CoS Faculty Awards

Nominations (including self-nominations) for the awards below will generally be due by mid-February.

The nomination package for awards other than the Immel Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching will consist of a nomination letter addressing the selection criteria together with a CV. For the Immel Award, nomination packages will consist of a nomination letter together with a copy of any recent in-class peer reviews and other evidence of teaching excellence. 

***CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2024 COS FACULTY AWARD WINNERS!***

• Eric R. Immel Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching. 

This award consists of $5,000 and a certificate. By the donor’s wishes, the award will be made to a member of the faculty (tenure track or permanent instructional faculty with a primary appointment in the College of Sciences) in recognition of exemplary teaching in foundational undergraduate courses (i.e., 1XXX and 2XXX classes that are typically taken by a selection of different majors) in the current or previous academic years. There is a strong preference for the award to be presented to individuals who are in the early stages of their career. 

Previous recipients: 

2015: John Wise (Physics) 

2016: Carrie Shepler (Chemistry & Biochemistry) 

2017: Britney Schmidt and Chris Reinhard (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) 

2018: Chris Stanzione (Psychology) 

2019: Jennifer Glass (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) 

2020-21: Chris Jankowski (Mathematics) 

2022: Alonzo Whyte (Psychology), Peter Yunker (Physics) 

2023: Christina Ragan (Biological Sciences) 

2024: Samantha Wilson (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences

 

• Cullen-Peck Scholar Awards 

These awards will recognize research accomplishments led by College of Sciences faculty at the associate professor or advanced assistant professor level. The awards will consist of $10,000 in research funds. The research being recognized should be highly innovative and lie in a direction that is relatively new to the nominee. 

Previous recipients: 

2014: Sung-Ha Kang (Mathematics), Raquel Lieberman (Chemistry & Biochemistry), Athanasios Nenes (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences), Shina Tan (Physics) 

2015: Audrey Duarte (Psychology), Lin Jiang (Biological Sciences), Adegboyega Oyelere (Chemistry & Biochemistry), Deirdre Shoemaker (Physics) 

2016: Tamara Bogdanovic (Physics), Frank Stewart (Biological Sciences), Andrew Newman (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences), Lewis Wheaton (Biological Sciences) 

2017: J.C. Gumbart (Physics), Brian Hammer (Biological Sciences), Anton Leykin (Mathematics). 

2018: Scott Moffat (Psychology), Takamitsu Ito (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences), Jennifer Hom (Mathematics) 

2019: Ronghu Wu (Chemistry & Biochemistry), Martin Mourigal (Physics), Greg Blekherman (Mathematics) 

2020-21: Steve Diggle (Biological Sciences), Jennifer Curtis (Physics), Chris Reinhard (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) 

2022: Dobromir Rahnev (Psychology), Pamela Peralta-Yahyah (Chemistry & Biochemistry), Molei Tao (Mathematics) 

2023: Thackery Brown (Psychology), Alex Robel (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences), Amanda Stockton (Chemistry & Biochemistry) 

2024: Wenjing Liao (Mathematics), Jenny McGuire (Biological Sciences), Sabetta Matsumoto (Physics) 

 

• Leddy Family Dean’s Faculty Excellence Award 

This award (previously given on a two-year cycle but now awarded annually) will be awarded to a tenure track faculty member in the College of Sciences, with a value of $20,000 per year for two years. The award will be made to further the goals of the College by supporting development of the research and training program and quality of instruction of a faculty member in the College. Preference is towards awards for faculty at the tenured Associate Professor level, although faculty just before promotion to this rank, or just after promotion from this rank, may also be considered. The major criteria for selection will be proven accomplishments in research and teaching, the potential impact of the award on the career development of the recipient, and interest and capacity in advancement of pedagogy and actual methods and practices of teaching. 

Previous recipients: 

2016: Dan Margalit (Mathematics) 

2018: Tamara Bogdanovic (Physics) 

2020-21: Stefan France (Chemistry & Biochemistry) 

2022: Will Ratcliff (Biological Sciences) 

2023: Amit Reddi (Chemistry & Biochemistry) 

2024: Simon Sponberg (Physics) 

 

• CoS Faculty Mentor Award 

Since 2002, the College of Sciences has supported various forms of formal mentoring for junior faculty. In addition, each of our schools has its own faculty mentoring program where, through informal consultations, the members of the community share their experience, provide advice and encouragement, and help the next generation succeed. 

The College and its ADVANCE Professor jointly established the College of Sciences Faculty Mentor Award to recognize these mentors. These awards recognize the efforts and achievements of College faculty members engaged in mentoring of faculty. The award consists of a certificate along with a $500 prize. 

Previous recipients: 

2014: Christine Heitsch (Mathematics), Joel Kostka (Biological Sciences), Brett Wick (Mathematics) 

2015: Jennifer Curtis (Physics), Wendy Kelly (Chemistry & Biochemistry), Shui-Nee Chow (Mathematics) 

2016: Luca Dieci (Mathematics), Facundo Fernandez (Chemistry & Biochemistry), Rodney Weber (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) 

2017: John Etnyre (Mathematics), Raquel Lieberman (Chemistry & Biochemistry), Ronghua Pan (Mathematics) 

2018: Chrissy Spencer (Biological Sciences), Christoph Farni (Chemistry & Biochemistry), Haomin Zhao (Mathematics) 

2019: Marvin Whiteley (Biological Sciences), Christine Heitsch (Mathematics), Tim Cope (Biological Sciences / Biomedical Engineering) 

2020-21: David Sherrill (Chemistry & Biochemistry) 

2022: Sung Ha Kang (Mathematics), Jean Lynch-Stieglitz (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences), Loren Williams (Chemistry & Biochemistry) 

2023: Andrzej Swiech (Mathematics) 

2024: Shana Kerr (Biological Sciences)

 

• Ralph and Jewel Gretzinger Moving the School Forward Award 

The purpose of this award is to recognize the leadership of a school chair or senior faculty member who has played a pivotal role in at least one of the following areas: (a) Diversifying the tenured or tenure-track faculty composition in view of gender or race; (b) creating a family-friendly work environment; or (c) providing a supportive environment for junior faculty. The recipient’s leadership is recognized with an award of $2,000 towards the school’s general fund, intended for, but not limited to, enhancing activities towards the aforementioned goals. 

Previous recipients: 

2014: Wing Li (Mathematics) 

2015: Terry Snell (Biological Sciences) 

2016: Julia Kubanek (Biological Sciences) 

2017: Pablo Laguna (Physics) 

2019: Kim Cobb (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) 

2020-21: Raquel Lieberman (Chemistry & Biochemistry) 

2022: Greg Huey (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) 

2023: Cam Tyson (Chemistry & Biochemistry

2024: Michael Lacey (Mathematics)