO DAMBROZ  has been a Visiting Student Researcher at the University of Minnesota since last August, on a Doctoral Dissertation Research Award from Fulbright. Her CEGE advisor is Dr. Paul Capel. Dambroz is a fourth year Ph.D. student in Soil Science at Universidade Federal de Santa Maria in Brazil, where she studies with her adviser Jean Minella. Her research focuses on the hydrological monitoring of a small agricultural watershed in Southern Brazil, which is located on a transition area between volcanic and sedimentary rocks. Its topography, shallow soils, and land use make it prone to runoff and erosion processes.

Yielding to people in crosswalks should be a very pedestrian topic. Yet graduate student researchers  TIANYI LI, JOSHUA KLAVINS, TE XU, NIAZ MAHMUD ZAFRI  (Dept.of Urban and Regional Planning at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology), and Professor Raphael Stern found that drivers often do not yield to pedestrians, but they are influenced by the markings around a crosswalk. Their work was picked up by the  Minnesota Reformer.

TIANYI LI  (Ph.D. student advised by Raphael Stern) also won the Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation (DDET) Fellowship for the third time! Li (center) and Stern (right) are pictured at the Federal Highway Administration with Latoya Jones, the program manager for the DDET Fellowship.

The Three Minute Thesis Contest and the Minnesota Nice trophy has become an annual tradition in CEGE. 2023’s winner was  EHSANUR RAHMAN , a Ph.D. student advised by Boya Xiong.

GUANJU (WILLIAM) WEI , a Ph.D. student advised by Judy Yang, is the recipient of the 2023 Heinz G. Stefan Fellowship. He presented his research entitled Microfluidic Investigation of the Biofilm Growth under Dynamic Fluid Environments and received his award at the St. Anthony Falls Research Laboratory April 9. The results of Wei's research can be used in industrial, medical, and scientific fields to control biofilm growth.

BILL ARNOLD  stars in an award-winning video about prairie potholes. The Prairie Potholes Project film was made with the University of Delaware and highlights Arnold’s NSF research. The official winners of the 2024 Environmental Communications Awards Competition Grand Prize are Jon Cox and Ben Hemmings who produced and directed the film. Graduate student Marcia Pacheco (CFANS/LAAS) and Bill Arnold are the on-screen stars.

Four faculty from CEGE join the Center for Transportation Studies Faculty and Research Scholars for FY24–25:  SEONGJIN CHOI, KETSON ROBERTO MAXIMIANO DOS SANTOS, PEDRAM MORTAZAVI,  and  BENJAMIN WORSFOLD . CTS Scholars are drawn from diverse fields including engineering, planning, computer science, environmental studies, and public policy.

XUE FENG  is coauthor on an article in  Nature Reviews Earth and Environment . The authors evaluate global plant responses to changing rainfall regimes that are now characterized by fewer and larger rainfall events. A news release written at Univ. of Maryland can be found here: https://webhost.essic. umd.edu/april-showers-bring-mayflowers- but-with-drizzles-or-downpours/ A long-running series of U of M research projects aimed at improving stormwater quality are beginning to see practical application by stormwater specialists from the Twin Cities metro area and beyond. JOHN GULLIVER has been studying best practices for stormwater management for about 16 years. Lately, he has focused specifically on mitigating phosphorous contamination. His research was highlighted by the Center for Transportation Studies.

JIAQI LI, BILL ARNOLD,  and  RAYMOND HOZALSKI  published a paper on N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) precursors in Minnesota rivers. “Animal Feedlots and Domestic Wastewater Discharges are Likely Sources of N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) Precursors in Midwestern Watersheds,” Environmental Science and Technology (January 2024) doi: 10.1021/acs. est.3c09251

ALIREZA KHANI  contributed to MnDOT research on Optimizing Charging Infrastructure for Electric Trucks. Electric options for medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks (e-trucks) are still largely in development. These trucks account for a substantial percentage of transportation greenhouse gas emissions. They have greater power needs and different charging needs than personal EVs. Proactively planning for e-truck charging stations will support MnDOT in helping to achieve the state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals. This research was featured in the webinar “Electrification of the Freight System in Minnesota,” hosted by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Transportation Studies. A recording of the event is now available online.

MICHAEL LEVIN  has developed a unique course for CEGE students on Air Transportation Systems. It is the only class at UMN studying air transportation systems from an infrastructure design and management perspective. Spring 2024 saw the third offering of this course, which is offered for juniors, seniors, and graduate students.

Research Professor  SOFIA (SONIA) MOGILEVSKAYA  has been developing international connections. She visited the University of Seville, Spain, November 13–26, 2023, where she taught a short course titled “Fundamentals of Homogenization in Composites.” She also met with the graduate students to discuss collaborative research with Prof. Vladislav Mantic, from the Group of Continuum Mechanics and Structural Analysis at the University of Seville. Her visit was a part of planned activities within the DIAGONAL Consortium funded by the European Commission. CEGE UMN is a partner organization within DIAGONAL, represented by CEGE professors Mogilevskaya and Joseph Labuz. Mantic will visit CEGE summer 2024 to follow up on research developments and discuss plans for future collaboration and organization of short-term exchange visits for the graduate students from each institution. 

DAVID NEWCOMB  passed away in March. He was a professor in CEGE from 1989–99 in the area of pavement engineering. Newcomb led the research program on asphalt materials characterization. He was the technical director of Mn/ROAD pavement research facility, and he started an enduring collaboration with MnDOT that continues today. In 2000, he moved from Minnesota to become vice-president for Research and Technology at the National Asphalt Pavement Association. Later he moved to his native Texas, where he was appointed to the division head of Materials and Pavement at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, a position from which he recently retired. He will be greatly missed.

PAIGE NOVAK  won Minnesota ASCE’s 2023 Distinguished Engineer of the Year Award for her contributions to society through her engineering achievements and professional experiences.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced ten inaugural (NSF) Regional Innovation Engines awards, with a potential $1.6 billion investment nationally over the next decade. Great Lakes ReNEW is led by the Chicago-based water innovation hub,  Current,  and includes a team from the University of Minnesota, including PAIGE NOVAK. Current will receive $15 mil for the first two years, and up to $160 million over ten years to develop and grow a water-focused innovation engine in the Great Lakes region. The project’s ambitious plan is to create a decarbonized circular “blue economy” to leverage the region’s extraordinary water resources to transform the upper Midwest—Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Brewing one pint of beer generates seven pints of wastewater, on average. So what can you do with that wastewater?  PAIGE NOVAK  and her team are exploring the possibilities of capturing pollutants in wastewater and using bacteria to transform them into energy.

BOYA XIONG  has been selected as a recipient of the 2024 40 Under 40 Recognition Program by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists. The award was presented at the 2024 AAEES Awards Ceremony, April 11, 2024, at the historic Howard University in Washington, D.C. 

JUDY Q. YANG  received a McKnight Land-Grant Professorship Award. This two-year award recognizes promising assistant professors and is intended to advance the careers of individuals who have the potential to make significant contributions to their departments and their scholarly fields. 

Professor Emeritus CHARLES FAIRHURST , his son CHARLES EDWARD FAIRHURST , and his daughter MARGARET FAIRHURST DURENBERGER were on campus recently to present Department Head Paige Novak with a check for $25,000 for the Charles Fairhurst Fellowship in Earth Resources Engineering in support of graduate students studying geomechanics. The life of Charles Fairhurst through a discussion with his children is featured on the Engineering and Technology History Wiki at https://ethw.org/Oral-History:Charles_Fairhurst#00:00:14_INTRODUCTION

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