Awards and Recognition

The Clinical and Translational Science Institute's T32 program has received two major grants from the National Institutes of Health. These are five-year awards amounting to more than $4 million total, and will provide extensive translational science training for postdoctoral and predoctoral University of Minnesota trainees. These awards are linked to the $53.9 million in CTSA funding CTSI received in September, along with the $5.3 million grant received for the K12 program in January.

GerShun Avilez has been named as the next dean of the College of Liberal Arts (CLA), effective Nov. 25, pending approval by the University’s Board of Regents.

Avilez is currently professor of English and associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Arts & Humanities at the University of Maryland, College Park. He also holds affiliate faculty appointments in the Department of African American Studies and the Harriet Tubman Department of Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies, and is the founding director of the Frederick Douglass Center for Leadership Through the Humanities. An award-winning teacher and writer, Avilez is a pre-eminent cultural affairs scholar who specializes in contemporary African American and Black Diasporic literature and visual culture.

As CLA dean, Avilez will serve as the college’s chief academic and administrative officer and will provide collaborative leadership to manage and advance the University’s largest college.

College of Science and Engineering/Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science professor Bharat Jalan has been named an American Vacuum Society (AVS) Fellow. The prestigious fellowship recognizes AVS members who have made outstanding scientific and technical contributions.

Associate Professor Martin Michalowski was elected to the 2024 class of Academy Fellows of the International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics (IAHSI). IAHSI recognizes expertise and substantial achievements in biomedical and health informatics internationally and is one of the highest honors in the field.

Michalowski’s medical informatics research is interdisciplinary and brings advanced artificial intelligence methods and approaches to clinical decision support, including the mitigation of computerized clinical practice guidelines for complex patients and personalized medicine.

Professor Christine Mueller has been named the recipient of the prestigious Doris Schwartz Gerontological Nursing Research Award by the Gerontological Society of America (GSA). The award is presented to a GSA member who has a record of outstanding and sustained contribution to geriatric nursing research. Mueller is a nationally recognized nurse scientist with expertise in the quality of care for residents in nursing homes as influenced by nurses and organizational factors like staffing and leadership.

Clinical Professor Barbara Peterson has been named the International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses (ISPN) board president. Peterson is the specialty coordinator of the psychiatric-mental health Doctor of Nursing Practice program. She has been the principal investigator of Health Resources and Services Administration and Minnesota Department of Health projects to increase the number of psychiatric advanced practice registered nurses ready to serve in underserved rural and urban areas of Minnesota.

Rebecca Cunningham is interviewed at MPR News about her priorities as the new U of M president; Ognjen Ilic is quoted in CBS News about a U of M team that sent the new Minnesota flag into space; Michael Minta is interviewed at MPR News about President Biden withdrawing from the 2024 race; Mitch Hunter is quoted in the Star Tribune about the prospects for camelina, the crop of jet fuels and cleaner waters; Natalie Peterson is quoted in the New York Times story “The Best and Worst Habits for Your Teeth;” Larry Jacobs and Kathryn Pearson are interviewed by MPR News about the Trump assassination attempt and the state of American politics; Michael Osterholm is quoted in the New York Times about the booming raw milk industry and its risks; John Blanchar is interviewed at MPR News about the psychology of political rhetoric.

The Regents Professorship was established in 1965 by the Board of Regents to recognize the national and international prominence of faculty members, including exceptional contributions through teaching, research, scholarship, or creative work, and service towards the public good. The Regents Professorship is the highest honor the University of Minnesota bestows on its faculty.

The following faculty members were appointed Regents Professors:

• Elizabeth Borer
• Harry T. Orr
• Mikhail Shifman

The Office for Public Engagement has announced the 2024 recipients of the University of Minnesota President's Community-Engaged Scholar Award, University of Minnesota Community-Engaged Scholar Awards, and University of Minnesota Outstanding Community Service Awards. The awards represent the University's highest honors for community-engaged scholarship and community service.

President's Community-Engaged Scholar Award

• Brittany Lewis, senior research associate, Center for Urban and Regional Affairs
   

Community-Engaged Scholar Awards

• Julie Grossman, professor, Department of Horticulture, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences
• Sarah Hoffman, associate professor, Department of Population and Health Systems, School of Nursing
• Ruby Nguyen, associate professor, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health
• Rebekah Pratt, associate professor, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Medical School

Outstanding Community Service Awards

• Faculty Award—Jessica Lopez Lyman, professor, Department of Chicano and Latinos Studies, College of Liberal Arts
• Staff Award—Madison Rodman, assistant Extension professor, Minnesota Sea Grant and Tiffany Sprague, Manager Organizational Development and Stormwater Outreach Specialist, Natural Resources Research Institute
• Student Award—Roger Faust, graduate research assistant, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences
• Community Partner—Communities United Against Police Brutality

The Research and Innovation Office has awarded $2.6 million to 13 projects as part of the 2024 Research Infrastructure Investment Program. One-to-one matching funds provided by supporting units resulted in just over $5 million in total funds awarded. The awards support initiatives impacting a variety of research areas that will improve research infrastructure, facilities, and support services across the University.