Jackson School Celebrates Walter Award Winners and First Cohort of Machine Learning Certificate Program
November 13, 2026
The Walter Awards recognize top talent among faculty, researchers and staff at the Jackson School of Geosciences. On Thursday, November 12, we recognized our 2025 awardees at reception in the Holland Family student center, along with the very first cohort of our Machine Learning and Data Analytics for Geosciences graduate certificate program.
Walter Award winners received a certificate, trophy and a cash prize. The annual awards are the school’s most prestigious internal awards and were provided for in an endowment created by Joseph C. Walter Jr. in 1977.
Congratulations to all our winners!
Outstanding Research AwardÂ
Doug Hemingway, Research Assistant Professor, Institute for Geophysics
Tim Shanahan, Associate Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Community Partnership Award
Susanne Morrison, Senior Human Resource Coordinator, Institute for Geophysics
Outstanding Educator Award
Mrinal Sen, Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, and Institute for Geophysics; Program Director of the Machine Learning and Data Analytics for Geosciences Certificate Program
Outstanding Service Award
Mia Spanyers, Senior Academic Program Coordinator, Jackson School of Geosciences
Staff Excellence Award
Tiffany Sun, Department Buyer, Bureau of Economic Geology
Joseph C. Walter, Jr. Excellence Award
Daniella Rempe, Associate Dean of Research & Facilities, Jackson School of Geosciences
2025 Graduates of the the Machine Learning and Data Analytics for Geosciences Certificate Program
- Ahmed Aboahmed, Ph.D. student in Petroleum Engineering
- Karem Algaradi, Ph.D. student in Petroleum Engineering
- Shuang Gao, Ph.D. graduate in Geosciences
- Amber Nguyen, M.S. graduate in Geosciences
- Sebastian Utama, Ph.D. student in Geosciences
- Julio Villarroel, Ph.D. student in Petroleum Engineering
