Outstanding Graduate Students Honored at UA

2002 Outstanding Graduate Student award recipients, left to right, David Gamble, Marcus Boccaccini, Clare Clifford, Brent Boudreaux, Geoffrey Trumbo

Recipients of UA's 2002 Outstanding Graduate Student awards are (L-R): David Gamble, Award for Excellence in Research by a Master's Student; Marcus Boccaccini, Award for Excellence in Research by a Doctoral Student; Clare Clifford, Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Doctoral Student; Brent Boudreaux, Outstanding Thesis Award; and Geoffrey Trumbo, Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Master's Student. Not pictured is Karen Boykin, recipient of the Outstanding Dissertation Award.

By Laura Medders

The University of Alabama Graduate School has announced the recipients of the 2002 Outstanding Graduate Student awards to be presented during UA Honors Week, scheduled for April 8-12. The award categories are Outstanding Dissertation, Outstanding Thesis, Outstanding Teaching by a Master's Student, Outstanding Teaching by a Doctoral Student, Outstanding Research by a Master's Student, and Outstanding Research by a Doctoral Student.

Three separate committees reviewed the nominations from the divisions for the UA graduate awards. Committees of faculty emeriti selected the thesis and dissertation winners. The Graduate Council's Committee on Teaching and Research Awards evaluated the nominations for the four awards for excellence in teaching and excellence in research.

The committees have selected the following students as recipients of the 2002 UA Graduate School awards:

Karen M. Boykin, College of Engineering, civil and environmental engineering, received the Outstanding Dissertation Award for "Effect of Fiber Additives on Gas Movement Through Soil Materials." Her adviser is Dr. Robert Griffin, Cudworth Professor of Environmental Engineering.

Dr. Boykin designed and implemented the use of an innovative experimental apparatus to allow the collection of an enormous volume of data. She developed a comprehensive matrix of materials and parameters that produced the most exhaustive study to date on the influence of fiber additives to soil materials on their gas permeability and hydraulic conductivities. Griffin said her research has the potential to make globally significant reductions in greenhouse gas forcings contributing to global warming.

Brent G. Boudreaux, College of Arts and Sciences, chemistry, received the Outstanding Thesis Award for "Site-directed Mutagenesis Study of the Phyllaoquinone Binding Site of Photosystem I in Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii." His adviser is Dr. Kevin Redding.

The mutations Boudreaux made during his research led to the unexpected discovery that the Photosystem I can make use of two alternative chains of co-factors for electron transfer. Until his research, it had been widely assumed in the field that only one of the chains was used. The nominating committee believes Boudreaux's accomplishments are unusually significant for a master's student -- especially one who has only been working as one for only a year.

Geoffrey Trumbo, College of Arts and Sciences, creative writing program, received the Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Master's Student. His teaching assignments have been among the most demanding that GTA's typically encounter, requiring painstaking one-on-one interaction and a series of detail-packed lectures. He shows exceptional talent and preparation as a teacher.

The nominating committee said students find him respectful, approachable and inspirational. A former student said Trumbo's class was her favorite because he made the class enjoyable and interesting, as well as informative.

Clare E. Clifford, College of Arts and Sciences, English, received the Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Doctoral Student. The committee who selected Clifford said she demonstrates care in articulating the goals and demands of her courses to her students.

Clifford encourages her students to go beyond their level of comfortable understanding to find a work's universal meaning. In her teacher evaluations, students commented that she was a wonderful teacher and they had learned more than they could have imagined.

David W. Gamble, College of Education, educational studies in psychology, research methodology, and counseling received the Award for Excellence in Research by a Master's Student. Gamble is committed to research that expands opportunities for people with disabilities. His goal is to promote individual choice, self-determination and the maximum integration of people with disabilities into all aspects of community life.

Gamble has five articles accepted for publication in refereed journals and currently has one manuscript under review by a refereed journal. His efforts go beyond the norm for master's students in rehabilitation counseling.

Marcus T. Boccaccini, College of Arts and Sciences, psychology, received the Award for Excellence in Research by a Doctoral Student. Boccaccini has done more than just conduct studies,; he has targeted empirical knowledge gaps in areas in which psychologists could be making an impact.

Boccaccini already has 18 articles published or in press. He has three articles being reviewed for publication, and he has presented at 11 conferences. The nominating committee said he has completed more published research and presented more refereed studies at scholarly meetings than any other graduate student they have worked with or observed.