Nomination Process

The nomination process follows the guidelines for the CGS/UMI Dissertation Award. Write/address the letters of recommendation for the students to the CGS/UMI Distinguished Dissertation Award.

The ISU faculty, DOGE or major professor, who is nominating the student must prepare materials in one PDF and submit to the Graduate College Paper Forms Box..

Each nominee must prepare:

  1. An abstract (not to exceed 10 pages) of his or her dissertation, typed double-spaced. In addition, appendices containing non-textual material, such as charts or tables, may be included. The pages should be numbered, and each should bear the name of the nominee.
  2. Letters from at least three referees selected by the nominee, evaluating the significance and quality of the nominee’s dissertation work, are to be included in the nomination materials. One of these letters is to be from the nominee’s dissertation supervisor, another from a member of the nominee's dissertation committee, and the third from a person of the nominee’s choice.
  3. Additionally, a letter of support should be included from the Director of Graduate Education (DOGE) in the student’s discipline.

A faculty committee will be appointed by the Graduate College to evaluate the nominees and choose one winner in each of the two advertised areas (the committee also has the choice to choose no winners for a particular year). Nominees’ dissertations should represent highly original work that is an unusually significant contribution to their fields.

A list of recipients for the Karas Award is also available.

Karas Award Recipients

Names followed by no designation are winners.
Names followed by (HM) are honorable mentions.

Year Name of Student Academic Association
2023 Carrie Ann Johnson Rhetoric and Professional Communication
2022 Maria Alcívar-Zúñiga Human Development and Family Studies
2022 Anindya Bijoy Das Electrical Engineering
2022 Tryambak Gangopadhyay (HM) Mechanical Engineering
2021 Mark Hartman Kinesiology
2021 John Seitz Rural, Agricultural, Technological, and Environmental History
2020 Ann Lii-Rosales Chemistry
2020 Fatima Enam (HM) Chemical Engineering
2019 Trevor Nolan Genetics Development and Cell Biology
2019 Najiba Mammadova (HM) Immunobiology
2018 Mohamed Elkashef Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
2018 Guolei Yang Computer Science
2017 Eric Gangloff Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology
2017 Matthew Margis History
2016 Holly Walen Chemistry
2014 Mahdi Javanbakht Mechanical Engineering
2013 John Dustin Loy Veterinary Microbiology
2013 Sara Egge Agricultural History and Rural Studies
2012 Brenda Carrillo-Conde Chemical and Biological Engineering
2011 Elena Cotos English
2011 Hongxin Jiang Food Science and Human Nutrition
2010 Sarah Cady Chemistry
2008 Michelle A. Ihmels Kinesiology
2007 George Kevin Randall Human Development and Family Studies
2002 Hongli Feng Economics
2001 Wendy Reed Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
1999 Patricia Hipple Sociology
1997 Jeffrey Kahn Psychology