Four Recognized as Outstanding Graduates of UB College of Arts and Sciences

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at the University at Buffalo recognized four seniors as outstanding graduates of 1999 with Dean's Outstanding Senior Awards at the university's commencement ceremony on May 16.

The four outstanding graduates -- each graduating summa cum laude -- were selected from more than 2,000 graduates in the CAS, were presented a cash award and certificate of recognition by Dean Kerry Grant. The four awards, which represent four areas of the arts and sciences, were based on students' overall academic achievement, involvement in the campus community and contributions to their area of study.

Cynthia D. Rudin of Williamsville, who majored in mathematics/physics and music theory, received the CAS Dean's Outstanding Senior Award in Science and Mathematics and the Outstanding Graduate Awards for the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Music.

Rudin also is one of four UB recipients of a 1999 SUNY Chancellor's Award for Academic Excellence. She has received a Goldwater Scholarship, Seckula Memorial Scholarship, and the Grace W. Capen Award for Academic Excellence.

Rudin's research work has ranged from the study of causes of avalanches, to solar studies, to empirical models of the ionosphere. She completed a senior thesis on modeling epitaxially strained solid films, which has been submitted for publication, and a separate thesis on the harmonic and structural analysis of Maurice Ravel's "Le Tombeau de Couperin." A member of the UB Honors Program, Rudin also is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Golden Key and Phi Eta Sigma national honor societies.

Rudin will pursue graduate studies in the Department of Applied and Computational Mathematics at Princeton University.

Jonathan W. Federick of Snyder, who majored in both media study and English, received the CAS Dean's Outstanding Senior Award for the Arts as well as the Outstanding Graduate Award for the Department of Media Study. He has garnered abundant praise from his professors for his work as a screenwriter, director, and critic of film and literature.

During his undergraduate career, Federick directed five films and six screenplays and worked as a production assistant for Scene and Herd Productions, a local film company, and as the assistant manager of AMC Como 8 Theaters.

A member of the UB Honors Program, he is a recipient of the Grace W. Capen Award for Academic Excellence and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society and the Golden Key National Honor Society.

Federick plans to pursue graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin at Madison or the University of Iowa in Fall 2000.

Alyssa Marie Johnson of Lyons, who majored in both psychology and health and human services, received the CAS Dean's Outstanding Senior Award for the Social and Behavioral Sciences and the Outstanding Graduate Award for the Department of Psychology. She received a Grace W. Capen Award for Academic Excellence and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Psi Chi and Golden Key national honor societies.

Johnson served as a clinical research assistant in the Psycholophysiology Lab and helped to develop and implement studies on disruptive behavior disorders and depression. During her undergraduate career, she also worked as an intern at the Buffalo Psychiatric Center, a counselor at the Finger Lakes Developmental Disabilities Services Office, and a student assistant in UB's Office of Disability Services.

Johnson will pursue a master's degree in public administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she will be one of only nine students nationwide selected for the program.

Thomas Varghese Kozhimannil of Queens Village, received the CAS Dean's Outstanding Senior Award for the Humanities and the Outstanding Graduate Award for the Department of History. Kozhimannil, who concentrated his study of history on medieval Europe using visual art as a window into medieval civilization, also achieved proficiency in six languages and prepared for medical school during his undergraduate career.

Listed in Who's Who Among American Universities and Colleges, he is the winner of a Grace W. Capen Award for Academic Excellence and is a two-time recipient of the Milton Plesur Scholarship. Kozhimannil also is a member of the UB Honors Program and the Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Alpha Theta and Phi Eta Sigma national honor societies. He will spend the next two years in Northern India teaching science in a Jesuit program and then plans to attend medical school.