David Busby Receives Academic Achievement Award

2017 May 25

David Busby of New Paltz, NY, was one of 54 outstanding SUNY Oneonta students selected to receive a 2017 Academic Achievement Award this spring. Each academic department or program selected one to three outstanding seniors to receive the award.

Busby received the Geography and Environmental Sustainability Department award.

To be considered for the award, a student must have a minimum grade-point average of 3.5 in his or her major and must demonstrate exceptional academic improvement over four semesters, as well as excellence in research; leadership and involvement in department, campus and community activities; and/or participation in academic and/or professional situation outside the college.

In summer 2016, Busby conducted research through a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates program at the University of Nevada at Reno, modeling carbon emission scenarios to determine possible impacts on vertical temperature profiles of the Shasta Reservoir in California. He followed the research with a poster presentation at the 2016 American Geophysical Union (AGU) fall meeting. Busby also participated in a service-learning course in Guatemala, analyzing water samples and helping local residents with water resources problems. In addition, Busby was a summer intern at SUNY Oneonta’s Biological Field Station and published his work in the Biological Field Station's 48th Annual Report. He also received the Richard Siegfried Award and the Susan Sutton Smith Award for Academic Excellence. Outside of the classroom, Busby was a member of the men’s cross country and track and field team, and he earned the SUNYAC Scholar Athlete of the Year award in 2016.