Winners of the Distinguished Dissertation Award were honored at an April 29 ceremony. The winners are: (front row) Shannon Dawdy, Feng Shao and Andrea Seri; (back row) Victor Perlin, Julie Zimmerman, Gregory Burton and Jeremy Hartnett. Karen Strassler was not present. The award from the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies recognizes authors whose doctoral dissertations are exceptional, both for the high quality of the scholarship and for the significance of their findings. The awards are co-sponsored by UMI Dissertation Publishing/ProQuest Information and Learning. Dissertations nominated by University faculty are evaluated by a review panel composed of representatives of the Michigan Society of Fellows, with assistance from other members of the faculty and research community. The eight scholars were selected from 44 nominees, and each received a $1,000 honorarium. (Photo by Marcia Ledford, U-M Photo Services)