Winners of 2026 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Awards
April 22, 2026
More than 100 students, staff, researchers and faculty members in the Jackson School of Geosciences’ Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences packed inside Boyd Auditorium on Tuesday to celebrate a year of excellent work in the geosciences and to recognize individuals for their achievements.
The annual EPS Awards recognize outstanding research and teaching based on nominations from students and peers. The Petrography Contest winners were decided based on their ability to correctly describe and classify rocks in a timed test.
Interim Department Chair Peter Flemings presented the winners, who were each met with uproarious applause from the crowd. He also recognized staff members who are celebrating work anniversaries and researchers and faculty members who are retiring or changing careers.
Congratulations to all!
EPS Staff Excellence Award
Donnie Brooks
Todd Beaudreau
Mineralogical Society of America, Undergraduate Prize
Rachel Paul Malkowski
Graduate Student Executive Committee Student Service Award
Sage Turek
Groundwater Field Methods, Undergraduate
Will Eagle
Groundwater Field Methods, Graduate
Grace Castle
Groundwater Field Methods, Teaching Assistant
Alex Janelle
Knebel Teaching Award, Undergraduate Upper Division
Ruthie Halberstadt, GEO 349C: Intro to Cryosphere
Knebel Teaching Award, Graduate Course
Dan Alessi, GEO 387C: Aqueous Geochemistry
Knebel Teaching Award, Teaching Innovation
Mary Poteet, EVS 311: Field Seminar and Sustainability
Knebel Teaching Award, Field/Experiential Education
Miriam Barquero-Molina, GEO 660: Field Geology
Petrography Contest, Graduate
1st Place: Josh Munro
2nd Place: Max Ehrenfels
3rd Place: Christina Bennett
Petrography Contest, Undergraduate
1st Place: Hayden Musser
2nd Place: Lea Hilty
3rd Place: Ira Kadam
Best PhD Talk, 2025-2026
Harsh Kamath, “Beyond Bulk Canopies: Development of a Multilayer Land Surface Model within the Noah-MP v5 Framework”
Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant, Fall 2025
Mariel Nelson
Bella Gray
Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant, Spring 2026
Fangshuai Wu
Sophia Bautista
University Staff Service Recognition
10 years: Josh O’Connell, Micah Jackson
15 years: Romy Hannah, Lisa Pausback, James Sagebiel, Michael Young
20 years: Elsa Jimenez
35 years: Estela Sosa
Jackson School Departures
Jessie Maisano
Kyle Spikes
David Mohrig