Commencement

12

2011 

summer

C

o m m e n C e m e n t

Ismail Muhammad ibn Ali

Outstanding Male Leader

When Ismail muhammad 

ibn Ali first stepped foot on 

the university of Florida 

campus, he probably could 

not have imagined that he 

would learn so much about 

being a leader during his 

time here.

His major challenge came in fall 2010 when a local 

church proposed to publicly burn copies of the 

Quran. As president of Islam on Campus at uF, mr. 

Ali became a public voice for local muslims and was 

interviewed extensively by news media from around 

the world.

mr. Ali, of miami, worked with uF administrators 

and student Government to create a unified 

response from uF to the church’s threat. He also 

coordinated with local leaders to organize “A Day 

of Peace and unity,” which attracted about 1,000 

people to Gainesville’s downtown community plaza 

on sept. 11, 2010.

“Whatever his own emotions may have been, he 

was able to transcend his personal needs, realizing 

Awards to Outstanding Leaders

The Selection Committee for Outstanding Graduating Student Leaders considers the quality and scope of leadership activities, universitywide leadership, experience, 

special awards, recognition and recommendations of faculty, staff and students.   

that his community was desperate for a calming 

influence that could both reassure and educate 

the general public,” a uF administrator wrote in 

a letter supporting his nomination as Outstanding 

student Leader.

His other successes as a student leader include a 

highly successful annual fundraiser held by the 

IOC known as Fast-a-Thon held during ramadan. 

During his tenure as president, the event attracted 

more than 400 pledges and raised more than $6,000 

for charities.

mr. Ali has interned with the Florida museum 

of Natural History and spent his last semester as 

an apprenticeship teacher at uF Teach. He has 

volunteered for Project Downtown Gainesville and 

shands at uF medical center. He received the ACs-

Hach second Career Teacher scholarship.

 

mr. Ali graduates today with a bachelor’s degree in 

biochemistry from the College of Liberal Arts and 

sciences and a minor in uF Teach. In June, he 

will join Teach for America as a secondary biology 

teacher in the Baltimore region.

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13

G

raduate

 S

chool

Henry T. Frierson, Associate Vice President and Dean of the Graduate School

d

octor

 

of

 P

hiloSoPhy

Sanchayeeta Adhikari, Master of Arts, 2001, Banaras Hindu University—India; Master of Philosophy, 2004,                               

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

Major:  Geography

Minor:  Resource Conservation

Dissertation: People, Park and Suburbanization: A Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Change In and Around Bannerghatta National Park, India

Dissertation Chairperson: J. Southworth

Shamel Mohamed Mohey-Eldein Atia Alam-Eldein, Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Science, 1994,                                          

Menoufia University—Egypt; Master of Science in Agricultural Science, 1999, Tanta University—Egypt

Major:  Horticultural Science

Dissertation: Characterization of Citrus Peel Maturation and the Effect of Water Stress, Growth Regulators and Date of Harvest

Dissertation Chairperson: L. G. Albrigo

Jared Gregory Ali, Bachelor of Arts, 2005, Master of Science in Entomology, 2008, University of Delaware

Major:  Entomology and Nematology

Dissertation: Subterranean Chemical Ecology of Tritrophic Interactions: Citrus Roots, Root Weevils and Entomopathogenic Nematodes

Dissertation Chairperson: L. L. Stelinski

Shawn Edwin Allgeier, Bachelor of Science in Physics, 2002, Bucknell University—Pennsylvania; Master of Science, 

2004, Master of Science, 2010, University of Florida

Major:  Aerospace Engineering

Dissertation: Determination of Motion Extrema in Multi-Satellite Systems

Dissertation Chairperson: N. G. Fitz-Coy

Jungeun An, Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, 2003, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and 

Technology––South Korea

Major:  Aerospace Engineering

Dissertation: Numerical and Experimental Study on Improving Diagnosis in Structural Health Monitoring

Dissertation Chairperson: R. T. Haftka

Sheri Lizbeth Anderson, Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences, 2000, Master of Science in Zoology, 2006,    

Colorado State University

Major:  Entomology and Nematology

Dissertation: Interactions Between the Midgut of Culex Pipiens Quinquefasciatus and West Nile Virus From Environmental Factors to Cell 

Binding and the Immune Response

Dissertation Chairperson: C. T. Smartt

Abdulnaser Amin Arafat, Bachelor of Engineering, 1990, Birzeit University—West Bank;                                           

Master of Science in Structural Engineering, 1997, An-Najah National University—West Bank

Major:  Design, Construction, and Planning

Dissertation: Evaluating Accessibility and Travel Cost as Suitability Components in the Allocation of Land Use, a Case Study of 

Identifying Land for Affordable Housing in Three Counties in Florida

Dissertation Chairperson: R. L. Steiner

Dissertation Cochairperson: P. D. Zwick

Nicolas Argibay, Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering cum laude, 2006, Bachelor of Science in Aerospace 

Engineering cum laude, 2006, Master of Science, 2009, University of Florida

Major:  Mechanical Engineering

Dissertation: Low Wear Metal Sliding Electrical Contacts

Dissertation Chairperson: W. G. Sawyer

Sharanabasaweshwara Ashok Asundi, Bachelor of Engineering, 2001, Bangalore University—India; Master of Science, 

2010, University of Florida

Major:  Aerospace Engineering

Dissertation: CubeSat System Design Based on Methodologies Adopted for Developing Wireless Robotic Platform

Dissertation Chairperson: N. G. Fitz-Coy

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