The NORDP Board of Directors established the Rising Star Award in 2016 to recognize up to three members annually who have made outstanding volunteer contributions and show great potential for future contributions to NORDP and the Research Development Profession. Awardees are announced at the NORDP annual conference, presented with an etched glass plaque, and receive free registration for the following year’s annual conference.
SAMARPITA SENGUPTA, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER 
A NORDP member since 2017, Samar is our Strategic Alliances Committee liaison to the National Postdoc Association. Formerly a postdoc, she created an innovative RD internship / mentoring program for postdocs at UT-SwMC, presented the program at NORDP’s 2017 IDEA Showcase, and led trans-forming the program into a comprehensive, flexible pedagogy for NORDP members to implement at their institutions – to train postdocs, grad students and staff for RD positions. Active in NORDP’s Member Services Committee (MSC), Samar works not only to increase the pipeline of new NORDP members, but also to support and retain members. She co-chairs the MSC subcommittee that creates events and activities for First-Time Conference Attendees, and is one of the architects of the current Ambassador Program. She is active in NORDP Region VI, recently launched a Region VI newsletter, and is a regular contributor to the NORDP listserv. Samar embodies many of the core qualities we value in NORDP: mentoring, service, knowledge transfer, and promoting the RD field to the uninitiated.
Posted on behalf of the Member Services Committee
NORDP fosters a culture of inclusive excellence by actively promoting and supporting diversity, inclusion and equity in all its forms to expand our worldview, enrich our work, and elevate our profession.
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