Lauren Burns (left), Alyssa Martin and Xiuhu Sun recently received Outstanding Master’s Thesis awards recognizing the quality of their work.
Burns, M.S. in Earth Sciences, won in the Non-Traditional Thesis/Project category for her thesis, “Characterizing the Growth in Spatial Thinking Abilities in Meteorology Students Across the Curriculum Synopsis.” She is currently a Ph.D. student in Geography at Charlotte. Her thesis plotted the change in spatial thinking over the course of study for Meteorology.
Martin, M.A. in History, received the award in the Fine Arts and Humanities category for her thesis, “The "Disposable Others": Settler Colonial Processes of Industrial Pollution in Cancer Alley, Louisiana, 1964-2023.” Martin, who is a Ph.D. student at the University of California-Irvine, also received the Outstanding Master’s Thesis award from the Council of Southern Graduate Schools. Martin’s thesis examined how pollution and industrialization forces resulted in violence and loss of land in a rural Louisiana town.
Sun, M.S. in Electrical Engineering, won in the Math, Physical Sciences and Engineering category. He is currently a Ph.D. student at Charlotte. His thesis is titled “Wireless Power Transfer for Railway Electrification.” His thesis introduces a new approach to charging battery-electric locomotives that promises to reduce emissions of harmful gases.
The Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award is presented annually to recognize high-quality work. Faculty may nominate a student whose thesis has been accepted in partial fulfillment of master’s degree requirements during the past two academic and/or summer sessions.
Recipients of the Master’s Thesis Award receive $500 plus an engraved plaque. All winners are entered in the regional CSGS Master’s Thesis Award competition and are eligible to win an honorarium of $1,000 award and award plaque.
Read more about graduate fellowships, awards and competitions at the Graduate School.