Six graduating students received special honors during the SCS Diploma Ceremony May 19, which included the first presentation of an award named for Mark Stehlik, former assistant dean for undergraduate education.

Margaret E. Schervish was the recipient of the inaugural Mark J. Stehlik Introductory and Service Teaching Award. The award recognizes the importance of introductory courses in providing students with a solid footing in computer science, a tool that is critical to all disciplines and professions. In particular, it honors teaching assistants in introductory courses who provide outstanding guidance and support. The selection is based on student nominations, recommendation letters, and reviews, and is evaluated by the SCS Teaching Excellence Committee.

Stehlik, who had been assistant dean at SCS since the undergraduate computer science program began in 1988, left the school last summer to become associate dean for education at Carnegie Mellon Qatar.

Other winners included Adrian Trejo uñez, who received the Allen ewell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research. This award recognizes undergraduate research in the scientific style of the late Allen ewell, rather than computer science research in a particular area. The criteria by which a research project is judged are predicated, foremost, on the belief that a good idea is not enough.

Vinay Vemuri was honored with the SCS Alumni Award for Undergraduate Excellence. The Award recognizes technical excellence in research and development, taking into consideration such factors as novelty, technical excellence, potential impact, accessibility, quality of written, oral, and poster presentations, and general excitement among the alumni community participating in the process.

Cyrus Omar received the Alan J. Perlis SCS Graduate Student Teaching Award, while Sang Tian was honored with the Alan J. Perlis SCS Undergraduate Student Teaching Award. Both are based on student nominations, recommendation letters, and reviews. They recognize the graduate and undergraduate students who have shown the highest degree of excellence and dedication as teaching assistants.

Thomas C. Abraham won this year's A. ico Habermann Educational Service Award. The award recognizes outstanding teaching and contributions to the educational experience in SCS. It acknowledges the spectrum of instructors, lecturers, visitors, and "special contributors" to our academic programs and their efforts in teaching and the enrichment of our students and community through their commitment, effort and many contributions.