The Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering & Bioscience announced the winners of its annual “Above and Beyond” awards given annually to staff, a junior faculty member, a senior faculty member, a staff member, and, for the first time in 2012, to three graduate student or postdoc trainees.

Todd Streelman, PhD, an associate professor in the School of Biology, received the senior faculty award for his time and dedication in the planning phase one of the portion of the bio-complex on Georgia Tech’s biotechnology campus.

Manu Platt, PhD, an assistant professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, was the junior faculty member recognized for his leadership and organization of the new Graduate and Postdoc (GaP) Seminar Series as well as numerous minority outreach activities, including the new ENGAGE program and diversity events for Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES).

The trainee awards were given to graduate students, Ashley Allen, Stacie Gutowski and Jenna Wilson for their dedication to the broader community through graduate student group activities as well as volunteering.

Allen, from the lab of Bob Guldberg, PhD, was recognized for her numerous volunteer activities over the years.  She served as chair and member of Bioengineering Graduate Student Association (BGSAC) for two years, and as chair of the outreach committee for the Bioengineering and Bioscience Unified Graduate Students (BBUGS).  

Gutowski, who also gives generously of her time to volunteering in many capacities, has been very active in BBUGS, serving as the organization’s co-chair for two years as well as the co-chair for the education and outreach committee.  She was the co-chair for the biotechnology career fair and served as a trainee and then a mentor for the graduate leadership program (GLP) on campus.  Gutowski's adviser, Andres Garcia, PhD, nominated her for the award.

Wilson, a doctoral student in the lab of Todd McDevitt, PhD, is another standout amongst Petit Institute trainees.  She served as event chair of BGSAC, volunteered for numerous outreach activities with BBUGS, was a leader for the IGERT mentoring meetings, a graduate student mentor for Georgia Tech’s BMES, a mentor for Georgia Tech’s Women in Engineering and served on the graduate recruitment committee for BMES.

The staff awards were given to James Godard, Administrative Manager II, and Matthew Myskowski, web developer for the Petit Institute.

The "Above and Beyond" Awards were started in 2009 to recognize team-based individuals who demonstrate exemplary service to the institute and contribute to its collegial, collaborative environment.  All awardees are selected by the Petit Institute Faculty Steering Committee.