RIT Outstanding Graduate Student Achievement Award

2026 Awardees and Nominees

Awardees:

PhD Category
Nazanin Mosleh
Biomedical and Chemical Engineering PhD Program
College of Science

Master's Category
Angela Srbinovska
Computer Science
Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences

Anita Srbinovska
Computer Science
Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences

Nominees:

PhD Cateogory
Arka Dutta
Biju Varghese
Dipkamal Bhusal
Edwin Alexani
Farhan Hyder
Grant Bosworth
Huadong Zhang
Israa Thiab
Jiamian Wang
Laleh Nourian
Rahul Gulia
Sagar Lekhak
Sanzida Luna
Sujan Dutta
Vijay Sundaram
Wei He
Zi-jia Gong
Zohair Hassan

Master's Category
Alec Waight-Morabito
Ana Maria Gomez Munoz
Anisha Bhanudas Mogal
Annmarie Varghese
Daijya Robinson
Jill Smith
Nikolaus Kent
Raven Trayner
Reetu Thimmaiah
Rinky Mahajan
Robert Lin
Romiere Horace
Shane Guasteferro
Vivek Senthil

Eligibility:

• Master's or Doctoral students in good academic standing enrolled on the RIT main campus, Rochester, NY
• Master's students must have completed at least one year of their program or one semester of a one-year program, and PhD students must have passed their qualifying exam

Award Criteria:

• Exceptional Dedication: Demonstrated sustained commitment and initiative in a specific program, activity, organization, or project at RIT or the greater Rochester community and/or beyond
• Significant Impact: Made a measurable and lasting positive impact on students at RIT, individuals in the community, or their field of study
• Achievement and Recognition: Achieved academic or professional excellence beyond standard expectations, evidenced through coursework, research, awards, publications, or other accomplishments
• Engagement and Collaboration: Actively engaged with peers, faculty, and/or community members, fostering collaboration and contributing to an environment of connection and collegiality

Awards:

• An award will be presented annually in each category, accompanied by a cash prize of $500. 
• Awardees will be recognized at an awards ceremony in the spring semester.

Nomination Process:

• Nominations must be submitted by an RIT faculty or staff member using the nomination form.
• The form requires information about the nominee, their achievements, and the impact of their work.
• One letter of support from a faculty member, community member, or professional colleague is encouraged.
• The deadline for nominations is Monday, December 15, at 5:00 PM EST​​​​​​.

Selection Process:

• A committee of faculty/staff reviews nominations and selects the awardees based on the established criteria.
• Recipients will be notified by email and honored at a special ceremony.

2025 Awardees and Nominees

Awardees:

PhD Category
Ziming Li 
Computing and Information Sciences PhD Program
Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences

Master's Category
Hannah DeFelice 
Environmental Science Program
College of Science

Nominees:

Masters
Anish More
Eric Severson
Gregory Derr-Haverlach
Lou Duchin

Doctoral
Katie Malarkey
Tatchen Kum

2024 Awardees and Nominees

Awardees:

Carlos Gutierrez
Engineering PhD Program
Kate Gleason College of Engineering

Emily Kuang
Computing and Information Sciences PhD Program
Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences

Amanda Giglia
Master of Science for Teachers, Visual Arts All Grades
College of Art and Design
 

Nominees:

Masters
Deanna Moorehead
Dani Wolfe
Patty Tomanovich
Suchit Singh Nagpal
Cindy Lam
Cristin Siegel
Vaibhav Sharma
Shaneil DaSilva

Doctoral
Leah Humenuck
Maria Camila Ceballos Santa
Nastaran Naghshineh
Yvan David Hernandez-Charpak