Missouri S&T celebrated faculty excellence at an awards banquet Dec. 8 on campus.  Honorees include:

Experiential and service learning awards

Dr. Daniel Reardon, interim vice provost of undergraduate studies, recognized three faculty for their roles in campus service and experiential learning.

The Experiential Learning Award recognizes faculty who require undergraduate students to go beyond mastering basic skills and knowledge in the application of that material to problem-solving challenges. These activities involve collaborative and reflective learning and allow students to learn environments that align with their aptitudes. Recipients are:

• Courtney Jones, director for the Kummer Center for STEM Education.
• Dr. Daniel Oerther, professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering.

The Service Learning Award recognizes faculty who involve or influence undergraduate students in academic service learning or community service activities outside the classroom. The recipient is:

• Dr. Jillian Schmidt, associate teaching professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.

Excellence in teaching, research and service awards

Dr. Colin Potts, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, recognized 29 faculty members for excellence and achievement in teaching, research and service. Each of the 29 honorees receive a monetary award provided by the Forsee Family Engineering Faculty Fund, the Faculty Excellence Fund – John Stafford Brown Endowment, the Robert Keiser Faculty Award for Teaching, Research and Service endowment, or the Finley Faculty Enhancement Endowment.

The Faculty Achievement Award recognizes non-tenure-track faculty who have demonstrated sustained excellence in at least one of the following areas: teaching, research or service. Recipients are:

• Kendrea James, assistant teaching professor of English and technical communication.
• Dr. Victor Khilkevich, associate research professor of electrical and computer engineering.
• Dr. Niranjana Krishnan, associate research professor of biological sciences.
• Dr. Nishant Kumar, teaching professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.
• Dr. Sanjay Tewari, assistant teaching professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering.
• Dr. Robert Woodley, assistant teaching professor of electrical and computer engineering.

The Faculty Research Award recognizes faculty members who have demonstrated excellence in research and scholarship. Recipients are:

• Dr. Amy Belfi, assistant professor of psychological science.
• Dr. Eric Bryan, professor of English and technical communication.
• Dr. Casey Canfield, assistant professor of engineering management and systems engineering.
• Dr. Sajal Das, Curators’ Distinguished Professor and Daniel St. Clair Endowed Chair in Computer Science.
• Dr. Shane Epting, assistant professor of philosophy.
• Dr. Daniel Fischer, associate professor of physics.
• Dr. Jie Huang, Roy A. Wilkens Telecommunications Associate Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering.
• Dr. Hongyan Ma, associate professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering.

The Faculty Service Award recognizes faculty who display exemplary, sustained service to the university and to their profession. Recipients are:

• Dr. Devin Burns, associate professor of psychological science.
• Dr. Clair Kueny, interim chair and associate professor of psychological science.
• Dr. Kelly Liu, professor of geosciences and geological and petroleum engineering.

The Faculty Teaching Award recognizes faculty members who have demonstrated excellence in teaching and teaching-related activities. Recipients are:

• Dr. Petra DeWitt, associate professor of history and political science.
• Dr. Amber Henslee, associate professor of psychological science.
• Dr. Merilee Krueger, teaching professor of psychological science.
• Dr. Jossalyn Larson, associate teaching professor of English and technical communication.
• Dr. Christi Luks, teaching professor of chemical and biochemical engineering.
• Dr. J. Keith Nisbett, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.
• Dr. Dev Niyogi, professor of biological sciences.

The Faculty Excellence Award recognizes faculty members who have demonstrated sustained excellence in teaching, research and service. Recipients are:

• Dr. Marco Cavaglia, professor of physics.
• Dr. Xiaoming He, professor of mathematics and statistics.
• Dr. Kathleen Sheppard, associate professor of history and political science.
• Dr. Jeffrey Smith, professor of ceramic engineering.

Outstanding Teaching Awards

Potts presented 39 faculty members with the Outstanding Teaching Award based on their end-of-course evaluation scores for academic year 2021-2022.

Recipients of the 2021-2022 Outstanding Teaching Award are:

• Dr. Akim Adekpedjou, professor of mathematics and statistics.
• Dr. Ayodeji Alajo, associate professor of nuclear engineering and radiation science.
• Dr. Syed Alam, assistant professor of nuclear engineering and radiation science.
• Dr. Kwame Awuah-Offei, chair and Union Pacific/Rocky Mountain Energy Professor in Mining and Explosives Engineering.
• Dr. Denise Baker, assistant professor of psychological science.
• Dr. Martin Bohner, Curators’ Distinguished Professor of mathematics and statistics.
• Dr. Eric Bryan, professor of English and technical communication.
• Dr. Gerald Cohen, professor of Russian and German.
• Dr. Anthony Convertine, Roberta and G. Robert Couch Assistant Professor in Materials Science and Engineering.
• Dr. Petra DeWitt, associate professor of history and political science.
• Dr. Kristen Donnell, Woodard Associate Professor of Excellence in Electrical and Computer Engineering.
• Dr. Shane Epting, assistant professor of philosophy.
• Dr. Darin Finke, associate teaching professor of philosophy.
• Dr. Mary Gillis, assistant teaching professor of teacher education and certification.
• Dr. Katherine Grote, associate professor of geosciences, geological and petroleum engineering
• Mr. Taylor Gruenloh, assistant professor of theater.
• Dr. Gregory Hilmas, Curators’ Distinguished Professor of ceramic engineering.
• Dr. Irina Ivliyeva, professor of Russian.
• Dr. Catherine Johnson, Robert H. Quenon Associate Professor of Mining and Explosives Engineering.
• Kelley Koob, associate teaching professor of mathematics and statistics.
• Dr. Kurt Kosbar, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering.
• Dr. Merilee Krueger, teaching professor of psychological science.
• Dr. Nishant Kumar, teaching professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.
• Dr. Jossalyn Larson, associate professor of English and technical communication.
• Dr. Vy Khoi Le, professor of mathematics and statistics.
• Dr. Jason Murphy, assistant professor of mathematics and statistics.
• Dr. J. Keith Nisbett, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.
• Dr. Dev Niyogi, professor of biological sciences.
• Dr. Francisca Oboh-Ikuenobe, professor of geosciences, geological and petroleum engineering.
• Dr. Daniel Oerther, professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering.
• Dr. Daniel Reardon, associate professor of English and technical communication.
• Elizabeth Roberson, assistant teaching professor of English and technical communication.
• Dr. Jeffrey Schramm, associate professor of history and political science.
• Dr. Joan Schuman, associate teaching professor of engineering management and systems engineering.
• Dr. Pourya Shamsi, Woodard Associate Professorship of Excellence in electrical and computer engineering.
• Dr. Jeffrey Smith, professor of ceramic engineering.
• Dr. Haiming Wen, assistant professor of materials science and engineering.
• Dr. David Wright, professor of English and technical communication.
• Dr. Vincent Yu, associate professor of business and information technology.