Naman Agrawal, an Indian doctoral candidate at Cornell University has won the 2025-26 Cornelia Ye Award recognizing an outstanding international graduate teaching assistant for clearly demonstrated dedication and excellence in teaching responsibilities.
Agrawal received the award with Margaret E. Foster, who was chosen for the Christine Ye Award honoring one domestic TA, the Ithaca, New York based research university’s Center for Teaching Innovation announced.
The Ye Awards were established by two gifts from Cornell alumni and faculty, Dr. Xi Yang, and Dr. Mao Ye. Ye is a professor of finance and Yang is a lecturer of finance in the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. The awards are named in honor of their daughters.
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Agrawal, a doctoral candidate in neurobiology and behavior, works in the Computational Physiology Lab of Christiane Linster, professor of neurobiology and behavior in the College of Arts & Sciences, studying interareal neural communication through computational analysis, focusing on olfactory and memory related areas.
“The Cornelia Ye Award means a lot to me, especially as a first-gen international graduate student,” Agrawal said. “There are very few bodies that recognize the efforts of non-citizens towards teaching and pedagogy, and thus this award gave me a lot of validation for the work I have been doing in my classes.”
Agrawal’s education has taken him across the world. Prior to arriving at Cornell in 2021, he received his Bachelor of Science degree from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata, India, and his Master of Science degree from the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior in Bonn, Germany.
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“The world out there is intricately beautiful, from simple atoms to complex human behavior,” said Agrawal, whose goal is to spark “enduring curiosity” in his students. “I believe that educators should instill in the students a sense of awe and wonder about this beautiful world we co-inhabit …If my students go about their daily lives with a twinkle in their eyes and curiosity in their minds, finding joy and beauty in the natural world, I would consider my job well done.”
For Agrawal, receiving the Cornelia Ye award is especially meaningful because it is based in part on recommendation letters from his students.
“At the end of the day, educators and students are inseparable,” he said. “Thus I think of this award as appreciation from my students, and I dedicate this award to my students.”