Outstanding Thesis and Dissertation Awards

TAMPA, FL (Jan. 16, 2007) – Awards for outstanding doctoral dissertations and master’s theses were presented to six new USF graduates on Jan. 16, during ceremonies held on campus at the Contemporary Art Museum.

Thesis Award Winners

“These works of outstanding graduate scholarship demonstrate USF’s growing positive impact on a wide range of disciplines on a national and international scale,” said Brent R. Weisman, associate dean of the USF Graduate School.

2007 Outstanding Dissertation Awards went to the following Ph.D. graduates:

· Ismail Guvenc, “Towards Practical Design of Impulse Radio Ultrawideband Systems: Parameter Estimation and Adaptation, Interference Mitigation, and Performance Analysis” (Electrical Engineering/College of Engineering)

· Jung Kwak, “Predictors and Outcomes of Hospice Use among Medicare and Medicaid Dual-Eligible Nursing Home Residents in Florida: A Comparison of Non-Hispanic Blacks and Non-Hispanic Whites” (Aging Studies/College of Arts and Sciences)

· Scott Edwin Lewis, “An Evaluation of Pedagogical Reform Designed for College Chemistry Teaching with Large Classes” (Chemistry/College of Arts and Sciences)

· Christopher Mann, “Quantitative Biological Microscopy by Digital Holography” (Applied Physics/College of Arts and Sciences)

2007 Outstanding Thesis Awards went to the following Master’s graduates:

· Matthew K. Beekman, “Synthesis and Characterization of Type II Silicon and Germanium Clathrates” (Physics/College of Arts and Sciences)

· Liza Oliver, “Vision and Disease in the Napoleonic Description de l’Egypte (1809-1828): The Constraints of French Intellectual Imperialism and the Roots of Egyptian Self-Definition” (Art History/College of Visual and Performing Arts)

Provost and Senior Vice President Renu Khator, and Associate Provost for Research and Graduate Dean Delcie Durham provided opening remarks. The awards were presented by Weisman, and Roger Brindley, chair of the graduate council.

The Selection Committee for the awards: USF faculty members Weisman, chair; Kenneth Christensen (Department of Computer Science and Engineering/College of Engineering); Wade Weast (School of Music/College of Visual and Performing Arts); Ashok Kumar (Department of Mechanical Engineering/College of Engineering); and Antoinette Jackson (Department of Anthropology/College of Arts and Sciences.

The University of South Florida is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities as designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. USF received more than $310 million in research contracts and grants in the past year, and it is ranked by the National Science Foundation as one of two of the nation’s fastest growing universities in terms of federal research and development expenditures. The university has a $1.6 billion annual budget and serves 44,038 students on campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota/Manatee and Lakeland. USF is a member of the Big East Athletic Conference.

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Lara Wade
News Director
University Communication & Marketing
813-974-9060
lwade@admin.usf.edu