University of South Florida

Outstanding Thesis & Dissertation Awards

Overview

The Outstanding Thesis/Dissertation (OTD) Awards are intended to recognize those USF graduates who have demonstrated exceptional performance during their graduate careers at USF and whose thesis or dissertation has resulted in significant impact to the discipline at the National level.  Theses and Dissertations submitted for these awards should represent those that are considered to be in the top 2% of their specific discipline.  It is the intention of the Graduate School to submit the award winners to National OTD competitions, and the application materials reflect those that are required by these competitions. 

Eligibility

All USF graduates who submitted an approved thesis or dissertation during the Fall 2008, Spring 2009, or Summer 2009 semesters is eligible to apply for the OTD awards.  However, theses and dissertations submitted for these awards should represent those that are considered to be in the top 2% of their specific discipline and have resulted in “creative works” that were derived from the thesis/dissertation research. 

Application Process

The applicant is not required to submit the thesis/dissertation as these documents are already in the Graduate School.  However, the application must submit an application for this award with all the required documents.  Interested students should work closely with their major professor on the application package and fully read and understand the instructions.  The deadline for submission is 5:00 p.m. Friday, September 18th.  Incomplete packages will be returned without review.

Download 2009 OTD Application


Previous Winners

 

• Luca Lai, Ph.D., Applied Anthropology
“The Interplay of Economics, Climatic and Cultural Change Investigated Through Isotopic Analyses of Bone Tissue: The Case of Sardinia 4000-1900 BC” Major Professor, Robert H. Tykot, Ph.D.


• Upavan Gupta, Ph.D., Computer Science and Engineering
“Utilitarian Approaches for Multi-Metric Optimization in VLSI Circuit Design and Spatial Cluster “ Major Professor, Nagarajan Ranganathan, Ph.D.


•  Shayam Aravamudhan, Ph.D., Electrical Engineering
“Development of Micro/Nanosensor Elements and Packaging Techniques for Oceanography” Major Professor, Shekhar Bhansali, Ph.D.


•  Rebecca Kinkade Davis, Ph.D., Cancer Biology – Oncologic Sciences “Rb-Raf-1 Interaction as a Therapeutic Target for Proliferative Disorders”  Major Professors, Srikumar Chellappan, Ph.D.
 
Please join the Graduate School in congratulating these scholars on their high academic achievement.