Awards and Recognition

Teaching Support has named 16 faculty fellows as part of an 18-month Emerging Technology Faculty Fellows Program (ET FFP), which brings together a systemwide multidisciplinary learning community to explore effective integrations of generative AI (like ChatGPT) into teaching practices. Fellows will share their findings with the University community. Read about the ET FFP faculty and their goals.

The Special Healthcare Needs Clinic (SHNC) at the University of Minnesota’s School of Dentistry has been awarded a $100,000 Clinical Dental Education and Innovations Grant from the Minnesota Department of Health, which will support technological and facility needs to improve efficiency in diagnosis, treatment planning and increase accessibility for patients. SHNC focuses on providing comprehensive dental care for older adults and patients with complex medical conditions, developmental disabilities, and physical disabilities. 

Professor Christy Haynes’s 2022 TEDx Minneapolis talk has been re-edited and elevated to the main TED website. This is the second time a TEDxMinneapolis speaker has been selected for this honor. Her talk, “How nanoparticles can help solve the global food crisis,” outlines the Haynes Group’s research on the positive effects of silicic acid on agricultural outcomes and has amassed over 260,000 views. Learn more about her TED Talk and work.  

Shana Crosson and Melinda Kernik are quoted or mentioned in the Star Tribune story “The Green Book guided Black travelers safely through segregated America;” Michael Verhoeven is quoted in the MPR News story “Lack of snow could spur growth of Minnesota lake invader;” Courtney Boucher is quoted in a KARE 11 story about how women's sports are in the spotlight; Michael Osterholm is quoted in a USA Today story about the growing measles outbreak in Florida; Jian-Ping Wang is quoted in the Twin Cities Business story “Magnet Startup Niron Attracts More Big-Name Investors;” David Boulware is quoted in an NPR story about citizens traveling to clinics in Mexico for cosmetic surgery who got a deadly fungal meningitis; Jeffrey Miller and Joshua Rhein are interviewed in the KARE 11 story “U of M researchers find first step of potential HIV cure;” Sally Brummel is interviewed in the CBS Minnesota story “Good Question: What is the point of Leap Day?”

The recipients of the 2023-24 Distinguished Teaching Awards have been announced. The Horace T. Morse-Alumni and the Graduate-Professional teaching awards recognize teachers' commitment to the ongoing improvement of teaching and learning at the University of Minnesota. Recipients of these systemwide awards are inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Teachers and carry the designation of Distinguished University Teaching Professor or Distinguished University Teacher throughout their careers at the University of Minnesota.

Horace T. Morse - University of Minnesota Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education

• Randal J. Barnes, Civil, Environmental and Geo- Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Michael A. Boland, Applied Economics, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Jered Bright, Center for Learning Innovation, University of Minnesota Rochester
• Laura Carr, Mathematics and Statistics, Swenson College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota Duluth
• Siobhan S. Craig, English, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Jerry Luckhardt, Music, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• William C. K. Pomerantz, Chemistry, College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Elliott H. Powell, American Studies, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• David Syring, Studies in Justice, Culture and Social Change, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Minnesota Duluth
• Cassidy R. Terrell, Center for Learning Innovation, University of Minnesota Rochester

Award for Outstanding Contributions to Graduate and Professional Education

• Rex Bernardo, Agronomy and Plant Genetics, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Rozina H. Bhimani, School of Nursing, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Pedro Fernandez-Funez, Biomedical Sciences, Medical School, University of Minnesota Duluth
• Kelley Harness, Music, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Jisu Huh, Journalism, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Chad L. Myers, Computer Science and Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• David Satin, Family Medicine and Community Health, Medical School, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Daniel Schwarcz, Law School, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Malini Srivastava, Architecture, College of Design, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• James Van de Ven, Mechanical Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Andrew Zieffler, Educational Psychology, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota Twin Cities 

The American Medical Association (AMA) presented Michael Osterholm with the AMA Award for Outstanding Government Service. Minnesota’s State Epidemiologist from 1984 to 1999, Osterholm is a skilled communicator, capable of distilling complicated, even alarming messages, into understandable prose for the general public. The director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota and professor in the School of Public Health, Osterholm is a renowned epidemiologist who warned for years that the United States was ill-prepared for a pandemic. He was appointed to President-elect Joe Biden’s COVID-19 transition advisory board, and previously served as science envoy for health security on behalf of the U.S. Department of State.

Children with developmental, emotional, or behavioral health concerns do best when these concerns are addressed early, but for some families it can be difficult to access and navigate the necessary services in a timely manner. The U of M’s Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB ) has received $3.5 million to lower these barriers as a partner in the Department of Defense Child Collaboration Study “A Research Collaboratory to Explore Best Practices for Expanding Access to Care Through Expansion and Support of Telehealth Care for Children and Families with Behavioral Health Needs.” Funded by the Department of Defense and led by the Institute on Community Integration’s Jessica Simacek, this project will use telehealth to reach military families, geographically-dispersed families, and families who are highly mobile or lack providers near their homes.

Bill Doherty is interviewed in the MPR News story “How to have good conversations across political divides;” Jamie Prenkert is featured in Poets and Quants interview; Richard Painter, Eric Van Wyk, and Michael Gallope are quoted in a Minnesota Daily story about academic freedom and statements on official platforms; Larry Jacobs is interviewed in a CBS Minnesota story about the Israel-Hamas war driving U.S. voters apart ahead of 2024 presidential election; Karen Diver and Brian Buhr are quoted in the Duluth News Tribune story “Fond du Lac Band, university approach accord on forestry center;” Michael Osterholm is quoted in a WCCO story about rising Measles cases due to a drop in vaccinations; Christina Ewig is interviewed in a CBS Minnesota story about a report showing that women in Minnesota have high workforce participation but are paid less than men.

The McKnight Land-Grant Professorship Awards recognize promising assistant professors. This two-year award is intended to advance the careers of individuals who have the potential to make significant contributions to their departments and their scholarly fields. Learn more about each McKnight recipient. 

Newly named McKnight Land-Grant Professors:

• Shir Alon, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, College of Liberal Arts, Twin Cities
• Madelaine C. Cahuas, Geography, Environment & Society, Twin Cities
• Michelle A. Calabrese, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, College of Science and Engineering, Twin Cities
• Ryan J. Caverly, Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, College of Science and Engineering, Twin Cities
• Michelle Chu, Mathematics, College of Science and Engineering, Twin Cities
• Michael Coughlin, Physics and Astronomy, College of Science and Engineering, Twin Cities
• Serra M. Hakyemez, Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts, Twin Cities
• Carlye Lauff, Product Design, College of Design, Twin Cities
• Courtney C. Roberts, Chemistry, College of Science and Engineering, Twin Cities
• Heidi Roop, Soil, Water and Climate, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources Sciences, Twin Cities
• Josef Woldense, African American and African Studies, College of Liberal Arts, Twin Cities
• Judy Q. Yang, Civil, Environmental and Geo- Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, Twin Cities

University of Minnesota Twin Cities College of Science and Engineering professors Catherine French and Timothy Lodge have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), among the highest professional distinctions awarded to an engineer. Six University of Minnesota alumni were also elected to NAE this year. Professors French and Lodge are two of only 114 new members and 21 foreign members to be elected to the NAE in 2024.