Congratulations to Dr. Binbin Lin for Winning Distinguished Dissertation Award

We are thrilled to share that Dr. Binbin Lin has been honored with the prestigious 2025 Distinguished Dissertation Award from the Texas A&M Graduate and Professional School. This annual award recognizes doctoral scholars whose dissertations make significant and lasting contributions to their fields, and each recipient receives a commemorative plaque and a $1,000 prize.

2025 Texas A&M Distinguished Dissertation Awardees

Dr. Lin’s achievement is particularly remarkable—she is the only Ph.D. candidate among this year’s awardees, as all others had already completed their degrees at the time of selection. She is also the sole recipient from the Social Sciences, highlighting her exceptional contributions in geography and social science research.

Dr. Binbin Lin (right) receives the award from Dr. Fuhui Tong (left; Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate and Professional School at Texas A&M University)

Commemorative plaque of Dr. Binbin Lin's Distinguished Dissertation Award

Her dissertation, “Social Sensing for Public Health: A BESH Framework to Understand and Mitigate Inequalities,” introduces an innovative Behavior-Environment-Society-Health (BESH) framework. Through the integration of social sensing and advanced data science methods, her research addresses pressing public health disparities and offers actionable insights to guide pandemic prediction and mitigation, healthcare resource allocation, and health intervention strategies.

Dr. Lin’s recognition is a testament to her dedication, creativity, and the impact of her scholarship. It also brings well-deserved attention to the value of social science research within highly competitive, cross-disciplinary platforms. We look forward to seeing the continued influence of her work in advancing equitable and data-driven public health solutions.

👏 Congratulations, Dr. Lin, on this outstanding achievement!