ASU Honors Outstanding Faculty

Outstanding professors honored for contributions

Ten outstanding faculty members were honored with 2012 Faculty Achievement Awards. The honorees, from left to right: R. Bruce Doak, Petra Fromme, T.R. Hummer, Daniel J. Hruscha, ASU President Michael Crow (presenter of awards), Sherry Rankins-Robertson, Duane Roen, Tiffany Bourelle, Andrew Bourelle, and Ajay S. Vinzé.    (Photo by: Tim Trumble)

This week ASU faculty were honored for their contributions in the classroom, on campus, and in their academic communities.

The 2012 Faculty Excellence Awards were presented by ASU President Michael Crow and Executive Vice President and Provost Elizabeth D. Capaldi, in the Memorial Union, on the Tempe campus, April 17.

Ten outstanding faculty members, representing a wide range of disciplines, were honored with 2012 Faculty Achievement Awards – an annual recognition celebrating faculty members’ top intellectual contributions for Excellence in Defining Edge Research and Creative Work as well as Excellence in Curricular Innovation.

Awards for Excellence in Defining Edge Research and Creative Work are presented for a specific contribution in the last 10 years that meets the highest standards of the discipline or profession, as selected by a panel of Regents’ Professors.

The award for Excellence in Curricular Innovation is introduced this year to recognize an innovation that has changed the learning environment in creative and meaningful ways while improving students’ learning outcomes.

Faculty Achievement Awards In Bio and Sustainable Health

Petra Fromme: Defining Edge Research and Creative Work Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry honored for Natural Sciences/Mathematics Leading a pioneering international research team alongside professor R. Bruce Doak and Regents’ Professor John C. H. Spence, Fromme’s work has led to the development of a revolutionary new approach to determining atomic structures utilizing pulsed X-ray laser radiation focused on a stream of micro-droplets containing nanocrystals or biomolecules. Fromme is being recognized for her extraordinary contributions developing methods for the preparation of biological nanocrystals and biomolecules, as well as X-ray diffraction analysis.

Ajay Vinzé: Defining Edge Research and Creative Work Department of Information Systems honored for Professional Application Professor Vinzé has applied his research in information systems to create response models for public health crises based on business inventory planning. The models allow researchers and policy-makers to simulate strategies and make informed decisions in anticipation of crises to promote public health and efficient use of resources. The software he developed has been used to design flu vaccination strategies for Maricopa County, saving more than $100 million annually, while preventing the flu and saving lives.

R. Bruce Doak: Defining Edge Research and Creative Work Department of Physics honored for Innovation Professor Doak’s exciting innovations in beam techniques have made possible new methods of atomic structure determination. The technique delivers micro-droplets containing nanocrystals or biomolecules to intersect with a pulsed X-ray laser. His leadership on an international research team, alongside Professor Petra Fromme and Regents’ Professor John C. H. Spence to develop what is being called the “diffract and destroy” method is widely anticipated to have revolutionary impact on the fields of biology and biochemistry.

For more information on the Faculty Excellence Awards, visit provost.asu.edu/awards.

Professor of the Year Award

Ian Gould, professor chemistry and biochemistry in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, was awarded the ASU Parents Association Professor of the Year – an endowed professorship honoring those who best exemplify a passion for teaching and who excel in both undergraduate teaching and in their area of research and/or creative activity.

Professor of the Year recipients are given life-long designation as a Parents Association Professor and receive a $20,000 cash stipend – $10,000 of which is distributed over two years to fund undergraduate student assistance. They also are invited to become a fellow in the ASU Distinguished Teaching Academy.

Posted in AZBio News.