“Our annual celebration is a welcomed tradition in the College,” shared Susan Lozier, dean and Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Chair. “As we greet new members of faculty, recognize excellence and service in research and teaching, and affirm our special community of staff and faculty, we thank the generous alumni and friends who help make these awards possible.”
In addition to annual awards honoring faculty development and mentoring, this year’s ceremony featured new accolades for staff members, made possible by funding from the Betsy Middleton and John Sutherland Dean’s Chair endowment — as well as a trio of awards recognizing exceptional contributions from postdoctoral fellows and research scientists, established through the advocacy of the College’s Research Faculty Advisory Council.
The Cullen-Peck Fellowship Awards, established by Frank Cullen (‘73 Math, MS ‘76 ISyE, PhD ‘84 ISyE) and Elizabeth (Libby) Peck (‘75 Math, MS ‘76 ISyE), to recognize mid-career faculty pursuing highly innovative research:
Dobromir (Doby) Rahnev, associate professor, Psychology
Molei Tao, associate professor, Mathematics
Pamela Peralta-Yahya, associate professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry
The Gretzinger Moving Forward Award, endowed by Ralph Gretzinger (‘70 Math) and named to honor his late wife Jewel, recognizing the leadership of school chairs and senior faculty members who have played a pivotal role in diversifying faculty composition, creating a family friendly work environment, and providing a supportive culture for junior faculty:
Greg Huey, chair and school professor, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
The Eric R. Immel Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching, endowed by Charles Crawford (‘71 Math) to recognize exemplary teaching in lower-division foundational courses by faculty in the early stages of their career — and to honor a late faculty member in the School of Mathematics, professor Eric R. Immel, who greatly influenced Crawford’s undergraduate experience at Tech:
Alonzo Whyte, academic professional in Biological Sciences, academic advisor for the Health and Medical Sciences (HMED) Minor, and director of academic advising for the Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience
Peter Yunker, assistant professor, Physics
The Leddy Family Dean’s Faculty Excellence Award, established by Jeff Leddy (’78 Physics) and Pam Leddy to support a faculty member at the associate professor level with proven accomplishments in research and teaching:
William (Will) Ratcliff, associate professor in Biological Sciences and director of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Quantitative Biosciences program
The Faculty Mentor Award, established jointly by the College of Sciences and the Georgia Tech ADVANCE Program and presented to exemplary senior faculty who help new faculty advance in their careers as they learn to balance their roles as researchers, teachers, and advisors to their own graduate students and postdoctoral researchers:
Sung Ha Kang, professor, Mathematics
Jean Lynch-Stieglitz, professor and associate chair, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Loren Williams, professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry
The Outstanding Junior Research Faculty Award and Outstanding Senior Research Faculty Award recognize postdoctoral and non-tenure track research faculty who have made exceptional research contributions with significant impact on their field of study:
Outstanding Junior Research Faculty Award
Gina R. Lewin, postdoctoral fellow in Marvin Whiteley’s research group, Biological Sciences
Outstanding Senior Research Faculty Award
Anton S. Petrov, research scientist II and co-investigator of the Center for the Origins of Life in Loren Williams’ research group, Chemistry and Biochemistry
The Research Faculty Community Trailblazer Award recognizes postdoctoral and non-tenure track research faculty who have demonstrated exceptional and sustained leadership that strengthens and improves the research faculty community:
Micah J. Schaible, research scientist II in Thomas (Thom) Orlando’s research group, Electron and Photon Induced Chemistry on Surfaces (EPICS) Lab, Chemistry and Biochemistry
The newly established Exceptional Staff Member Award and Staff Excellence Awards recognize staff who exemplify outstanding performance above and beyond the call of duty — positively impacting the strategic goals of their department and the College, consistently providing excellent service within their school or the overall College, and demonstrating exemplary teamwork:
Exceptional Staff Member Award
Jasmine Martin, assistant to the chair, Biological Sciences
Staff Excellence Awards
Katrine Pate, grants administrator, Physics
Lea Marzo, assistant to the chair, Mathematics
Stacey Bass, grants administrator lead, Psychology and Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Steven Daniele, IT support engineer senior, Academic & Research Computing Services (ARCS)
The inaugural Leadership in Action Staff Award and Excellence in Leadership Staff Awards recognize staff who have made exceptional contributions to the College through innovative and strategic leadership, change management, business process improvement, special project leadership, and similar accomplishments:
Leadership in Action Staff Award
Kimberly Stanley, assistant director of business operations, Mathematics
Excellence in Leadership Staff Awards
Kathy Sims-McDaniels, development assistant in the Dean’s Office and chair of College of Sciences Staff Advisory Council
John Wallom, associate director of IT Operations, ARCS
The College also recognized and welcomed a trio of new faculty members who arrived on campus this school year:
Onur Birol, academic professional, Biological Sciences
Tansu Celikel, professor and school chair, Psychology
Shelby Ellis, lecturer, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
The 2022 Spring Sciences Celebration program can be found here, and high-resolution photos can be downloaded here.
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