The Mid-American Conference announced its 2019 postseason volleyball awards on Wednesday. For Miami, senior middle hitter Margaret Payne was named First-Team All-MAC. Sophomore outside hitter Gaby Harper was named All-MAC Honorable Mention.

The 23rd annual Women of Excellence awards luncheon, presented by the YWCA of Piqua, was held on Thursday at the Piqua Country Club, during which Deb Oexmann, Lorna Swisher, and Cassidy Hemm were honored. Both Oexmann and Swisher were named 2019 Women of Excellence, and Cassidy Hemm was named the 2019 Young Woman of Tomorrow. The awards were presented by Women of Excellence Committee member Terry Naas, who shared details about each woman's life and dedication to their work.

Two current Farmer School students and two recent graduates are among 14 people named to Cincinnati Inno's Under 25 list for 2019. "The innovators on our list are from all over the Queen City, tackling a host of unique problems in different industries and companies," the magazine explained. "All are doing the kind of work that both bolsters the Cincinnati tech and startup ecosystem and has the potential to impact the whole world." Laura Mena, a senior marketing and entrepreneurship major, and Andy Newman, a senior finance major, made the list for their work with RedHawk Ventures, a student-led seed stage venture capital fund with the John W. Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship that recently announced a plan to raise a $1.5 million fund to invest in startups created by Miami students and alumni. "The Farmer School of Business and John W. Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship takes pride in preparing tomorrow's entrepreneurial leaders to be 'beyond ready' when they graduate, which is one reason we are excited to see our seniors and recent entrepreneurship graduates named to Cincy Inno's list of top entrepreneurs in StartupCincy for 2019," Dr. Tim Holcomb noted.

Twelve extremely accomplished first-year students from across the country and around the world comprise Miami University's inaugural class of the Presidential Fellows Program. Miami University's premier scholarship, the Presidential Fellows Program offers recipients a merit award to cover tuition, fees, room and board. Students also will receive a one-time academic enhancement fund of $5,000 for activities such as study abroad or professional conferences.

Miami University awarded more than 590 degrees to students during summer term. The public university's Oxford campus, located in southwestern Ohio, offers bachelor's degrees in 122 areas of study. Graduate students choose from more than 60 master's degree and 13 doctoral degree programs. Eighteen bachelor's degrees and 19 associate degrees are offered at Miami's regional locations.

Miami University student Yue Peng spent the summer 2019 semester in London as part of a study abroad program. Peng, from Oxford (45056) is majoring in Mathematics.

Miami University students who are ranked in the top twenty percent of undergraduate students within each division for second semester 2018-19 have been named to the dean's list recognizing academic excellence.

Graduate students from Miami University's Project Dragonfly will travel to Australia, Thailand, Baja, Belize, Borneo, India, Kenya, Hawai'i, Paraguay and Namibia, where they will engage in action projects on vital human and ecological issues.

Miami University's Project Dragonfly has admitted a new cohort of students to its Advanced Inquiry Program (AIP). The AIP combines web-based graduate coursework through Miami University with face-to-face experiential learning at some of the nation's premiere community learning institutions.

Miami University doctoral students have been awarded fellowships from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). They are three of 2,000 students nationwide, out of more than 12,000 who applied, to receive the prestigious award. The fellowship recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It provides three years of support with a $34,000 annual stipend and a $12,000 cost-of-education allowance, among other benefits.

On this episode, Miami student Emilio Bloch talks about his work with retina cell regeneration, alternate pathways for people interested in health-related careers, studying public health in Africa, and more.

The Solar Decathlon Design Challenge, formerly called Race to Zero, is an annual competition open to students from collegiate institutions worldwide. The competition encourages students to work with builders, developers, community leaders, and other industry partners to meet stringent design requirements and create marketable, affordable concepts. Teams compete in a range of residential and commercial project types. Jurors evaluate projects in ten contest categories: Energy Performance; Engineering; Financial Feasibility & Affordability; Resilience; Architecture; Operations; Market Potential; Comfort & Environmental Quality; Innovation; Presentation. Sixteen Miami students from architecture and mechanical engineering majors collaborated in the 2019 Race to Zero competition studio. The studio fielded two teams in the first phase of the competition. In February, their progress entries were selected to be among the 48 finalist teams representing 34 institutions from the U.S. and internationally. The Miami students presented their final proposals at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) April 13-14 in Golden, Colorado. Miami's team won top awards in their divisions: Elementary School team - 1st Place; Attached Housing team - Outstanding Undergraduate Achievement.

Miami University Awards Miami-Hughes Internships

High Achieving Students Choose Miami University

Miami University Student Emily Shirley Featured in National Media

Miami University First-Year Student Named Golden Pen Award Winner

The following people recently were initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines.

Miami University Students Choreograph Spring Concert