Researchers of the Year Awards

Each year, the Division of Research invites applications and nominations for the Researchers and Scholars of the Year Awards. One $2,500 award is made for each faculty rank (assistant/associate/full) to honor excellence in sponsored and project-oriented research (with particular emphasis on externally funded research), and scholarly activities. A dean can nominate only one person at each rank for Researcher and Scholar of the Year.

The Researchers and Scholars of the Year awardees are honored at the annual Honors Convocation Ceremony, held at the beginning of every fall semester. 

Listed below are past award recipients. 

2023


Researchers of the Year

Aditya Nayak, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Waseem Asghar, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Frederick Bloetscher, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Scholars of the Year

Danielle Groton, College of Social Work and Criminal Justice

Sofia Johan, College of Business

John Renne, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science

2022

Researchers of the Year

Dimitris Pados, Ph.D., Professor, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Sarah Du, Ph.D., Associate Professor, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Zhen Ni, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Lawrence Toll, Ph.D., Professor, College of Medicine

Scholars of the Year

Robert Rabil, Ph.D., Professor, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

Morgan Cooley, Ph.D., Associate Professor, College of Social Work and Criminal Justice

Christine Spadola, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, College of Social Work and Criminal Justice

2021

Researchers of the Year

Janet Robishaw, Ph.D., Professor, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine

Jianning Wei, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine

Johanna Kowalko, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College

Scholars of the Year

Ramesh Teegavarapu, Ph.D., Professor, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Anil Bilgihan, Ph.D., Associate Professor, College of Business

Nicholas Baima, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College

2020

Researchers of the Year

Mike Twardowski, Ph.D., Professor, Harbor Branch Research Institute

Erik Engeberg, Ph.D., Associate Professor, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Waseem Asghar, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Scholars of the Year

Allan Barsky, Ph.D., Professor, College for Design and Social Inquiry

Ilaria Serra, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

Behnaz Ghoraani, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, College of Engineering and Computer Science

2019

Researchers of the Year

Borko Furht, Ph.D., Professor, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Alex Keene, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science

Joshua Voss, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute

Scholars of the Year

Len Sperry, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, College of Education

Nancy Jones, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science

Cristobal Salinas, Jr., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, College of Education

2018

Researchers of the Year

Marc Kantorow, Ph.D., Professor, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine

Andrew Oleinikov, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine

Sarah Du, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Scholars of the Year

Michael Brady, Ph.D., Professor, College of Education

Melih Madanoglu, Ph.D., Associate Professor, College of Business

Mingxiang Li, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, College of Business

2017

Researchers of the Year

Erika Hoff, Ph.D., Professor, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science

Evangelos Kaisar, Ph.D., Associate Professor, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Bing Ouyang, Ph.D., Assistant Research Professor, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute

Scholars of the Year

Dr. Brett Laursen, Professor, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science

Dr. Ramesh Teegavarapu, Associate Professor, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Dr. Heather Thompson, Assistant Professor, College for Design and Social Inquiry

2016

Researchers of the Year

Karl von Ellenrieder, Ph.D., Professor, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Francisco Presuel-Moreno, Ph.D., Associate Professor, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Ryne Sherman, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science

Scholars of the Year

Dr. Isaac Elishakoff, Professor, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Alejandro Sánchez-Samper, Associate Professor, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

Dr. Melissa Mariani, Assistant Professor, College of Education

2015

Researchers of the Year

Shirley Pomponi, Professor, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute

Fraser Dalgleish, Associate Professor, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute

Kailiang Jia, Assistant Professor, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science

Scholars of the Year

Sameer Hinduja, Ph.D., Professor, College for Design and Social Inquiry

Raphael Dalleo, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters

Juyoung Park, Ph.D., MSW, Assistant Professor, College for Design and Social Inquiry

2014

Researchers of the Year

Hassan Mahfuz, Ph.D., Professor, College of Engineering & Computer Science

Wolfgang Tichy, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science

Brian Benscoter, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science

Scholars of the Year

Dilys Schoorman, Professor, College of Education

Warren McGovern, Associate Professor, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College

Debra Hain, Assistant Professor, Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing

2013

Researchers of the Year

Borko Furht, Ph.D., Professor, College of Engineering & Computer Science

Vijaya Iragavarapu-Charyulu, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine

Xavier Comas, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science

Scholars of the Year

Len Sperry, Professor, College of Education

Rose Sherman, Associate Professor, Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing

Vladimir Kulic, Assistant Professor, College for Design and Social Inquiry

2012

Researchers of the Year

John Lowe, RN, Ph.D, Professor, Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing

Pierre-Phillipe Beaujean, Ph.D., Associate Professor, College of Engineering & Computer Science

Esther Guzman, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute

Scholars of the Year

Jane Caputi Professor, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters

Paul Peluso Associate Professor, College of Education

Ilaria Serra Assistant Professor, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters

2011

Researchers of the Year

Stewart Clegg, Ph.D., Researcher of the Year, Professor, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Wen Shen, Ph.D., Researcher of the Year, Associate Professor, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine

Tanja Godenschwege, Ph.D., Researcher of the Year, Assistant Professor, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science

Scholars of the Year

Carol Prusa, MFA, Scholar of the Year, Professor, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

Christopher Strain, PhD., Scholar of the Year, Associate Professor, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College

Taylor Hagood, Ph.D., Scholar of the Year, Assistant Professor, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

2010

Researchers of the Year

Robert Stackman Jr., Ph.D., Associate Professor (SP)

Stephen M. Kajiura, Ph.D., Assistant Professor (SP)

Francisco J. Presuel-Moreno, Ph.D., Assistant Professor (SP)

Scholars of the Year

Mark H. Rose, Ph.D., Professor (CS)

Diane L. Green, Associate Professor (CS)

Raphael Dalleo, Ph.D., Assistant Professor (CS)

2009

Researchers of the Year: Sponsored/Project Oriented

Amy Wright, Ph.D., Professor of the Year, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute

Dale Gawlik, Ph.D., Associate Professor of the Year, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science

Ceylan Isgor, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of the Year, Charles E. Schmidt College of Biomedical Science

Scholars of the Year: Creative/Scholarly Category

Oliver Buckton, Ph.D., Professor of the Year, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

Noemi Marin, Ph.D., Associate Professor of the Year, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

Jacqueline Fewkes, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of the Year, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College

2008

Researchers of the Year: Sponsored/Project Oriented

Hassan Mahfuz, Ph.D., Professor of the Year, Ocean Engineering

Edward Large, Ph.D., Associate Professor of the Year, Complex Systems & Brain Sciences

Hari Kalva, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of the Year, Engineering and Computer Science

Scholars of the Year: Creative/Scholarly

Jan Walsh Hokenson, Ph.D., Professor of the Year, Languages, Linguistics & Comparative Studies

Timothy Steigenga, Ph.D., Associate Professor of the Year, Political Science

Sameer Hinduja, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of the Year, Criminology & Criminal Justice

2007

Researchers of the Year: Sponsored/Project Oriented

Jie Wu, Ph.D., Professor of the Year, Engineering and Computer Science

Mihaela Cardei, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of the Year, Oriented, Engineering and Computer Science

Yoshimi Shibata, Ph.D., Associate Professor of the Year, Biomedical Sciences

Scholar of the Year: Creative/Scholarly

Allan Barsky, Ph.D., MSW, Professor of the Year, Social Work