Kennesaw State University

Congratulations to the nine College of Science and Mathematics (CSM) Outstanding Graduating Student Award recipients! These students were honored in a virtual ceremony on Wednesday, May 12, 2021. The 2020-2021 CSM Outstanding Graduating Students are: M.S. in Chemical Sciences: Alvaro Calderon B.S. in Biochemistry: Conner Casterline B.S. in Biochemistry: Robert Cronin B.S. in Environmental Science: Derek McNutt B.S. in Computational and Applied Mathematics: Sarah Kim B.S. in Mathematics: Miles Corn M.S. in Integrative Biology: Ashley McDonald B.S. in Biology: Carrie Lyn Barron B.S. in Physics: Gracyn Jewett Each year, department faculty in the College of Science and Mathematics choose one outstanding graduating student per academic degree program. Outstanding students are selected based on notable achievements within their major, including having earned an exceptional GPA, as well as in extracurricular, research or professional activities.

KENNESAW, Ga. (May 12, 2021) - Kennesaw State University senior Trae Dunn has been named a recipient of the Georgia Board of Regents 2021 Academic Recognition Award. The Board bestowed the honor on one student from each of its 26 colleges and universities for classroom academic achievements. Dunn, of Alpharetta, Georgia, is a biology major with a 4.0 grade-point average.

Artis Trice, a Kennesaw State University geography student, was named a 2019 Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact, a Boston-based nonprofit working to advance the public purposes of higher education. Trice was among 264 college students named this year and the only one from Kennesaw State. The Newman Civic Fellowship is a one-year experience emphasizing personal, professional and civic growth. Through the fellowship, Campus Compact provides a variety of learning and networking opportunities, including a national conference of Newman Civic Fellows in partnership with the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.

Kennesaw State University engineering student Danica Roberts has been selected for a competitive National Science Foundation Travel Grant, allowing her to attend the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Vehicular Networking Conference in December in Taipei, Taiwan.

Kennesaw State University's College of Science and Mathematics (CSM) officially recognized as one of the 10 new Birla Carbon Scholars, during the event's fifth annual symposium.

Ida Lee Spence, a first-generation Kennesaw State University senior, has been named a recipient of the Georgia Board of Regents 2018 Academic Recognition Award. The Board bestowed the honor on one student from each of its colleges and universities for classroom academic achievements. Spence of Dallas, Ga., is a math major with a 3.97 grade point average.

Kennesaw State University's Honors College recognized Alice Barry as the top student in its President's Emerging Global Scholars (PEGS) program at a banquet on Feb. 19.

Students in Kennesaw State's College of Computing and Software Engineering recently demonstrated their talent, creativity and ability to put what they've learned in the classroom into practice during the biannual Computing Showcase, also called C-Day. The culminating event, presented at the end of the fall semester, attracted dozens of student projects which were then judged by 18 industry professionals in five categories. Graduating students displayed their posters, video games and prototypes that highlighted their experiences within internships, team projects, research endeavors, and capstone and thesis work. More than 40 undergraduate and graduate students were honored with first, second and third place honors in five categories. A full list of award recipients can be found at http://ccse.kennesaw.edu/computing-showcase/computing-showcase.php

Kennesaw State University's Honors College celebrated its first- and second-year students in the President's Emerging Global Scholars (PEGS) program at a banquet on Feb. 19. PEGS is an elite cohort within the Honors College that challenges its students to grow as leaders and accelerates their personal, professional and academic development. The students were honored for their academic accomplishments and community service, with the second-year students receiving pins recognizing their completion of the program.

Kennesaw State University hosted a mini-conference as part of its fifth annual KSU R Day, a regional meeting for the analytics and "R" community that links the statistics program at KSU with businesses and organizations that use analytics and statistics. "R" refers to the popular open-source statistical software used by many organizations around the world. More than 240 people, including guests from 45 companies and four other universities, attended the popular event that showcased the projects of 45 undergraduate and graduate statistics students, and honored 11 of those students for academic achievement.

Valerie Washington, a Systems and Industrial Engineering major, has won the Outstanding Honors Senior award. The award recognizes a student from each campus who exemplifies the highest ideals of the University Honors Program. In addition to noteworthy achievement in the classroom, completion of honors coursework and a fully-approved capstone proposal, finalists for the award must have substantive scholarly, creative or service-related accomplishments shared with publics beyond the classroom. From 21 student nominations and applications, one winner is named from each campus. She has plans to attend graduate school after graduation. She has demonstrated her excellence in all the engineering courses by securing good grades throughout her undergraduate career. She has been active within the campus community through membership in the Society of Women Engineers and being the founding president of Student Division of the International Council on Systems Engineering. In 2016, Valerie was named Engineering Student of the Year for the state of Georgia by the Georgia Society of Professional Engineers. Valerie has published two pieces in collaboration with faculty and has presented at at least seven conferences in her academic career. She has been accepted to two PhD programs: Georgia Tech's Industrial Engineering program and the University of Michigan's Industrial and Operations Engineering program. Valerie's capstone supervisor is Dr. Adeel Khalid. Adeel Khlaid had the following to say about Valerie: "Valerie has been my student for over two years and has taken several courses with me. Valerie has shown keen interest in the subject matter from the very beginning. She has demonstrated in the courses that I have taught that she can not only handle the upper level engineering course work efficiently but also excel in any course material presented to her. She shows interest in learning and performing well in class. She demonstrates similar enthusiasm in other advanced courses and projects. In the senior design project, she is optimizing the bus routes for the Kennesaw State transportation system (BOB). She set the bar high and is the student that I compare other students to to determine their performance level. I am impressed by her willingness to work above and beyond what is required from her. I find her ready to take on challenges. She has demonstrated her excellence in all the engineering courses by securing good grades throughout her undergraduate career. Given her strong work ethic and zeal, I am confident that she will do very well in graduate school and be an asset to any organization she becomes a part of."

Christopher Roper, a mechanical engineering and physics major, recently earned third place at the National Society of Black Engineers Technical Research Exhibition in Kansas City, Missouri.