Joined by alumni and friends, the College of Sciences welcomes new professors, presents annual faculty honors alongside inaugural staff and research faculty awards in recognition of individual excellence and community accomplishments.

Apr 15, 2022

Body

As the end of the school year approaches, recognition of exceptional work across research, teaching, administration, and community building took center stage at Harrison Square on April 14 at the College of Sciences Spring Sciences Celebration.

“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.

 

Faculty Development Awards

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:

 

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:

 

Research Faculty Awards

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

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:

 

Staff Leadership and Excellence Awards

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

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

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

 

The 2022 Spring Sciences Celebration program can be found here, and high-resolution photos can be downloaded here.

Contact

Jess Hunt-Ralston
Director of Communications
College of Sciences at Georgia Tech