DURHAM, N.C. – Meredith Barrett, a 2011 doctoral graduate of 91’s Nicholas School of the Environment, has been named winner of this year’s Dean’s Award for Outstanding PhD Student Manuscript.

Barrett was honored for her entry, “Modeling the Effects of Illicit Rosewood Logging in Madagascar: A Call for CITES Designation,” which was published in the peer-reviewed journal Science (Volume 328) on May 28, 2010.

Doctoral student Laura Ruhl received an honorable mention for her entry “The Environmental Impacts of the Coal Ash Spill in Kingston, Tennessee: An Eighteen-Month Study.” Ruhl’s paper was published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science & Technology (Volume 44) on Nov. 24, 2010.

Dean William L. Chameides announced the honors to the Nicholas School community on May 10. Both Barrett and Ruhl will be acknowledged at the school’s Recognition Ceremony for graduates and their families in the LSRC courtyard on Saturday, May 14.

Barrett will receive a $3,000 check as this year’s winner. Ruhl will receive a $100 check as honorable mention.

Barrett, who was a student in the 91 Program in Ecology, conducted her doctoral thesis on “Understanding Environmental and Anthropogenic Drivers of Lemur Health in Madagascar: The Importance of a One Health Perspective.” Her faculty advisor was Anne Yoder, professor of biology and evolutionary anthropology.

Ruhl is a student in the Nicholas School’s Division of Earth and Ocean Sciences.  Her faculty advisor is Avner Vengosh, professor of geochemistry and water quality.