UNH Today

UNH graduate student research was front and center in April with a week of festivities and events that included the annual Graduate Research Conference (GRC), the Three Minute Thesis finals, the Living Bridge Project in Portsmouth, and other satellite events.

The GRC poster session was the largest ever for the UNH Graduate School with 152 students showcasing their research on April 1. The poster session also included the presentation of the following awards: Dissertation Year Fellowship, Graduate Research/Scholarship/Creativity, Graduate Teaching, and Graduate Faculty Mentor.

Marie-Josiane Ohoueu, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in the chemistry program, was the recipient of a Graduate Teaching Award.

“I am grateful to have received the Graduate Student Teaching Award, which is to me a reflection of the importance of caring and striving for student success,” Ohoueu said.

Other Graduate Teaching Award winners were Sarah Eggert, M.S. Microbiology; Sarah Piet, M.S. Biochemistry; and Melissa Day, Ph.D.  Sociology. Julia Viera, M.S. Public Policy, and Wyatt Shell, Ph.D. Biological Sciences, won the Graduate Student Research/Scholarship/Creativity Awards.

The keynote speech was provided by the 2018 Graduate Faculty Mentor Award winner, Dr. Suzanne Graham from the Department of Education. The 2019 winner of the award is Dr. Win Watson, professor of zoology, who has been at UNH for 41 years.

A total of 89 oral presentations were held throughout the day on April 2, including readings by Master of Fine Arts in Writing students.

Jordon Coulombe, a Ph.D. candidate in history and president of the Graduate Student Senate, said participating in the oral session is one of his favorite graduate school events.

“It's a unique chance to learn more about your colleagues' research, and I think it’s a fantastic showcase of the remarkably talented grad students we have at UNH,” Coulombe said. “I've also found it's a great venue for being a bit more creative with your ideas. It's a very friendly setting and everyone is incredibly supportive so it's a great place to try out something new and get some really high-quality feedback.”