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About K-State

2012 Student Achievements

* Andrew Strasburg, senior in agribusiness, Elk City, was awarded a 2012 Benjamin Gilman International Scholarship to study economics at VU University Amsterdam, Netherlands, in the spring 2013 semester. Strasburg chose the Netherlands to study abroad because of its influence on global agriculture. December 2012

* Kansas State University is one of just 11 universities nationally this year with five or more recipients of scholarships through the prestigious IEEE Power and Energy Society Scholarship Plus Initiative program. The initiative recognizes undergraduate students majoring in electrical engineering who are high achievers with strong GPAs and distinctive extracurricular commitments, and who are committed to exploring the power and energy field. Electrical engineering majors receiving the scholarships, which are worth $2,000 in the first and second years and $3,000 the third year, are Shae Pelkowski, Taylor Barber, Jesus Sanchez, Joshua Loyd and William Duren, sophomore. As recipients they also get to take part in career experience opportunities for up to two years. December 2012

* McKayla Brubaker, freshman in agricultural communications and journalism, won a $50,000 independent scholarship for an essay about her hero in Dollar General’s “My Teacher, My Hero” essay contest. Brubaker wrote about her high school math teacher Cynthia Beall. Brubaker took Beall's geometry and trigonometry classes at Minneapolis High School. Beall also helped her through college algebra during her senior year. November 2012

* The Kansas State University Crops Team recently captured the title of national champion for the fourth year in a row. K-State teams have now won the crops contest championship in 11 of the past 14 years. To win the 2012 national title, the team won both the Kansas City Board of Trade and the Chicago CME Group Collegiate Crops Contests that took place on Nov. 13 and 17, respectively. November 2012

* The K-State Meat Judging team claimed reserve national champion honors at the 2012 International Meat Judging Contest in Dakota City, Neb. The team finished first in beef grading and overall beef, second in pork judging, third in reasons and placings, fourth in beef judging and specifications, and fifth in lamb judging. Individually, Team member Brandy Cleveland was third overall and was named a first team All-American. She finished first in beef grading and specifications, and second in lamb judging. Thomas Buckham was named a second team All-American. November 2012

* The College of Engineering's student design-build teams and commercial construction team earned top four finishes at the 20th annual Construction Management Student Competition for Region IV of the Associated Schools of Construction. The event was in Nebraska City, Neb., Oct. 24-27, and included 26 teams from seven states. The design-build teams earned second- and third-place finishes in the design-build division, while the commercial construction team finished fourth in its division. The design-build team was coached by Ray Buyle, assistant professor of architectural engineering and construction management, while the construction management team was coached by Eric Bartholomew, also an assistant professor of architectural engineering and construction management. November 2012

* K-State Salina's Flight Team earned the right to compete in the national SAFECON competition for the fourth consecutive year after placing second at the Region VI competition, Oct. 7-12, hosted by Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant, Okla. K-State Salina won several other awards at the event, including the Safety Award, which is given to one team that demonstrates safety in all aspects of the competition. The Flight Team also placed second overall in both flying events and ground events. November 2012

* K-State Salina aviation students are the recipients of two of the 13 scholarships awarded annually by the National Business Aviation Association. Nicole Lordemann, senior in airport management, received the $5,000 Alan H. Conklin Business Aviation Management Scholarship, and Megan Henderson, senior in professional pilot and technology management, received the $4,500 Lawrence Ginocchio Aviation Scholarship. November 2012

* The New York Times asked students in Kansas State University's College of Architecture, Planning and Design to design an innovative solution for Arthur Ashe Stadium at the U.S. Open -- the last major tennis venue in the world without a roof or a plan for one. While other national architecture colleges were also contacted by the Times, K-State was the only one to meet the 48-hour deadline. For their efforts, the students' work was published in a beautiful, full-page layout on the back page of the Times on Monday, Sept. 10. October 2012

