UCGIS is pleased to announce that Dr. Budhendra (Budhu) Bhaduri, of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been selected for the 2017 Carolyn Merry Mentoring Award. At Oak Ridge, he has nurtured a widely successful mentoring and workforce training program in Geographic Information Science and Technology. The program has since become a model for program elsewhere in connecting national laboratories with academic institutions in workforce training. Over the course of his tenure in this position, Budhu has demonstrated remarkable leadership within and beyond the US Department of Energy in tirelessly pursuing development of a GIScience workforce capable of tackling real, important problems affecting our nation and the world. Perhaps most importantly for ORNL and the GIScience community, Budhu's efforts have created the conditions for effective GIScience mentoring and mentee success at one of the most prestigious US national labs.

 Budhu's leadership and mentorship have resulted in the scientific research training of over 300 graduate and undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds since 2003, through training and engaging them in highly acclaimed projects such as Landscan. Alumni of Budhu's group have gone on to pursue and succeed in careers at major academic research institutions, national labs, and top companies pursuing cutting-edge GIScience research and development. As indicated by the letters of support for his nomination for this award, Budhu's leadership and mentorship have been a critical component in numerous students completing MS and PhD theses and dissertations, with much of this work being published in leading GIScience journals, and many of these individuals choosing to continue to pursue careers and degrees in GIScience, and STEM more broadly.

 The Carolyn Merry Mentoring Award was established by UCGIS in 2015 to recognize an individual who demonstrates exceptional mentoring abilities and practices. Professor Carolyn Merry embodied the spirit of a mentor by sharing her wisdom and experience with colleagues, particularly junior scholars, as a scientist, educator, and academic leader. Professor emerita of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering at The Ohio State University, Dr. Merry was known for her scholarship and leadership in remote sensing and geographic information science. The goal of the Carolyn Merry Mentoring Award is to recognize the commitment she demonstrated to mentoring and the investment of others who share this philosophy.