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Bibek Adhikari, a graduate teaching assistant in biology and microbiology, received the 2024 John E. Miller Research Award from the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi at South Dakota State University.

The $500 award will allow Adhikari to attend conferences to present his research and to travel to the field to continue his research on native red mulberries, which are found in the heart of pristine forests but have become an endangered species in some places of North America due to crossbreeding with white mulberries.

The award was established following the death of the longtime history professor in 2020 to honor Miller’s scholarly work and his service to ³ÉÈËÊÓƵ and the state of South Dakota. 

2024 has been a good year for Adhikari. He also is the recipient of the 2024 Donald Auger Graduate Student Travel Award, the Stanford Data Ocean Scholarship and the Genetic Society Travel Award. 

A doctoral student from Nepal, Adhikari anticipates a December 2026 degree completion. He is advised by biology professor Madhav Nepal.

Eligibility for membership in Phi Kappa Phi is based on class standing. Second semester juniors in the upper 7.5% of their class, and seniors and graduate students who rank in the upper 10% are invited to be members.

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, which was founded in 1897 at the University of Maine, is the nation's oldest, largest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Its chapters are on more than 300 campuses in the United States, Puerto Rico and the Philippines.