* An agreement between K-State Salina and ExpressJet Airlines, the largest Delta Airlines regional partner, is an opportunity for K-State Salina aviation students to receive conditional offers of employment as first officers with the regional airline. Students who successfully complete the program requirements are given a conditional offer of employment with ExpressJet, or placed in the prescreened candidate pool to be offered employment at the next opportunity. October 2012

* The Meats Judging Team captured reserve high team overall honors at the Cargill Meat Solutions' Eastern National Contest in Wyalusing, Pa. The team earned first in total placings, second in lamb, second in pork, third in specifications and third in reasons. October 2012

* Kelley Nelson-Strouts, a May 2012 bachelor's graduate in public health nutrition, is a 2012 Phi Kappa Phi Love of Learning Award winner. The $500 award helps fund postbaccalaureate studies or career development for active Phi Kappa Phi academic honor society members. The honor society presents the award to 140 students nationwide. Nelson-Strouts will use the award to attend optometry school in fall 2013. October 2012

* Natarajan Padmanabhan, master's student in grain science, won the best student paper award from AACCI International in the Engineering and Processing Division for the paper "Novel-sorghum based fortified blended food for infants, young children and adults." October 2012

* Instant sorghum noodles won the university's student product development team second place in the AACCI Student Product Development Competition. Team members were Oscar Ramos and Moses Khamis, both doctoral students in grain science; and Swathi Sree Kodavali, and Anubha Garg, both master's students in grain science. October 2012

* Navneet Grewal, an August 2012 master's graduate in grain science, received the outstanding paper award from the Corn Refiners Association for his paper, "Structure of waxy maize starch hydrolyzed by maltogenic amylase in relation to its retrogradation." October 2012

* Martin "Tucker" Wilson, senior in English, was awarded a Phi Kappa Phi Study Abroad Grant to fund a trip he took to Spain as part of the university's modern languages study abroad program. The honor society awards 50 $1,000 grants each year to help support undergraduates as they seek knowledge and experience in their academic fields by studying abroad. October 2012

* Minjung Kim, doctoral student in grain science, received an outstanding student poster presentation award from the BioEnvironment Polymer Society at its annual conference. Her poster was "Development of soy protein-­based biocomposites for adhesives." Her adviser is Susan Sun, university distinguished professor of grain science and industry. October 2012

* A K-State team of computing and information science students won the $10,000 first prize at Code Rush 2012, the Kansas City area's only professional code competition event. The team had to solve code problems to earn points toward prizes. The competition was hosted by Perceptive Software. October 2012

* Kansas State University's personal financial planning team won the 2012 National Collegiate Financial Planning competition in San Antonio, Texas. As part of the win, the team brought home $10,000 for the personal financial planning program, which is offered through the School of Family Studies in the College of Human Ecology. Team members include Matt Gould, Wende Witthuhn and Kristen Moore. The team was coached by Ann Coulson, assistant professor of personal financial planning. K-State is the only university to send a team to the finals ever year since the competition began in 2000. In 2011 the team tied for second place. October 2012

* The Kansas State University Student Foundation won the Outstanding Tried and True Program award for its K-State Proud student campaign from the Affiliated Student Advancement Programs division of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. The annual awards competition recognizes outstanding student and adviser leadership and achievements, as well as outstanding student educational advancement programming. September 2012

* Evan Myers, senior in architectural engineering, received a $5,000 American Institute of Steel Construction Education Foundation Scholarship. It was one of nine awarded by the foundation for the 2012-2013 school year. It's the second year in a row that a Kansas State University student has received a foundation scholarship, which is open to full-time students -- in civil or architectural engineering and enrolled in an accredited U.S. university program. September 2012

* Jared Crain and Sarah Battenfield, doctoral candidates in genetics, are two of the 14 fellows in the prestigious Monsanto Beachell-Borlaug International Scholars Program for 2013. Both will work with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico. Crain will work to improve productivity in wheat through advanced breeding tools. Battenfield will research ways to improve yield and end-use quality of wheat crops, with the goal to make improved wheat varieties available to farmers in developing countries. September 2012

