Awards and Recognition

University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering Professor Boris I. Shklovskii has been elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for his excellence in original scientific research. Membership in the NAS is one of the highest honors given to a scientist or engineer. Shklovskii is one of only 120 researchers nationwide to be elected to the Academy this year. Shklovskii, a world-renowned expert in theoretical physics, is a professor in the University of Minnesota School of Physics and Astronomy. He currently holds the A.S. Fine Chair of Theoretical Physics.

Associate Professor Faith Miller and Professor Amanda Sullivan recently received a $5.3 million grant over five years from the U.S. Department of Education Mental Health Service Provider Demonstration Grant Competition. The grant is for “Project LIME: Leading Improvements in Mental-health and Equity.” The goal of the project is to increase the number and diversity of school psychologists who can significantly expand the capacity of high-need districts through enhanced implementation of multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) to support youth mental health.

A number of University of Minnesota graduate schools and programs on the Twin Cities campus ranked among the nation’s best in the latest edition of the U.S. News Best Graduate Schools Rankings. These included 72 programs and schools earning places among the top 30 in their field. Among the school rankings, the School of Nursing ranked 6th nationally, while the Humphrey School of Public Affairs (No.10), the College of Veterinary Medicine (No. 11), the School of Public Health (No. 12), and College of Education and Human Development (No. 25) all ranked among the top 25 in the country. The Law School is ranked 16th nationally and in the top five among public law schools in the country. And the Medical School ranks No. 2 in Primary Care and No. 7 in Family Medicine nationally and among public schools. In Rural Health, the Medical School ranks No. 14 nationally and No. 7 among public schools.

See a full listing of U of M graduate schools and programs ranked in the top 30 by U.S. News.

Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development senior lecturer Gary Eldon Peter‘s novel, The Complicated Calculus (and Cows) of Carl Paulsen, won the Minnesota Book Award for Young Adult Literature on May 2. The work was also selected as best book of 2022 in the young adult fiction category by NPR.

The University of Minnesota Twin Cities has earned a STARS® Gold rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). AASHE’s STARS® program is the most widely recognized framework in the world for publicly reporting comprehensive information related to a college or university’s sustainability performance. This is the fourth STARS® submission by the Twin Cities campus since 2011 and its second Gold rating. The University’s strategic plan, MPact 2025, established a goal to Build a Fully Sustainable Future.

Candace Hirsch is quoted in the Associated Press story, “DNA Project Gives Scientists Diverse Genome For Comparison”; Miguel Fiol is interviewed in a KARE 11 story about migrants attempting crossings at the U.S.-Canada border in higher numbers; Kate Adamala is quoted in the Fox 9 story, “University of Minnesota team working to unlock biological mysteries”; George John is interviewed in a KARE 11 story about the changing and competitive nature of local grocery stores; Michael Osterholm is quoted in a New York Times story about lessons for the next pandemic; Rachel Croson and David McMillan are quoted in a Pioneer Press story about system campuses aiming to halt enrollment losses; C Terrence Anderson is interviewed in a Sahan Journal story about displacing communities of color with the Blue Line extension; Patrick Kelly is quoted in an Axios story about growing tension in the debate over the expansion of the universe.

Seven new McKnight Presidential Fellows have been named. The McKnight Presidential Fellows Program gives three-year awards to exceptional faculty who have been newly granted tenure and promotion to associate professor, to recognize their excellence in research and scholarship, leadership, potential to build top-tier programs, and ability to advance University of Minnesota priorities.

• George Annor, Food Science and Nutrition, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences
• Luciano Caixeta, Veterinary Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine
• Yuan (Daniel) Cheng, Humphrey School of Public Affairs
• Audrey Dorélien, Humphrey School of Public Affairs
• Peter Kang, Earth and Environmental Sciences, College of Science and Engineering
• Christian Uwe, Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, College of Liberal Arts
• Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, Sociology, College of Liberal Arts
• Ya Yang, Plant and Microbial Biology, College of Biological Sciences

The Office for Public Engagement has announced the 2023 recipients of the University of Minnesota President's Community-Engaged Scholar Award, the University of Minnesota Community-Engaged Scholar Awards, and the University of Minnesota Outstanding Community Service Awards. The awards represent the University's highest honors for community-engaged scholarship and community service. 

The University of Minnesota will receive a $20 million grant over five years from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to lead a new National Artificial Intelligence Research Institute. 

Researchers at the AI Institute for Climate-Land Interactions, Mitigation, Adaptation, Tradeoffs and Economy (AI-CLIMATE) aim to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to create more climate-smart practices that will absorb and store carbon while simultaneously boosting the economy in the agriculture and forestry industries. The new institute is one of seven new NSF and NIFA-funded AI Institutes announced today and is part of a larger federal initiative to bolster collaborative artificial intelligence research across the country.

The President's Award for Outstanding Service is presented each year in the spring and recognizes exceptional service to the University, its schools, colleges, departments, and service units by any active or retired faculty or staff member. The following recipients for this year’s award have gone well beyond their regular duties and serve as exemplars of the University community.

• Saida Abdi, assistant professor, School of Social Work, College of Education and Human Development, U of M Twin Cities
• Patricia Berzins, hospital administrator and director of operations, Veterinary Medical Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, U of M Twin Cities
• Carolee Berge Cohen, associate director, Academic Resources Information Technology, Academic Support Resources, U of M Twin Cities
• Matt Edling, managing director of the anthropology laboratories, Department of Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts, U of M Twin Cities
• Diane Gihl, retired executive assistant, Office for Public Engagement, Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, U of M Twin Cities
• LeeAnn Higgins, research assistant professor, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, Medical School and College of Biological Sciences, U of M Twin Cities
• Lucinda Johnson, senior research fellow, Natural Resources Research Institute, U of M Duluth
• Amy Lee, professor, Department of Writing Studies, director of First-Year Writing, and director of Faculty Engagement for Student Readiness, College of Liberal Arts, U of M Twin Cities
• Marcia D. Nichols, associate professor, Center for Learning Innovation, U of M Rochester
• Howard Oransky, director, Katherine E. Nash Gallery, Department of Art, College of Liberal Arts, U of M Twin Cities
• Chris Scruton, systems analyst, Academic Technology, Office of Information Technology, U of M Twin Cities
• Marta Dykhuizen Shore, lecturer, Division of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, U of M Twin Cities