Jason Koski/University Photography

Students celebrate at the Ph.D. recognition and hooding ceremony May 24 in Barton Hall.

Jason Koski/University Photography

Provost Kent Fuchs and Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Barbara Knuth place hoods on Ph.D. candidates.

For Donald Lee, earning a doctorate in the field of chemical engineering would have been even more difficult without Cornell’s collaborative environment.

“The tough part was getting all of my experiments to work,” he said. “The good part was having a lot of colleagues who know how to solve problems, and my adviser, Susan Daniel, was always available and always there to help me. The amount of collaborative work at Cornell makes it a very unique experience.”

Yula Kapetanakos has been studying the conservation of Asian vultures, including genetics and demography of four nearly extinct species, for the past seven years. She will defend her dissertation in June for her Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology. “People really want to see you succeed, and they want you to see the science done well,” she said, adding, “It was a very well-rounded experience.”

Lee and Kapetanakos were two of more than 300 students honored at the annual Ph.D. recognition and hooding ceremony May 24 in Barton Hall.

Following an introduction by Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Barbara Knuth, President David Skorton congratulated the new doctoral candidates in a speech that celebrated their achievement while encouraging them to use their skills to “tackle societal problems” globally and locally.

“Today, you are experts and trailblazers in your fields,” Skorton said. “Through your research and scholarship and creative work, you’ve advanced our understanding of the world and advanced our understanding of the human condition, and brought new insights to bear on some of our most vexing problems.

“And despite the demands of your degree programs, you’ve also contributed your skills and perspectives to enrich this campus and the wider community in which we live – by participating in the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly, and by hosting a conference just last month to encourage middle school girls to consider science careers, and by developing computer games that teach biology to high school students.”

The Ph.D. candidates came to Cornell from more than 120 countries across the globe, he said, and now are moving on to other universities, or have found positions in government service, think tanks, nonprofits or corporations.

“No matter which path you’ve chosen after Cornell, you will discover that the skills honed through your years as doctoral students here will continue to serve you well for years and decades,” he said.

“Sometimes, an advanced degree can lead in very unexpected directions,” Skorton said, mentioning his own journey from M.D. to biomedical researcher to university administrator. “Many of you will not only change specific jobs but also shift careers … No matter what your next steps will be, I hope you will use the same hard-won skills … to tackle societal problems, global ones, national ones, international ones, as well as the problems in each of your communities.”

Following the individual hooding of each candidate by Knuth and Provost Kent Fuchs, the Cornell University Wind Ensemble played Cornell’s alma mater, and graduates joined friends and family members at a reception in Barton Hall.