The School of Public Policy recently held its Spring Awards Banquet. This year’s event was held at the Georgian Terrace Piedmont Ballroom. Awards were handed out to recognize the work of staff and students at the School of Public Policy. SPP PhD Candidate Ross Beppler was awarded the William Read Award. SPP PhD Candidate Elie Sung won the Outstanding PhD Student Award. Elie also recently received an NSF dissertation improvement grant for her research on how firms and the courts jointly shape patent policy and how in turn these policies have heterogeneous impacts on firms’ innovation.  Ishan Mehta received the Outstanding MSPP Student Award. Sana Surani received the Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award, recognizing the impact she has made during her internships at the White House and NASA, her recent publication (as first author) with Dr. Aaron Levine, and her campus leadership.

Leslie Ross was recognized for her recent accomplishment of receiving Georgia Tech Outstanding Undergraduate Academic Award. Anustup Nayak received the Outstanding Alumni Award. Mr. Nayak is a class of 1998 MSPP graduate. He is currently vice-president of XSEED education, a Singapore based company that aims to “transform education globally, from rote to learning from ‘telling’ to teaching.”  The educational approach and materials developed by XSEED are used by more than 1 million children around the world every day. He recently published an article in Forbes India where he discussed the challenges facing the Indian education system, including its reliance on rote learning.

To read Mr. Nayak’s article click here: http://www.forbesindia.com/blog/economy-policy/an-antidote-to-rote-learning/