Dyson celebrates 2020 faculty, staff, and student award recipients
The Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management proudly presents its student, faculty, and staff award winners for the 2019–2020 academic year.
Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Assistant
Andrew Petterson ’20
Ezekiel Uriel ’20
Awarded to undergraduate student teaching assistants who have made exceptional contributions to the Dyson curriculum demonstrated by supervisor nominations, student feedback and observable learning, course development activities, and commendations by peers.
Outstanding Undergraduate Research in Applied Economics and Management
Sonal Lakhotia ’20
An acknowledgement of outstanding research achievement over the course of Dyson enrollment, this award recognizes an individual who has added to our understanding of applied economics and management. The student receiving this award is driven by intellectual curiosity and maintains high research standards.
Spirit of Dyson Award
Julia Gleason ’20
An acknowledgement of outstanding and balanced achievement over the course of Dyson enrollment, this award recognizes an individual who has consistently displayed strong intellectual development; thoughtful leadership and service to peers, the school, or the university; a global, problem-solving perspective and commitment; and the highest standards of accountability and integrity.
Merrill Presidential Scholars
Philip Murtha ’20
Jessica Tao ’20
Merrill Presidential Scholars are selected by their college deans for their academic achievements, leadership, and potential to contribute to society.
Class Representatives
Degree Marshals
Philip Murtha ’20
Michelle Wu ’20
Banner Bearers
Melanie Bis ’20
Michael Collet ’20
Symbol Bearer
Matias Zorrilla Yep ’20
Class representatives are selected based on classroom contributions and service to the school and will lead the Dyson graduation processional when it is safe to have that ceremony. The students recognized are among the top 10 percent for academic performance in the graduating class.
Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant
Huiyi Chen, PhD ’23
Mengwei Lin, PhD ’23
Awarded to graduate student teaching assistants who have made exceptional contributions to the Dyson curriculum demonstrated by supervisor nominations, student feedback and observable learning, course development activities, and commendations by peers.
Graduate Student – Research Excellence
Shuyang Si, PhD ’21
This award recognizes outstanding research by a Dyson graduate student as evidenced by outstanding research assistance for a faculty member or team, co-authorship with faculty on peer-reviewed publications, presentations at conferences, research publications, or support for grants and grant proposals.
Graduate Student – Outstanding Engaged Research
Steven Wilcox, PhD candidate
This award recognizes outstanding engaged research by a Dyson graduate student or team who exemplifies excellence in engaged and applied research, broadly defined—including but not limited to contributions to our Land Grant mission.
George F. Warren Award
First Place
Gary Lin, PhD ’20
Second Place
Louis Sears, PhD candidate
Third Place
Adeline Yeh, MS ’14, PhD ’21
The George F. Warren Award recognizes an outstanding paper written in 2019 by a Dyson graduate student while in residence at Cornell University. The purpose of this award is to encourage Dyson graduate students to prepare the results of their research and scholarship in publishable form and to recognize excellence in such efforts.
First Place
Second Place
Third Place
Agricultural & Applied Economics Association Awards
AAEA Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award
Maulik Jagnani, PhD ’19
AAEA Outstanding Masters Thesis Award Honorable Mention
Susana Constenla Villoslada, MS ’19
AAEA Chester O. McCorkle, Jr. Student Scholarship
Louis Sears, PhD candidate
CALS Outstanding Graduate TA Awards
Anne Byrne, PhD ’21
Hui Zhou, PhD candidate
Faculty Teaching Excellence
Graduate Program
Arnab Basu, professor
Undergraduate Program
Cindy van Es, professor of practice
Awarded to the faculty member who is an example in delivering high-quality, engaging, and rigorous instruction in the Dyson graduate curriculum. The committee will typically consider input such as nomination letters, student course evaluations, innovations in curriculum content or delivery, and evidence of student learning.
Outstanding Early Career Achievement
Jawad Addoum, assistant professor
The Outstanding Early Career Achievement award is given to an early career faculty member who has shown extraordinary promise in teaching, research, engagement, advising, and/or administration. Given the broad scope of this award, the committee considers nomination letters, academic CVs, external recognitions or awards, student course evaluations, etc. as appropriate.
Research Excellence – “Our Business is a Better World”
Shanjun Li,
Kenneth L. Robinson Professor of Applied Economics and Public Policy
This Research Excellence award is given to the faculty member or team with outstanding research in support of our mission, “our business is a better world” demonstrated by publications appearing in peer-reviewed journals of high academic quality, evidence of participation in national and /or international conferences, and citation of work by individuals or groups other than the nominee’s collaborators.
Outstanding Achievement in Engagement
Miguel Gómez, Robert G. Tobin Professor of Food Marketing
Awarded to the faculty member or team who exemplifies excellence in engagement, extension, and/or applied learning, including but not limited to contributions to our Land Grant mission. The committee will typically consider nomination letters, external recommendations, recognitions or awards, innovations in (or relevance of) engagement curriculum or research, etc.
Distinguished Service and Leadership
Lynn Perry Wooten, David J. Nolan Dean and professor of management and organizations
Awarded to the faculty member who demonstrates distinguished leadership and service to the Dyson community and embodies the Dyson value of “our business is a better world.” Leadership and service to the Dyson community can take many forms, including formal and informal forms of leadership, service, and mentorship to Dyson students, faculty, and staff.
Additional international, national, and university faculty recognition
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow
Cathy Kling, Tisch University Professor
Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Fellow
David Just, Susan Eckert Lynch Professor in Science and Business
Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE) Fellow
William Schulze, visiting professor
Information Systems Society Fellow
Chris Forman, Peter and Stephanie Nolan Professor of Strategy, Innovation, and Technology
Prevasi Fellow, India National Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Prabhu Pingali, professor
AAEA Bruce Gardner Memorial Prize for Applied Policy Analysis Award
John Hoddinott, professor
CALS Innovative Teacher Award
Kevin Kniffin, assistant professor
Distinguished CESifo Affiliate Award – Economics of Digitization
Ben Leyden, assistant professor
eCornell Trailblazer Award
Cindy van Es, professor of practice
Christophe Baron Prize, American Association of Wine Economists
Ariel Ortiz-Bobea, assistant professor
Northern Finance Association Annual Meeting Best Paper Award
Jawad Addoum, assistant professor
Geneva Institute on Sustainable Finance Best Paper Award
David Ng, professor
Staff Dyson Values Award
Nicole Heasley, registrar and assistant director, Student Services
Karen MacCheyne, academic administrative team lead
Amelia Otis, program coordinator, NY FarmNet
Sue Snyder, administrative assistant
The Dyson Values Award recognizes staff who support and embody the core values of continuous improvement/professional development; integrity; diversity and inclusion; industriousness; engagement in Dyson’s mission and in their position; innovation and collaboration through teamwork and contribution; caring, collegial community; and service.
Dyson Fellow – “Above and Beyond”
Andrea Poag, director, Student Services
The Above and Beyond award is the top staff award given to the person who most exemplifies Dyson’s mission and values. Designed to highlight performance that surpasses expectations and makes a significant or unique contribution to the work of Dyson, this award is based upon consensus reports from supervisors and colleagues, as well as other relevant measurements of excellence.
Congratulations to all of Dyson’s 2019–2020 award recipients!