* Cecilia Hernandez, College of Education doctoral graduate, is the recipient of the Association of Teacher Educators 2013 Distinguished Dissertation Award. The title of her dissertation was "The Extent to which Latina/o Preservice Teachers Demonstrate Culturally Responsible Teaching Practices During Science and Mathematics Instruction." September 2012

* Kansas State University's student chapter of the Institute of Industrial Engineers has been awarded the organization's 2012 Gold Award. This is the fifth consecutive year the chapter has received this distinction, which recognizes the top student chapters in the nation. September 2012

* The Great Plains Sorghum Conference/Sorghum Improvement Conference of North America awarded Vuyiswa Bushula, plant pathology doctoral student, first prize for her talk "Genetic diversity and pathogenicity of Fusarium thapsinum isolates from sorghum." The $500 award is sponsored by Pioneer Inc. and is given to the student with best overall presentation at the conference. September 2012

* The student robotics team won its sixth consecutive championship in the student robotics competition sponsored by the American Society of Biological and Agricultural Engineers. The university has never lost the international competition in which students must design a solution to a common agricultural issue. August 2012

* The fountain wars team earned a second-place finish at the 2012 competition conducted in Dallas at the international meeting of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. Fountain wars is a hands-on, real-time design competition where students design and model a fountain to complete technical tasks. August 2012

* The 2012 Kansas State University Weed Science Team finished in first place overall in the undergraduate teams category and had the top two undergraduate individual scorers at the North Central Weed Science Society Collegiate Weed Contest hosted by Diamond Ag Research. Team members included Kim Kerschen, Jake Wyrill, Jessie Zimmermanand David Brachtenbach. Individual award winners included Wyrill, first place overall undergraduate score, top score in Farmer Diagnostic Problem Solving Event, and top score in Written Sprayer Calibration Event; and Kerschen, second place overall undergraduate score, and top score in Weed Identification Event. August 2012

* Bryan Rogler, a May 2012 bachelor's graduate in mechanical engineering, is the university's 22nd Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowship recipient. Rogler was one of 51 students nationwide to receive the $5,000 fellowship. Winners are selected based on the applicant's promise of success in graduate or professional study determined by academic achievement, service and leadership experience, career goals, and acceptance at an approved graduate or professional program. Rogler will pursue a master's in aeronautics and astronautics, with a focus on guidance and control, at Stanford University in the fall. July 2012

* Anubha Garg, master's student in grain science, received a U.S Borlaug Fellowship to attend and participate in the Summer Institute on Global Food Security at Purdue University in July. July 2012

* Krista McKay, a master's student in food science, and Josh Sinning, senior in food science and industry, won second place in the Danisco Product Development Competition. Their product was a sweet potato crisp. They each receive $2,500. Kelly Getty, associate professor of animal sciences and industry, served as their coach. July 2012

* Chad Mullins, a December 2011 doctoral graduate in animal science, received the Richard M. Hoyt Award for Outstanding Graduate Student from the American Dairy Science Association. July 2012

* Saad Alsubaie, doctoral student in security studies, has been offered a position as a distinguished international security studies fellow at the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. June 2012

* The American Seed Trade Association recognized Rodrigo Pedrozo, graduate student in plant pathology, with the Roger Kreuger Memorial Scholarship at the association's 129th annual convention. The scholarship is for $2,000. Pedrozo, a native Brazilian, is working to complete his doctorate in seed pathology and seedborne pathogens. June 2012

* Two graduate students in grain science, Blossom Sehgal and Mario Andrada, received U.S. Borlaug fellowships to attend the Summer Institute on Global Food Security at Purdue University July 8-21. The two-week long learning program for graduate students provides a holistic understanding of challenges in attaining global food security. Both students work in the laboratory of Bhadriraju "Subi" Subramanyam, professor of postharvest protection. June 2012

* Cameron Hunter, plant pathology-based doctoral student in the interdisciplinary genetics graduate program, won a Eukaryotic Cell Outstanding Young Investigator award in recognition of a stellar research presentation at the 2012 Gordon Research Conference on Cellular and Molecular Fungal Biology. The award is sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology. Hunter presented work characterizing multiple nuclear localization signals that direct a key transcription factor of nutrient metabolic genes to the nucleus of cells in the genetic model eukaryote Aspergillus nidulans. June 2012

