Awards and Honors

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A list of all award stories about Eberly College of Science faculty since 1997

Moses Chan Testifies Before U.S. Senate on Helium Reserve: 15 May 2012 — Moses Chan, an Evan Pugh Professor of Physics at Penn State University, testified before the U.S. Senate on whether the sell-off of the nation's helium reserve has an adverse effect on the nation's scientific, technical, biomedical, and national-security users of helium. Chan, a member of the National Academy of Sciences / National Research Council (NAS/NRC) Committee on Understanding the Impact of Selling the Helium Reserve, gave his testimony to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on 10 May 2012.
Carl E. Sillman Awarded the C.I. Noll Award for Excellence in Teaching: 14 May 2012 — Carl E. Sillman, a senior lecturer at Penn State University who has taught courses in microbiology, molecular genetics, cell biology, immunology, and biotechnology, has been honored with the 2012 C.I. Noll Award for Excellence in Teaching by the Eberly College of Science Alumni Society. Instituted in 1972 and named in honor of Clarence I. Noll, dean of the college from 1965 to 1971, the award is the highest honor for undergraduate teaching in the college. Students, faculty members, and alumni nominate outstanding faculty members who best exemplify the key characteristics of a Penn State educator, and a committee of students selects among nominees.
Penn State Researcher Receives Grand Challenges Explorations Grant: 9 May 2012 — A Penn State researcher has been chosen to receive a grant through the Grand Challenges Explorations program, an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. David Hughes, assistant professor of entomology and biology, will pursue an innovative global health and development research project, titled "Taking Out the Bodyguards: A Novel Solution to Ag Disease."
Jainendra K. Jain Named Evan Pugh Professor: 9 May 2012 — Jainendra K. Jain, the Erwin W. Mueller Professor of Physics at Penn State University, has been named an Evan Pugh Professor, which is the highest honor the University bestows on its faculty. The Evan Pugh Professorships, named for Penn State's first president, are awarded to faculty members who are acknowledged pioneers in their fields of research or creative activity; have demonstrated significant leadership in raising the standards of the University with respect to teaching, research or creativity, and service; and have demonstrated excellent teaching skills with undergraduate and graduate students who have subsequently achieved distinction in their fields.
Asbury Receives a Department of Energy Early Career Award: 8 May 2012 — John Asbury, an assistant professor of chemistry at Penn State University, has been honored with a Department of Energy Office of Science Early Career Research award. The award is designed "to bolster the nation's scientific workforce by providing support to exceptional researchers during the crucial early career years, when many scientists do their most formative work." The award also aims to provide scientists with incentives to focus on fields of research that are a high priority to the Department of Energy and to the United States.
Philip C. Bevilacqua Awarded the C.I. Noll Award for Excellence in Teaching: 7 May 2012 — Philip C. Bevilacqua, a professor of chemistry at Penn State University, has been honored with the 2012 C.I. Noll Award for Excellence in Teaching by the Eberly College of Science Alumni Society. Instituted in 1972 and named in honor of Clarence I. Noll, dean of the college from 1965 to 1971, the award is the highest honor for undergraduate teaching in the college. Students, faculty members, and alumni nominate outstanding faculty members who best exemplify the key characteristics of a Penn State educator, and a committee of students and faculty members select among nominees.
Raymond Schaak Awarded Faculty Scholar Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the Physical Sciences: 17 April 2012 — Raymond Schaak, a professor of chemistry at Penn State, has been selected to receive the 2012 Penn State Faculty Scholar Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the Physical Sciences. Established in 1980, the award recognizes scholarly or creative excellence represented by a single contribution or a series of contributions around a coherent theme. A committee of faculty peers reviews nominations and selects candidates.
Katherine M. Masters Receives the George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching: 17 April 2012 — Katherine Masters, a lecturer and lab director in the Department of Chemistry at Penn State University, has been selected to receive Penn State's George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching. Penn State's president, Rodney Erikson, will present Masters with the award during a formal ceremony in April. The award, named after Penn State's seventh president, was established in 1989 as a continuation of the AMOCO Foundation Award, and honors excellence in teaching at the undergraduate level.
Eric Post Awarded a Penn State Faculty Scholar Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the Life and Health Sciences: 17 April 2012 — Eric Post, a professor of biology at Penn State University, has been selected to receive the 2012 Penn State Faculty Scholar Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the Life and Health Sciences. Established in 1980, the award recognizes scholarly or creative excellence represented by a single contribution or a series of contributions around a coherent theme. A committee of faculty peers reviews nominations and selects candidates.
