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Materials Design Capstone Project
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Nomination Forms

Students and post-doctoral researchers are critical to the success and advancement of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. The MSEN awards are an opportunity to recognize the outstanding contributions of dedicated students and post-doctoral researchers in our field.

For guidance in writing award nomination letters, click here. 

Selection committees may elect not to identify a winner for an award if they do not find any of the nominations to be sufficiently strong.

Nomination forms will be available for download in the spring semester.

Nominations are due on May 1, 2024, before 5 pm.

MSEN Best M.S. Thesis Award

Recognizes an MSEN student for outstanding performance in the master's degree program.

  • The recipient will receive a plaque and a cash award of $500.
  • Who is eligible: Any MSEN master's degree student who graduates during the academic year on the date of the nomination deadline.
  • Who can nominate: Any MSEN faculty member or the thesis supervisor of the MSEN student being nominated.

Download Form

MSEN Best Ph.D. Thesis Award

Recognizes an MSEN student for outstanding performance in the Ph.D. program.

  • The recipient will receive a plaque and a cash award of $500.
  • Who is eligible: Any MSEN Ph.D. student who graduates during the academic year on the date of the nomination deadline.
  • Who can nominate: Any MSEN faculty member or the thesis supervisor of the MSEN student being nominated.

Download Form

MSEN Best Paper Graduate Student Award

Recognizes an MSEN graduate student for an outstanding, peer-reviewed publication first-authored by the student while still enrolled in the graduate program. The publication must be accepted by the award application deadline, but need not yet be published.

  • The recipient will receive a plaque and a cash award of $500.
  • Who is eligible
    • Any MSEN Graduate Student (Masters or Ph.D. level)
    • First-authored publication accepted within the academic year ending on the date of the nomination deadline.
    • Students may only be nominated for one publication per year, but they may receive the award multiple times for different publications in different years.
    • Students are eligible to be nominated after they graduate, provided that the publication for which they are being nominated was submitted while the student was still enrolled in the graduate program
  • Who can nominate: Any MSEN faculty member or the thesis supervisor of the MSEN student being nominated.

Download Form

MSEN Best Paper Post-Doc Award

Recognizes a postdoctoral researcher appointed in the group of an MSEN faculty member for an outstanding, peer-reviewed publication first-authored by the postdoc while still employed in the position that supported the work. The publication must be accepted by the award application deadline, but need not yet be published.

  • The recipient will receive a plaque and a cash award of $500.
  • Who is eligible
    • Postdocs are eligible to be nominated for publications on which they are listed as the first author. To be eligible for this award, the publication must list MSEN as the postdoc's primary affiliation.
    • Postdocs may only be nominated for one publication per year, but they may receive the award multiple times for different publications in different years.
    • Postdocs are eligible to be nominated after they depart from their position at MSEN, provided that the publication for which they are being nominated was submitted while the postdoc was still employed in the position that supported the work
  • Who can nominate: Any MSEN faculty member.

Download Form

MSEN Excellence in Outreach Award

Recognizes an MSEN graduate student for community service and outreach activities.

  • The recipient will receive a plaque and a cash award of $500.
  • Who is eligible: Any MSEN graduate student.
  • Who can nominate: Any MSEN community member (student, faculty, staff, post-doc, etc.) A student may not self-nominate.

Download Form

MSEN Outstanding Teacher Award

Recognizes an MSEN graduate student for excellence in teaching.

  • The recipient will receive a plaque and a cash award of $500.
  • Who is eligible: Any MSEN graduate student who participated (as a TA or co-instructor) in teaching an officially listed class at TAMU during the academic year ending on the date of the nomination deadline.
  • Who can nominate: Any instructor of the class that the nominated student participated in teaching, any student who was enrolled in the class that the nominated student participated in teaching. A student may not self-nominate.

Download Form

MSEN Entrepreneurship Award

Recognizes an MSEN student for achievements demonstrating outstanding promise in entrepreneurship.

  • The recipient will receive a plaque and a cash award of $500.
  • Who is eligible: Any MSEN student who engages in entrepreneurial activities, such as founding a startup, licensing a patent, etc. Teams may also be nominated, provided that MSEN students make up at least 50% of the team.
  • Who can nominate: Any MSEN community member (student, faculty, staff, post-doc, etc.). A student may not self-nominate.

Download Form