Students pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (BSChE) at Rice University are eligible to be recognized for exceptional independent research or engineering design through the Distinction in Research and Creative Works Award.
The award is a university honor granted annually at commencement based on substantial contributions in research or design. The award appears on the recipient’s transcript and diploma.
To be eligible for the award, students must:
- Pursuing the BSChE degree
- Be in good academic standing
- Cumulative GPA of at least 3.30 in courses completed at Rice
- Minimum equivalent to nine credits of ChBE 495 and/or ChBE 499 in a paid or unpaid position
Other individual research or design efforts will be considered if conducted under the supervision of a ChBE faculty adviser and the adviser certifies the equivalent effort.
How to Apply
A student may self-nominate, but letter certifying the research or design contribution from a full-time faculty member is required.
Applications should be email to the ChBE undergraduate awards committee at firstname.lastname@example.org.
- Student applications: March 31
- Faculty member certification: April 14
The undergraduate awards committee will select the students based on published guidelines that the committee establishes. The chair of the department will review and approve the selections.
Target Percent of Students
The number of awards will be limited to no more than 20 percent of the students in a graduating class.
This award is based on individual contributions to research or design. In terms of effort, the minimum requirement is the equivalent to nine credits of ChBE 495 and/or ChBE 499 in a paid or unpaid position. Other individual research or design efforts will be considered if conducted under the supervision of a ChBE faculty adviser and the adviser certifies the equivalent effort. Course credit for ChBE 403 and ChBE 404 cannot be counted toward these minimum credits.
One member of the full-time ChBE faculty must certify work for the student. The work can be performed under the guidance of a faculty member at Rice University or by a faculty member at another university, including international locations. The faculty member certifying the work must be familiar with the details of the studies and be in a position to judge the quality of the results.
Only candidates of the BSChE degree will be eligible. The university recommendation of a 3.30 cumulative GPA will be imposed.
This award is restricted to those who have made a substantial contribution to individual research or design substantially “above and beyond” the normal degree requirements. The minimum requirement is the equivalent of nine credits devoted to individual research or design efforts. The independent work can be conducted over multiple sessions such as three academic semesters, two semesters and a summer, one semester and two summers, or three summers. The student may work in different labs and/or have different faculty advisers through these sessions. The work could be performed for credit in ChBE 499 or ChBE 495 or during a paid or unpaid internship in a lab. A substantial achievement must be documented in the form of co-authorship on a publication or on a paper or poster presented at a technical meeting. The adviser must certify that the student has made a substantial independent contribution to any paper or publication. In some cases, an undergraduate thesis may be substituted to satisfy this requirement. Submission of papers or posters to on-campus events at Rice University does not fulfill this requirement.