Aashish Priye, a graduate student in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been named a Texas A&M Distinguished Graduate Student by The Association of Former Students at Texas A&M.
Priye said the award came as a pleasant surprise.
"I have thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from the stimulating interactions I had with my fellow colleagues, students and professors in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, especially my research advisor [Dr. Victor Ugaz] who has been an excellent mentor and a necessary driving force for me," said Priye.
Ugaz, the Charles D. Holland '53 Professor, said the dual nature of the award recognizes strengths in both research and teaching.
"In addition to his own research, Aashish has distinguished himself by mentoring a team of undergraduate students in the 2013-2014 AggiE-Challenge to build a DNA analysis system for a cost of approximately $20, a breakthrough that can help make advanced healthcare technologies available in resource-limited settings," said Ugaz. "He has also developed and published a smartphone app that enables the fluorescence signals used in many bioassays to be analyzed using an ordinary mobile phone camera."
The Association of Former Students chooses up to 15 graduate students each year to receive a Distinguished Graduate Student Award for excellence in one of three categories: doctoral research, master’s research, and teaching. Student nominations are supplied by faculty advisers or departments, an honor and accomplishment in itself due to strenuous eligibility requirements. A panel of reviewers, made up of faculty and administrators, choose award recipients from a large number of nominations.