A national honor society adds a School of Dentistry faculty member and five students to its roll.
OKU honor society inducts SOD faculty, students
Five senior students and one faculty member from the School of Dentistry were inducted into the Rho Sigma chapter of the Omicron Kappa Upsilon National Dental Honor Society, while one junior student received the society's Kramer Award May 4.
The honorees include, from left, Sarah Kimbrough (inductee), Andrew Tran (Kramer Award recipient), Kellie Watts (inductee), Dr. Jason Griggs (faculty inductee), Blake Boleware (inductee), Trey Donahoe (inductee) and Jamie Howard (inductee).
Griggs, associate dean for research and professor and chair of biomedical materials science, received an honorary membership based on his “intellectual abilities, scholastic achievements and significant contributions to dental education.”
Griggs received his Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from the University of Florida in 1998. While not a dentist, he was eligible for induction because of his many contributions to the field of dentistry through research, teaching and publications.
Griggs is principal investigator of two NIH R01 grants. He has authored more than 100 scientific articles and abstracts, two book chapters and two patents.
His main research interests are fatigue fracture of dental restorative materials and implants with emphasis on developing more efficient fatigue test methods.
Tran was selected to receive the Kramer Award in recognition of his scholarship, character and professional promise.
Omicron Kappa Upsilon was formed in 1914 at Northwestern University “to encourage and develop a spirit of emulation among students in dentistry and to recognize in an appropriate manner those who shall distinguish themselves by a high grade of scholarship.” The society's motto symbolizes the ideal for which the dental profession is striving: the conservation of teeth and health.
Each year, up to 12 percent of the graduating class may be invited to join the society based on dental school performance, outstanding character traits and professional achievement potential. Full-time dental school faculty who have made contributions to the field of dentistry may be invited to join, as well as faculty who are not members of the dental profession but have contributed to the advancement of dentistry.