First Annual GRI Award Winners Announced

May 7, 2007

The HPC2 new annex lobby was filled with congratulatory expressions after Dr. David Shaw, GRI director, announced the first winners of the newly created annual GRI Awards Program. The program, a brainstorm of Dr. Lori Bruce, GRI Associate Director of Research, promises to provide an avenue in which to better recognize the outstanding research conducted by the personnel and affiliated faculty of the GRI.

The 2006-2007 academic year has been outstanding for the GRI. Some of the many successes include the NOAA-funded Northern Gulf Institute, a number of winning proposals to the NASA Applied Sciences program, and new funding lines through Oak Ridge National Laboratories. The many successes of GRI can easily be attributed to the hard work of the GRI faculty, staff, and students.

Here are the winners of the awards and the categories for each:
     Saurabh Prasad - Graduate Research Assistant of the Year
     Valentine Anantharaj - Research Associate of the Year
     John Madsen - Research Professor of the Year
     Gary Ervin - Academic Professor of the Year

Also at the ceremony, special recognition was given to a group of 13 volunteers who gave of their personal time and talent during the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The following individuals were recognized by the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists for their efforts in the rescue and relief process, which resulted in the saving of hundreds of lives:
     Bijay Shrestha
     Rodrigo A.A. Nobrega
     Sung-Jun Kim
     Preeti Mali
     Chuck O'Hara
     Josh Cheshier
     Louis Wasson
     Ryan Wersal
     Lalitha Dabbiru
     Wade Givens
     Ravi Sadasivuni
     Joby Prince
     Rita Jackson

For more information about the GRI Awards program, please contact Dr. Lori Mann Bruce.