Allen Goldstein and Rodrigo Almeida recognized with mentorship awards

Goldstein, who is also a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was honored with the Carol D. Soc Distinguished Graduate Student Mentoring Award for Late-Career Faculty. The award, presented annually by the Graduate Division, recognizes a UC Berkeley faculty member for their vital contribution to mentoring graduate students and preparing them for future roles in academia.

Goldstein's graduate students say he embodies “the best characteristics of a fantastic mentor and advisor, encouraging, supportive, creative, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and outstanding.” He is known for being a skilled teacher capable of guiding students through cutting-edge research and mentoring them through every stage of their graduate careers. His dedication to providing individualized attention and assistance extends beyond graduate students, as he is known to also to support undergraduates, postdocs, and visiting scholars.

Almeida was named one of three recipients of the Graduate Assembly’s Faculty Mentor Award, which recognizes faculty and teaching staff who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to mentoring, advising, and assisting graduate students. Recipients are nominated by a current or recent UC Berkeley graduate student and selected for going beyond the standard role played by an adviser.

“I chose Berkeley not because of its prestige, but because of the conversations I had with Rodrigo Almeida and his students while I was applying,” Almeida’s nominator wrote. “They were happy, they were supported, and they were enthusiastic about me joining the community. Having completed my PhD, I can be glad that I trusted my intuition all those years ago because I could not imagine having had a better graduate advisor.”