* Blossom Sehgal, a master's student in grain science, earned second place for her oral presentation as part of master's student competition in the Systematics, Evolution and Biodversity; Physiology, Biochemistry, and Toxicology; Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology section at the recent annual meeting of North Central Branch Entomological Society of America. Her talk was on "Variation in susceptibility of laboratory and field strains of three stored product insect species to insecticides recommended for empty bin treatments." June 2012

* Three recent K-State graduates are Fulbright Scholars for 2012-2013. Ariel Anib is going to Mexico to teach English and work with battered women. Mark Sowers will leave in September to perform research at the Amboseli Elephant Research Project in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. And McKenzie Snow will leave in January 2013 to teach English to students in South Africa. June 2012

* Jordan Bever, senior in the industrial and manufacturing systems engineering department's concurrent bachelor's and master's program, received the Conveyor and Sortation Systems Honor Scholarship from the Material Handling Education Foundation. Bever is one of 28 students nationwide to receive an award from the foundation. The scholarship recognizes superior academic achievements. She is the department's 32nd student to receive an award from the foundation. June 2012

* The Powercat Tractors Quarter-Scale Design Team took second place at the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers' 15th annual International Quarter-Scale Tractor Student Design Competition. It is the 13th time in the past 14 years that the team has finished in the top three for the competition. June 2012

* Saad Alsubaie, doctoral student in security studies, has been offered a position as a distinguished international security studies fellow at the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. June 2012

* Caleb Wilson, sophomore in geography and natural resources and environmental sciences, is a recipient of the 2012 Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The scholarship offers a maximum of $8,000 per year for students with two years left of undergraduate study and a summer internship at a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration facility. May 2012

* Brandy Cleveland, senior in animal sciences and industry, was selected to receive a 2012 Undergraduate Scholastic Achievement Award from the American Meat Science Association. May 2012

* Three construction science and management and management students have earned $2,500 scholarships from the Associated General Contractors Research and Education Foundation. Taylor Robillard received the Associated General Contractors Partnering Scholarship; Andrew Gilmore, the James D. Pitcock Jr. Scholarship; and Josiah Wegener, the Build American Scholarship. May 2012

* A student engineering competition team won three of the six first-place awards at the recent ASCE Charles Pankow Foundation Architectural Engineering Student Competition. The K-State team was the first and only school to date to place finalists in all five categories and win both overall awards. May 2012

* Three veterinary medicine students took the top honors in the 2012 Smithcors essay contest, sponsored by the American Veterinary Medical History Society. The contest is open to all veterinary students in the U.S. Canada and the West Indies. It promotes awareness among veterinarians about the significant history the field has played in American history. May 2012

* The Dairy Judging Team placed third overall at the Western National Intercollegiate Dairy Judging Contest, the highest ever finish for the university in the contest. This year's event was in Richmond, Utah. May 2012

* Eric Grusenmeyer, senior in architectural engineering, is the winner of the Council of American Structural Engineers Scholarship from the American Council of Engineering Companies. The $2,500 scholarship is only available for students pursuing a master's degree in structural engineering. Applicants are judged based on grades, work experience, extracurricular activities, recommendations and the application essay. May 2012

* Members of the Student Finance Association had the opportunity to meet and have lunch with billionaire business magnate Warren Buffett in Omaha. K-State was among the 48 schools selected for the honor. It's the fourth time the Student Finance Association has gotten to spend the day with Buffett. April 2012

* Justin Prelogar, senior in political science and philosophy with a secondary major in international studies, received a 2012 Critical Language Scholarship for intensive summer institutes. It is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. While in China, Prelogar, receives four to five hours of Mandarin Chinese language instruction a day, five days a week. The program covers a year's worth of language study during the 10 weeks of his visit, along with providing cultural enrichment activities and excursions. More than 5,200 students applied for the scholarship, with 631 recipients from 240 educational institutions selected. April 2012

