Evan Anderson represents Michigan Tech in Distinguished Thesis Competition

The Graduate School is pleased to announce that Evan Anderson is Michigan Tech’s nominee for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools Distinguished Thesis Award.  Mr. Anderson was nominated by his advisor, Dr. Blair Orr of the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science.  His thesis, “The Impact of Balsamo (Myroxylon Balsamum L. Harms) on Coffee Yield and Household Income in El Balsamar, El Salvador,” investigated sustainable coffee production in El Balsamar.  His work was conducted during his time as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and was developed in response to local community needs.  The thesis integrated the biological, social, and economic role of the tree in the community.  Evan is currently an urban forester with Davey Tree in San Francisco, California.

Three other graduate students were also nominated for consideration.  Jean DeClerck was nominated by her advisors, Dr. M. Ann Brady and Dr. Wendy Anderson of Humanities, and committee member Dr. Victoria Bergvall of Humanities.  Nathan Kelley-Hoskins was nominated by his advisor, Dr. Petra Hüntemeyer of Physics.  Andrew Orthober was nominated by his advisor, Dr. Carol MacLennan of Social Sciences.  All of the nominations were noteworthy for their scholarship, and the evaluation panel had a difficult task in selecting one nominee to represent Michigan Tech.

The Dean’s Advisory Panel, representing each college or school at Michigan Tech, evaluated the nominees.  The faculty on this panel represent a broad range of graduate programs:  J. Gierke (Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences), S. Martin (Social Sciences), D. Flaspohler (School of Forestry Resources & Environmental Science), X. Wang (School of Technology) and G. Campbell (School of Business and Economics).  Next year’s competition will consider applicants who have completed their degrees between October 1, 2012 and September 30, 2013.  An application consists of an abstract of the thesis, recommendation letter from the advisor, and an electronic copy of the thesis.  Please consider nominating your master’s students next year.