Since 2021, the SSPB Program solicits faculty and student nominations for the following SSPB graduate student awards to recognize exceptional student academic performance in and dedication to the program. Awards are given annually and recipients are recognized during each commencement season.

Graduate Student Award Recipients

SSPB Thesis Award
In recognition of an outstanding Ph.D. thesis
2025: Elena Musteata, Xiaoyu Yang
2024: Prashant Kalvapalle, Xiaoyu (Helen) Lu
2023: Lauren Gambill
2022: Kathryn Brink, Qi Wang
2021: Ilenne Del Valle Kessra

SSPB Research Award
In recognition of outstanding doctoral research as marked by a first-authored publication
2025: Biki Kundu
2024: Zachary Jansen, Sofia Vargas
2023: Xiaoyu (Helen) Lu, Shubham Tripathi
2022: Zhuo Chen, Jeannette Ingabire (COVID-19 Research), Baiyang Lu
2021: Jihwan (James) Lee, Shubham Tripathi, Qi Wang

SSPB Leadership & Service Award
In recognition of demonstrated commitment and leadership to improve the graduate student experience in the SSPB program
2025: Gayathri Prakash, Elise Zimmerman
2024: Daniel Haller, Sam Schwartz, Mitch Syberg-Olsen
2023: Wei-Hao Lee, Alex Raterink
2022: Max Hunt, Zach Jansen
2021: Matthew Carpenter, Kshitij Rai, Caleigh Roleck

SSPB Early Achievement Award
In recognition of demonstrated excellence during the first three years in the SSPB program
2025: Henry Gatica-Gutierrez, Selvalakshmi Selvaraj Anand
2024: Shirin Nouraein, Alex Raterink
2023: Matthew Dysart, Matheus Mello, Sofia Vargas
2022: Esteban Dodero Rojas
2021: Rosa Selenia Guerra Resendez