The College of Science celebrated excellence at its 2015 Faculty and Staff Awards ceremony on September 14, 2015.
Dean Sastry Pantula opened the program with welcoming remarks to department chairs, faculty and administrative staff before presenting the awards.
Dean Pantula expressed pride in the faculty and staff accomplishments and warmly congratulated the award winners. He remarked on the tremendous progress faculty in advancing scientific research by receiving ($26.7 million in 2014-15, the highest amount of research funding in the College’s history from the NSF and the NIH as well as from other funding agencies.
“Your achievements are being recognized across campus, throughout the country and around the world. I am proud of all of your efforts which support our most important initiatives: excellence and student success."said Dean Pantula.
"Many of you have excelled in teaching, others have made extraordinary contributions in service and research, and many do all of these.”
Rich Carter, professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry, won the Milton Harris Award in Basic Research for his exceptional achievement in the field of synthetic organic chemistry and natural product synthesis. Carter is also the co-founder and CEO of a chemical manufacturing company Valliscor, LLC in Corvallis, Oregon.
Carter first arrived in the Department of Chemistry at OSU as a NIH Postdoctoral Research Fellow in 1997 to work with James D. White, professor emeritus, former chair of chemistry and winner of the Milton Harris Award in 1987. White announced Carter’s nomination and commended him for his outstanding research contributions.
Janet Tate, Dr. Russ and Dolores Gorman Faculty Scholar and professor in the Department of Physics, received the F.A. Gilfillan Memorial Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Science. The Gilfillan award honors a faculty member in the College whose scientific accomplishments have extended over a substantial period of time.
Tate, who joined OSU as an assistant professor in 1989, is a global leader in the field of materials physics, and has made many important advances in the study of superconductors, new materials known as p-type transparent conductors, transparent semiconductors and photovoltaic materials. Douglas Keszler, Associate Dean of the College, pointed out that Tate’s revolutionary research on the properties of p-type semi-conductors paved the way for the development of Apple’s newest retina display monitor by other scientists.
Tate will deliver the F. A. Gilfillan Memorial Award public lecture on her an area of her research in spring 2016.
Dana Howe from Dee Denver’s lab in the Department of Integrative Biology, was honored with the Outstanding Faculty Research Assistant Award. This award recognizes a Faculty Research Assistant who has a record of outstanding job performance and contributions.
Luanne Johnson received the Gladys Valley Award for Exemplary Administrative Support, which recognizes outstanding job performance and dedication by a College staff person to the individual’s department and to the College. Johnson is a Media and Events Coordinator in the Department of Chemistry.
Stefanie Maerki won the Arts and Sciences Business Center Exemplary Service Award. Maerki is the human resources consultant for Biochemistry-Biophysics and the College of Education as well as a number of other programs and schools. This award recognizes exemplary service by a member of the Arts and Sciences Business Center to the Colleges in its division.
