Mines Professor Honored with International Excellence in Science Education Award

For nearly a decade, Gokce Ustunisik, Ph.D., South Dakota Mines associate professor of geology and geological engineering and curator of minerals, has helped her students succeed through her innovative teaching and individualized mentorship.

That dedication and passion to education earned her the 2025 Graduate Women in Science (GWIS) Jean E. Simmons Award for Science Education Excellence.

The award, named after the organization's first honorary member and former president of GWIS, recognizes Ustunisik’s advocacy for STEM education, leadership and mentorship.

GWIS is an international organization with a mission to build a global community that inspires, supports, recognizes and empowers women in science.

“Her commitment extends across undergraduate education, graduate advising, and postdoctoral training, where she combines subject mastery with a genuine ability to inspire students toward academic and professional excellence,” said Brooke Long-Fox, Ph.D., Mines research scientist and member of the GWIS Black Hills Chapter. “Her teaching equips students with a deep understanding of mineralogic and petrologic processes on Earth and beyond, reinforced through personalized office-hour discussions tailored to individual learning needs.”

Ustunisik said she is honored to be recognized for her work with students at every level, from undergraduates to doctoral candidates.

“I was very excited to receive this award,” she said. “What I love are these moments of success, like watching students I first met three years ago walk into their fourth year and doing excellent things. They are pushing the boundaries of science, and that is what I am most proud of.”

Ustunisik incorporates a variety of teaching methods, challenging her students to go beyond what they learn in the classroom or observe in the laboratory or field. Her teaching philosophy focuses on developing critical thinking skills and focusing on a deeper understanding of how the field aspects of geology provides the basic framework for the laboratory research and analysis required to quantify geologic processes.

“I want my students to start with observations but move beyond that by seeing the connection between how physical and chemical principles are tied to thermodynamic controls on mineral textures, crystal chemistry and phase equilibria,” she said. “My goal is to push the chemistry and physics aspects of geology by showing them that geology is beyond field work.”

From day one, she engages undergraduates in hands-on research and challenges all her students to exceed their own expectations. She requires graduate students to publish, present at major conferences, pursue grants and mentor undergraduates, while also preparing them to become future faculty equipped to train the next generation of scientists.

The GWIS Black Hills Chapter was established on the South Dakota Mines campus in 2017 with the goal to build a sense of community among graduate students that would cultivate support, collaboration and inclusion.