Hammes-Schiffer Elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences: 17 April 2012 — Sharon Hammes-Schiffer, a professor of chemistry and the Eberly Professor of Biotechnology at Penn State University, has been named a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Hammes-Schiffer is an acknowledged world leader in theoretical chemistry whose research spans the fields of chemistry, physics, biology, and computer science. Her research has important implications for the development of alternative energy sources such as solar cells, as well as for protein engineering and drug design.
Cyr Honored with 2012 Undergraduate Program Leadership Award: 16 April 2012 — Richard Cyr, a professor in the Department of Biology at Penn State University, has been honored with the Undergraduate Program Leadership Award for 2012. The Undergraduate Program Leadership Award is meant to recognize a faculty member who has demonstrated exemplary leadership benefiting an existing Penn State undergraduate degree program. The goal of the award is to recognize those individuals who have major responsibilities for the delivery of undergraduate education within a unit and who are providing leadership that has transformed or revitalized the undergraduate program within the unit.
Bollinger Honored with Palmer Faculty Mentoring Award: 16 April 2012 — J. Martin Bollinger Jr., a professor of chemistry and of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State University, has been selected by the Penn State Graduate School to receive the Howard B. Palmer Faculty Mentoring Award. The award, which includes a monetary prize and a certificate, is presented to a full-time faculty member who demonstrates "effective mentoring through guiding and nurturing the collegial and professional development of junior faculty." This award was established in 1991 in honor of Howard Palmer, who served as senior associate dean of the Graduate School from 1985 to 1991.
Hostetler and Stella to Represent Penn State's Eberly College of Science as Student Marshals at Spring Commencement 2012: 4 April 2012 — Zachary Hostetler of Garnet Valley, Pennsylvania, and Jennifer Stella of Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, will be honored as the student marshals for the Eberly College of Science during Penn State's spring commencement ceremonies on 5 May, 2012 at the University Park campus. Hostetler's faculty escort will be Song Tan, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Stella's faculty escort will be Loida Escote Carlson, an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
C.R. Rao Receives 35th and 36th Honorary Doctoral Degrees: 2 April 2012 — Penn State's C.R. Rao, Emeritus Holder of the Eberly Family Chair in Statistics, long recognized as one of the world's top statisticians, has been honored with his 35th and 36th honorary Doctor of Science degrees. The awarding universities are Karnatak University, located in Dharwad, India, and the International Sanskrit University, located in Tirupati, India. Rao was presented with the degrees at ceremonies during the respective universities.
Nathan Gemelke Receives Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow Award: 21 March 2012 — Nathan Gemelke, an assistant professor of physics at Penn State University, has been honored with an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow award in recognition of his research accomplishments. Sloan Research Fellowships are intended to enhance the careers of the very best young faculty members in seven fields of science: chemistry, computational and evolutionary molecular biology, computer science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, and physics.
Lasse Jensen Receives an American Chemical Society Hewlett-Packard Outstanding Junior Faculty Award in Computational Chemistry: 20 March 2012 — Lasse Jensen, an assistant professor of chemistry at Penn State University, has been selected to receive an American Chemical Society (ACS) Hewlett-Packard Outstanding Junior Faculty Award for 2012. The award program provides a monetary prize for up to four outstanding tenure-track junior faculty members to present their work at ACS National Meetings.
Karl Schwede Receives Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow Award: 6 March 2012 — Karl Schwede, an assistant professor of mathematics at Penn State University, has been honored with an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow award in recognition of his research accomplishments. Sloan Research Fellowships are intended to enhance the careers of the very best young faculty members in seven fields of science: chemistry, computational and evolutionary molecular biology, computer science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, and physics.
$200,000 gift to Support Information Technology for Science, Liberal Arts Faculty: 27 February 2012 — Penn State's Eberly College of Science and the College of the Liberal Arts have announced an anonymous commitment from an alumnus. Valued at a total of $200,000, it will provide funds to support the information technology requirements of faculty in each college. The endowment, which will come from the donor's estate, is intended to enhance greater teaching and research by dedicated faculty in fields ranging from physics and biology to humanities and social sciences.
Scott Phillips Receives Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow Award: 21 February 2012 — Scott Phillips, an assistant professor of chemistry at Penn State University and holder of the Martarano Career Development Professorship, has been honored with an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow award in recognition of his research accomplishments. Sloan Research Fellowships are intended to enhance the careers of the very best young faculty members in seven fields of science: chemistry, computational and evolutionary molecular biology, computer science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, and physics.
Scott Phillips Receives National Science Foundation Career Award: 13 February 2012 — Scott Phillips, an assistant professor of chemistry at Penn State and holder of the Martarano Career Development Professorship, has been honored with a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The CAREER award is the most prestigious award given by the NSF in support of junior faculty members who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent teaching, and the integration of education and research. The CAREER award provides five years of funding and is given to assistant professors by the NSF directorates at different times during the year.