Below are some of the awards, grants, and honors our faculty members have received since the last newsletter.
Amy Berndtson, senior lecturer of biology, was awarded the annual David and Cheryl Morley Career Distinguished Teaching Award in 2019. The award recognizes a career of distinguished service in the classroom and related pedagogical endeavors.
Professor Brian Calvi was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an honor that recognizes their outstanding contributions to the progress of science and research.
Roger Innes has been appointed Distinguished Professor for his many contributions to the field of biology, the department, and the university.
Professor Justin Kumar was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an honor that recognizes their outstanding contributions to the progress of science and research.
Professor Armin Moczek leads an evolutionary research effort under nearly $2 million grant to study how organisms play an active role in directing their own development and evolution.
A $1.8 million NIH grant is funding Irene Newton’s research on how a bacterium stops mosquitoes from spreading disease. Newton investigates how Wolbachia colonizes insects to prevent the spread of diseases such as West Nile virus and Zika.
Assistant Professor Kim Rosvall is a 2020 recipient of the Indiana University Outstanding Junior Faculty Award. The award identifies promising tenure-track faculty and provides resources to further develop their research programs.
Professor Malcolm Winkler received a Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) to investigate cell wall synthesis in the bacterial “superbug” Streptococcus pneumoniae to find new vulnerabilities of bacterial pathogens.
Two NSF grants totalling $1.47 million to Andrew Zelhof, associate professor, will support the use of arthropods to advance research on basic biological mechanisms, including vision.
Palmer awarded IU president’s highest honor
Jeffrey Palmer, Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Class of 1955 Professor of Biology, was awarded the President’s Medal for Excellence during the Academic Excellence Dinner at IUPUI last October.
“Professor Palmer is a world-renowned expert on plant molecular evolution and phylogeny,” IU President Michael A. McRobbie said. “A member of the IU faculty since 1989, Professor Palmer has made landmark discoveries spanning topics as diverse as plant phylogeny and the evolution of introns, segments of genes that are removed as part of the gene expression process.”
While serving at IU, Palmer was instrumental in the development of Simon Hall (the multidisciplinary science building dedicated and opened in Bloomington in 2007) and has trained 40 postdoctoral fellows and 20 graduate students.
Palmer has been identified as one of the top 15 researchers in the world in the field of plant and animal science by the Institute for Scientific Information. He is a Guggenheim Fellow, a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has been awarded the McClintock Prize for Plant Genetics and Genome Studies by the Maize Genetics Executive Committee, a professional organization for scientists and researchers working in the field of maize genetics.
The President’s Medal for Excellence is awarded for outstanding academic, artistic, or professional accomplishments or for exceptional service to IU. The silver medal is a replica of the jewel of office IU’s president wears during ceremonies.
(1) President Michael McRobbie places the silver medal over Palmer's head as he presents Palmer with the IU President's Medal for Excellence. (2) Distinguished Professor of Biology Roger Hangarter shakes hands with Palmer (right) as he congratulates him in receiving the medal. (3) Palmer poses with IU Biology colleagues after being awarded the IU President's Medal for Excellence. Left to right: Greg Demas, Ellen Ketterson, Patricia Foster, Clay Fuqua (behind Foster), Elizabeth Raff, Roger Hangarter, Lynda Delph, Palmer, Mimi Zolan, and Roger Innes. Photos courtesy of Mimi Zolan
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