Spring 2021 School of Geosciences Outstanding Master's Graduates

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette Alumni Association Outstanding Master's Graduate Award is given to an exemplary graduating master's student in recognition of outstanding academic and extracurricular achievements. Each graduate program can nominate one student for the Outstanding Master's Graduate Award. A committee, led by the dean of the Graduate School, selects the top candidates. A UL Lafayette Alumni Association committee interviews each candidate and chooses one as the overall Outstanding Master's Graduate. This person is recognized during the Commencement General Assembly.

Nina Zamanialavijeh is one of two Spring 2021 School of Geosciences Outstanding Master’s Graduates. She is pursuing a master’s degree in environmental science. She has a 4.0 GPA. Zamanialavijeh has conducted extensive research in areas such as terrestrial mega-landslides and rock magnetism. In August, she traveled to Utah, where she collected rock samples as part of research for her master’s thesis. She is a member of the Geological Society of America, which awarded her a graduate student research grant. Zamanialavijeh has also conducted remote sensing research at the University’s Regional Application Center. Satellite and remote sensing imagery gathered at the center is shared with governmental agencies, the military, and the public for emergency response, coastal restoration, transportation, industry, and farming. She earned a bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of Hormozgan in Bandar Abbas, Iran, in 2011. Following graduation from UL Lafayette, she is considering several doctoral programs in the earth and energy sciences.

Photo caption: The University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Spring 2021 Outstanding Master’s Graduates are, from left: Overall Outstanding Master's Graduate Narges Firouzshahi, Department of Communicative Disorders; Elizabeth C. Heintz, School of Kinesiology; Ian Naquin, School of Architecture and Design; Margaret Storms, Department of Criminal Justice; Bárbara Almeida, School of Geosciences; and Nina Zamanialavijeh, School of Geosciences. (Photo credit: Rachel Rafati / University of Louisiana at Lafayette)