* Nora Johnson, a doctoral student in physics from Dell Rapids, S.D., was selected to attend the 62nd Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates dedicated to physics in Lindau, Germany. At the meeting, July 1-6, the laureates lecture on the topic of their choice in the mornings and participate in less formal, small group discussions with the students in the afternoons and some evenings. Johnson was nominated for the honor by Itzik Ben-Itzhak. She is part of his research group in atomic, molecular and optical physics at the J.M. Macdonald Laboratory. She also conducts the same research at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Germany. She was selected to attend by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. April 2012

* Radio work by Kansas State University students earned the most honors -- including the most first-place honors -- in the 2012 Kansas Association of Broadcasters' 2012 Student Broadcast Awards competition. Students earned 27 awards overall, including 16 first-place honors, six second-place honors and five honorable mentions. The honors were for work done by students at the university's FM radio station KSDB, the Wildcat 91.9, in the undergraduate and graduate divisions. Students also received honors for work done as radio station interns. April 2012

* Two construction science students – Ryan Lund and Brian Schrotenboer – received scholarships from the Builders' Association, a trade organization that serves the commercial construction industry in Kansas and Missouri. Lund, received the Firebaugh Construction Inc. Scholarship, while Schrotenboer received the James L. "Skip" Hutton Jr. Scholarship. March 2012

* Andrew Sweeney,a junior in music and French education, is the recipient of the Pi Delta Phi Joseph W. Yedlicka Award. Sponsored by American University in Paris and Pi Delta Phi French honorary, Sweeney will spend seven weeks this summer studying in Paris. Pi Delta Pi presents four of the nationally competitive awards annually to students in the honorary, but only one of the awards is to Paris. March 2012

* For the fifth time in the last seven years, the university's Black Student Union has been named the most outstanding black student government council in the Big 12 Conference. The organization received the Most Outstanding Council award at the 35th annual Big 12 Conference on Black Student Government, Feb. 23-25, at the University of Oklahoma. In addition to the group honor, two members of the group also received recognition at the event. Shahna Campbell was named the most outstanding junior in the Big 12 Conference on Black Government, while Lorenza Breckenridge, was elected chair of the conference's Historical Committee. February 2012

* The university's chapter of Blue Key, the senior leadership honorary, received several member awards and a chapter award at the 2012 Blue Key National Conference. Michael Ellis, senior in biology and pre-medicine, received the President's Award for the most outstanding Blue Key chapter president. Ellis was also elected to the Blue Key national board of directors. Courtney Hallenbeck, senior in political science and international studies, received the Exemplary Blue Key Member Award for leadership, scholarship and service. Hallenbeck is the director of uLead, a Blue Key program that offers leadership seminars to high schools throughout the state of Kansas. The university's Blue Key chapter received the Outstanding Feature Award for Catalyst, a leadership and self-development program for undergraduates. February 2012

* Ayomi Perera, doctoral student in chemistry, Sri Lanka, and Wilson Smith, a master's student in civil engineering, Independence, Mo., were named the KansasBio winners at the ninth annual Capitol Graduate Research Summit. Chemistry and Engineering. February 2012

* The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, also known as ASHRAE, awarded scholarships to Patrick McGrail and Cody Knuth, both seniors in architectural engineering. McGrail received the $10,000 Willis H. Carrier Scholarship, the society's highest honor, while Knuth received the $3,000 Duane Hanson Scholarship. The scholarships were awarded for leadership, academics and potential service in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration industry. February 2012

* For the second year in a row, a K-State electrical and computer engineering honor society is among the nation's best. The university's Beta Kappa chapter of Eta Kappa Nu has received the Outstanding Chapter Award for activities and services during the 2010-2011 school year. Only 24 of Eta Kappa Nu's more than 200 active chapters received the honor this year. The chapter earned the honor for the first time in 2009-2010. February 2012

 

2011 student achievements

2010 student achievements

2009 student achievements