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The Karas Award

The Karas Award for Outstanding Dissertation in the Behavioral Sciences

 

2009 Deadlines:   Nominations due by March 2, 2009  

Eligible dissertations must have been accepted by the Graduate College during calendar year 2008
Send electronic or paper nominations to:
Felicity Douglas
1137 Pearson Hall
Graduate College
fdouglas@iastate.edu

 

  • Winner notified by mid-April
  • Award presented at the Sigma Xi banquet on Thurs. 30th April, 2009
  • Contact person:  Felicity Douglas 294-1958 or fdouglas@iastate.edu

Purpose:  to recognize a superior dissertation by a doctoral student in the behavioral sciences (human or animal).  The award is given in honor of Dr. George G. Karas, who served as an associate dean in the Graduate College for 29 of his 36 years at Iowa State University.

 

Procedure:  Major professors and faculty make nominations to the Dean of the Graduate College,  submitting them to Felicity Douglas by March 2. Submissions may be either electronic or paper, with electronic preferred.  The following should be submitted:

  • a copy of the dissertation
  • a letter of nomination from the major professor
  • an endorsement by the director of graduate education for the student’s major
  • a professional resume including publications and honors

A committee selected by the Graduate Dean to include several faculty members in related disciplines and one member of the Graduate and Professional Student Senate will review the nominations. The winner will be notified by mid-April.

 

Criteria:   The nominee’s dissertation should represent original work making an unusually significant contribution to the discipline.  Both methodological and substantive quality will be judged.  If no nominations are deemed to meet these criteria, no winner for that year will be declared.

 

Presentation:  The author of the winning dissertation will be invited to the Sigma Xi Spring Banquet in April.  The winner will be presented with a check for $500 and a plaque of recognition.  Because Sigma Xi is interested in the nominees for the Zaffarano Prize, they have asked that each nomination include a statement indicating whether the student is a current member of Sigma Xi or if he/she is being nominated for membership.  However, membership in Sigma Xi is not required of candidates.