PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (May 18, 2022) – Spring 2022 Commencement at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) took on an elevated meaning for dozens of undergraduate and graduate students who have spent their time on The Hill.  On Thursday, May 12, 2022, the Division of Research & Innovation held its second-ever cording ceremony to recognize nearly 30 candidates for graduation who have also been student-researchers.

Vice President for Research & Innovation (R&I) Magesh Rajan, Ph.D., P.E., MBA created the Faculty-Research & Innovation for Scholarly Excellence (Faculty-RISE) Program two years ago to provide funds for students to carry out research under the mentorship of dedicated faculty members.Ceremony

“It is my vision for Prairie View A&M to become an emerging research institution.  So, when the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education elevated Prairie View A&M’s research status to an R2 – high research activity this year, the world learned how great PVAMU is and is becoming,” said Rajan. “By being in the RISE program, you contributed to this outstanding achievement for your university.”

The 2022 Spring Cording Ceremony is special because this is R&I’s first cording as an R2 institution, and this program also included undergraduate and graduate students involved in innovation initiatives.

Ramaswamy Krishnamoorthi, Ph.D., director of Research Advancement, coordinates the Faculty RISE-Graduate Research Assistantship Program.  He applauded the graduate student researchers for their commitment to enhancing PVAMU’s research and innovation efforts.

Ceremony“Your degree represents not only your expertise in some areas and disciplines but also your passion for continuing research,” Krishnamaoorthi shared. “You gained critical thinking, learned how to identify problems, how to approach and how to collect data, and how to interpret those. Your work has actually gone beyond, and you have contributed to your mentors’ overall program growth. So, that is a tremendous accomplishment.”

Master’s and doctoral students chosen for the Faculty-RISE receive R&I graduate assistantships, which eases their financial worries and allows them to focus on their research and other scholarly activities.

Grace T. Abolaji, Ph.D., Research Development Officer, coordinates RISE Undergraduate Research.  She commended the honorees for being dedicated to excellence.

Ceremony“You have worked so hard engaging in different innovative research projects with your mentors and participating in various related activities like symposiums, conferences, workshops, and seminars. These are things that you were determined to do it. You made the choice to do so. It’s a great accomplishment,” Abolaji said, “When I say that you have achieved your academic excellence, like the RISE program states, ‘Research in Scholarly Excellence.’ You have the passion to confidently communicate the outcomes of your research 0n different platforms.”

Alexis Sparks is one of those outstanding achievers who was recruited by her instructor, Juvenile Justice Assistant Professor Kristan N. Russell, Ph.D.

Alexis Sparks, Criminal Justice major, and Associate Professor in Juvenile Justice Kristan N. Russell, Ph.D., Faculty-RISE mentor.

Alexis Sparks, Criminal Justice major, and Associate Professor in Juvenile Justice Kristan N. Russell, Ph.D., Faculty-RISE mentor.

“I took a research methods class with her, and I guess she noticed my excellence and she asked me if I would be interested and I said, ‘Yes! Of course!” recalled Sparks, who plans to attend law school. “When I first started, I didn’t really know exactly what I’d be doing besides, maybe reading articles. But throughout time, I was able to go to different conferences and present on everything I’ve researched and actually being able to put everything I’ve learned into effect.”

For the first time, R&I recognized RISE students involved in innovation.  As the Executive Director of R&I’s Innovation, Commercialization, Entrepreneurship & Economic Development (ICEED), Bobby Melvin, J.D., L.L.M., applauded the graduates and current PVAMU students for their entrepreneurial drive.

“That was important when I came here and was under the impression that we’re creating a new system new ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship. I was wrong. It already exists here,” Melvin explained. “There are a lot of students who already had a side hustle going on. That’s innovation. And entrepreneurship is a seed that exists in many of you already. And our goal is to help grow that seed.”

VP Rajan, MBA candidate Gursimran Kaur, and Bobby Melvin, ICEED.

VP Rajan, MBA candidate Gursimran Kaur, and Bobby Melvin, ICEED.

When ICEED partnered with Sandia National Labs for the first Panthers Invent Student Competition in September 2022, it drew MBA candidate Gursimran Kaur to sign up. As the only non-engineering student in the competition, the 48-hour innovation competition allowed her to grow more confident in her business skills.

“If you are focused on something you will be able to achieve it. I was like, acting as a project manager,” said Kaur, who has accepted a position with Oracle in Austin as a business consultant.  “So, I was managing my team and all my other teammates were engineers, and I’m from the business side.”

During the R&I Cording Ceremony, the Division recognized the following students who are candidates to graduate in Spring and Summer 2022:

Graduate Students
First Name Last Name

Student Major

Student Department

Mecca Allah

Special Education

Education

Judith Godfrey

Business Administration

College of Business

Miranda Sharp

Architecture

School of Architecture

Hana Fatthi Sulaiman

Computational Chemistry

College of Arts and Sciences

Achille Louodom Chedjou

Mechanical Engineering

College of Engineering

Marnolin Querol

Mechanical Engineering

College of Engineering

Sazidur Rahman Shahriar
Tiyesha Long

Chemistry

College of Arts and Sciences

 

Innovation Students

First Name Last Name

Student Major

Student Department

Student Level

Gursimran Kaur Business Administration

College of Business

Graduate

Christian Washington Business Administration

College of Business

Undergraduate

Howard White

College of Business

Undergraduate

 

Undergraduate Students

Student First Name Student Last Name

Student Major

Student Department

Aijalon Shantavia Bettis

Chemistry

Chemistry

Bobby Chandler

Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

Willie Conner

Engineering

Chemical Engineering

Hamed Dicko

Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

Alexis Edwards

Agriculture

Animal Science

Laura Ekezie

Nutrition and Dietetics

College of Education

Theodora Holloway

Agriculture

Agriculture, Nutrition and Human Ecology

Utomwen David Irabor

Engineering

Chemical Engineering

Amar Kalkura

Agriculture

Agriculture

Ryan Livingston

Engineering

Chemical Engineering

Naiyah P McDaniel

Chemistry

Chemistry

Emily Mcquire

Chemistry

Chemistry

Guadalupe Medrano

Agriculture

Agriculture, Nutrition and Human Ecology

Akinotcho Mohamed

Engineering

Chemical Engineering

Doron Montgomery

Engineering

Chemical Engineering

Anh Duy Tu Nguyen

Engineering

Chemical Engineering

Princess Pinamang

Biology

Biology and Honors Program

Alexis Sparks

Criminal Justice

Juvenile Justice

Shakelle Storr

Agriculture

Agriculture, Nutrition and Human Ecology

Maya Swaby- Wallerson

MISY

MIS

Diana Varela de Ajche

Biology

Biology

A’naya Ware

Agriculture

Agriculture

Chancei White

Computer Science

Computer Science

Alayshia Towell

Psychology

Psychology

Ike Anaghara

Engineering

Chemical Engineering

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By Michael Douglas