UW’s Celebration of Excellence Recognizes Faculty Researchers

The University of Wyoming recognized the achievements of outstanding faculty and departments during its third annual Celebration of Excellence in Research and Innovation Jan. 22.

 

To celebrate UW’s culture of research and innovation, five university-wide awards for outstanding research contributions were bestowed; outstanding researchers in 12 colleges or schools were honored; and two Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) Award winners were recognized. The event was organized as a part of the university’s Board of Trustees meeting. 

 

“By enhancing support for researchers on campus, the research and innovation enterprise at UW is growing rapidly. We have doubled our research expenditures in the last five years and increased translational research and entrepreneurship activities,” says Parag Chitnis, vice president for UW’s Research and Economic Development Office. “Consequently, we were recognized by R1 and the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities’ IEP (Innovation and Economic Prosperity) designations. These awards provide examples of excellence in research, innovation, entrepreneurship and economic engagement. Their work is relevant to Wyoming, competitive nationally and is recognized worldwide for excellence.”

 

R1 refers to Research Level 1 status from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

 

As Wyoming’s land-grant university, UW serves Wyoming by providing accessible, high-quality education; conducting research that directly addresses state needs; and engaging with communities and industries to promote prosperity, Chitnis adds. Faculty, staff and students at UW conduct research across disciplines essential to Wyoming’s future.

 

Those who received awards are:

 

-- Thomas Boothby, an associate professor of molecular biology, received the UW Distinguished Researcher Award, which is given to a researcher with the highest annual research expenditures averaged over the last three years.

 

His research focuses on how organisms survive extreme environments and how we can make practical use of this knowledge for elevating some of society’s most pressing problems, such as increasing access to medicine and food security -- especially in rural and underserved communities. Outside of his academic research, Boothby is an officer of the Biophysical Society; a founder of the Water and Life Interface Institute; and the founder of LifeGlass LLC.

 

-- Mohammad Piri, a professor of petroleum engineering, received the UW Distinguished Innovator Award, given to a researcher with the most prolific innovation portfolio.

 

Piri is the founder and director of the Center of Innovation for Flow Through Porous Media. He holds the Wyoming Excellence Chair in Petroleum Engineering and the Thomas and Shelley Botts Endowed Chair in Unconventional Reservoirs. He earned his Ph.D. in petroleum engineering from Imperial College London in 2004 and served as a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton.

 

His research advances the understanding of the atomic-, nano-, micro-, and macro-scale physics of flow and transport in man-made and naturally occurring porous media with applications in energy and the environment, including unconventional reservoirs. He has secured more than $150 million in external research funding and leads major initiatives such as the WGI Initiative and a strategic partnership with Thermo Fisher Scientific. He has commercialized research innovations through two spinoff companies -- Piri Technologies LLC and Digital Pore Solution LLC -- contributing to economic diversification and workforce development for the university and Wyoming at-large. He holds numerous U.S. patents.

 

-- The Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit received the UW Exemplary Research Culture Award, bestowed upon a department with the highest per-faculty research expenditures and innovation portfolio.

 

The unit, led by Director Matt Kauffman, is currently one of 43 U.S. Geological Survey Cooperative Research Units nationwide. Their offices, programs and personnel are embedded within the UW Department of Zoology and Physiology. The unit collaborates with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, federal land and wildlife managers, the Wind River Indian Reservation, private entities and nonprofit partners to provide actionable scientific information for wildlife and fisheries management.

 

-- Shawna McBride and Qian-Quan Sun each received the UW Distinguished Research Service Award. The award is given to a faculty or staff member who has made major contributions to UW’s research services and infrastructure.

 

McBride is senior director of the Research Development and Wyoming Established Program to Study Competitive Research (EPSCoR)-Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Office and co-director of both the Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium and NASA EPSCoR Program. In her capacity, McBride leads research development and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) capacity-building initiatives.

 

Sun is a professor in the Department of Zoology and Physiology, and director of the Wyoming Sensory Biology Center. Over the past 24 years at UW, Sun’s lab has received continuous National Institutes of Health funding. He led the establishment of a Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence Phase I center and its successful competitive renewal for Phase II.

 

-- Lauren Shoemaker, an associate professor of botany, and Ryan Webb, an assistant professor of civil and architectural engineering, each received a Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

 

The CAREER Award is one of NSF’s most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education, and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. Activities pursued by early-career faculty build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research. 

 

Shoemaker, also affiliated with the Program in Ecology and Evolution and School of Computing, received a five-year, $875,000 grant for her project, titled “Impacts of Environmental Filtering versus Species Interactions on Persistence and Coexistence in a Warming World.”

 

Webb leads the UW Mountain Hydrology group, and he received a five-year $738,196 grant for his project, titled “CAREER: Defining the Role of Snow in Storing and Transmitting Liquid Water to Generate Streamflow.”

 

The university also honored a dozen faculty members, who were recognized by their respective colleges for their contributions to UW’s research and innovation landscape. The College Honoree award winners are:

 

-- Melissa Alexander, the Carl M. Williams Professor of Law and Ethics, College of Law.

 

-- Davin Bagdonas, a senior research professional in the Center for Economic Geology Research, School of Energy Resources.

 

-- Bledar Bisha, an associate professor of food microbiology and head of the Department of Animal Science; College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources.

 

-- Jonathan Brant, a professor in the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering and Construction Management, College of Engineering and Physical Sciences.

 

-- Jeffrey Covin, the Wyoming Excellence Chair and Pat Rile Chair of Entrepreneurship in the Department of Management and Marketing, College of Business.

 

-- Joe Holbrook, an associate professor of carnivore and habitat ecology, Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources.

 

-- Meridith Joyce, an assistant professor in the School of Computing.

 

-- Christine McKibbin, a professor in the Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences.

 

-- Eric Moody, associate director of Wyoming Institute for Disabilities, College of Health Sciences.

 

-- Shane Murphy, a professor of atmospheric science, College of Engineering and Physical Sciences.

 

-- Grace Shearrer, an assistant professor of family and consumer sciences, College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources.

 

-- Ling Zhang, an assistant professor of special education, College of Education.

 

During the Celebration of Excellence, attendees received a first look at the new research and engagement video that shows how the Research and Economic Development Division remains committed and integral to UW’s land-grant mission. To view the video, go here.