Awards

CEE recognizes the scholarly excellence and achievement of graduate students each year with a Best Doctoral Research Award and Best Masters Research Award. Students must be nominated by their research advisors and have a minimum graduate GPA of 3.5. Each advisor may nominate no more than one graduate student for each award.

Graduate student in the environmental engineering lab

CEE winners recieve a plaque and cash award—$250 for the master's award and $500 for the doctoral. They will also be nominated for the Clark School competition, where they will be evaluated by a college-wide committee along with other senior researchers in the local area. The winners at the college level will win an additional cash award and plaque.

Apply today

Deadline: May 17, 2023 by 5:00pm

For consideration, submit the following to ceegradstudies@umd.edu.
1. A single PDF file (not to exceed 14 pages) containing:

Two-page curriculum vitae
One-page abstract of master or doctoral research
One scholarly research written sample (not to exceed 10 pages)
One-page list of research awards/accomplishments (e.g. best paper awards, graduate fellowships, patents, etc.)

2. A single video file or link for a 10-minute presentation in which the student discusses his or her research. One recommended way to do this is to use Zoom and record a voice-over while sharing a slide deck.
3. A separate PDF file containing an advisor endorsement/nomination letter indicating the student’s main contributions to his or her field of research. The letter should also confirm that the student is graduating in the calendar year 2023 and has a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

Judging Criteria

Oral presentation (40%)

The 2023 competition will be completely virtual, so each nomination should also include a single video file or link for a 10-minute presentation in which the student discusses his or her research. These presentations, along with students’ scholarly writings, will be judged based on:

Technical content
Importance to the field
Style and clarity
Completeness

Scholarly writings (40%)

Nominated students should provide a writing sample from the following:

Published or submitted conference or archival journal manuscripts describing work that forms the basis of the student's M.S. research for which the student is the primary author
M.S. scholarly paper
A summary of the M.S. thesis
The M.S. thesis

Writing sample will be judged based on:

Technical content
Importance to the field
Style and clarity
Completeness

Awards and accomplishments (20%)

Emphasis will be placed on awards and accomplishments that are the results of the student’s graduate research. The student may provide additional evidence of scholarly accomplishment as below:

List of publications
List of awards and fellowships
Evidence of GPA via an informal transcript

Oral presentation (40%)

Technical content
Importance to the field
Style and clarity
Completeness

Scholarly writings (40%)

Nominated students should provide a writing sample from the following:

Published or submitted conference or archival journal manuscripts describing work that forms the basis of the student's M.S. research for which the student is the primary author
Doctoral research
Sample of the dissertation

Writing sample will be judged based on:

Technical content
Importance to the field
Style and clarity
Completeness

Awards and accomplishments (20%)

Emphasis will be placed on awards and accomplishments that are the results of the student’s graduate research. The student may provide additional evidence of scholarly accomplishment as below:

List of publications
List of awards and fellowships
Evidence of GPA via an informal transcript

2022 Ph.D. Winner

Erica Forgione received the Best Doctoral Research Award for her dissertation, Nutrient Movement in a Vegetative Compost Blanket Amending a Vegetative Filter Strip on a Highway Slope. Her research examined the effects of using a blanket on compost on highway medians to soak up and clean stormwater runoff. Her thesis advisors were Professors Ahmet Aydilek and Allen Davis.

2022 M.S. Winner

Amanda O’Shaughnessy received the Best Master’s Research Award for her thesis, When Roads Want to be Dams: Looking to Dam Safety to Regulate Transportation. Her research looked at using elements of dam safety on road embankments. Her thesis advisors were Professors Ahmet Aydilek and Allen Davis.

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