Faculty Honored for Teaching, Research, Service and Diversity Initiatives
Members of the university community who have made outstanding contributions in the classroom, to their disciplines, or for the benefit of the community or world were honored during a May 5 reception at the Rutgers Visitor Center
The Warren I. Susman Award for Excellence in Teaching is awarded to faculty members in recognition of outstanding service in stimulating and guiding the intellectual development of students at Rutgers University. The award includes a $1,000 honorarium.
Susan M. Keith, Department of Journalism and Media Studies, School of Communication and Information, was recognized for her outstanding teaching and mentoring and her commitment to the professional development and individual self-transformation of all of her students.
Briance Mascarenhas, Department of Management, Strategy, and International Business School of Business-Camden, was recognized for his ability to challenge students to engage in long-term strategic thinking, and his deep commitment to motivating students to consider community development and revitalization of local economies in their business planning.
Mark Gregory Robson, Department of Plant Biology and Pathology, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, was honored for his enthusiastic and passionate teaching and mentoring, and his ability to help students identify their strengths and guide them to realize their highest potential.
Phyllis Siegel, Department of Management and Global Business, Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick, was recognized for her engaged and enthusiastic teaching, and her masterful ability to promote group dynamics and creative projects that have a profound impact on students’ success in the classroom and in their careers.
Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Research honors faculty members who have made distinguished research contributions to their discipline or society. Recipients receive a $1,000 honorarium.
Tamar Barkay, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, was recognized for studying the microbial transformation of mercury in the environment, which benefits environmental microbiology and microbial ecology.
Bart Krekelberg, Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Faculty of Arts and Sciences-Newark, was honored for his work in problems related to visual cognition and for an innovative approach that contributes to our understanding of the mind.
Smita S. Patel, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, was recognized for research that expanded our understanding of enzyme mechanisms, holding implications for advances in biotechnology and nanomedicine.
Thomas Rudel, Department of Human Ecology, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences; and Department of Sociology, School of Arts and Sciences, was cited for work in environmental sociology, particularly research on tropical deforestation and reforestation.
Norman Swanson, Department of Economics, School of Arts and Sciences, was honored for his theoretical and applied contributions in econometrics, including time series econometrics and forecasting.
The Rutgers Faculty Scholar-Teacher Award honors faculty members who have made outstanding contributions in research and teaching. The award recognizes those who bring together scholarly and classroom activities. The award includes a $1,000 honorarium.
Ruth Feldstein, Department of History, Faculty of Arts and Sciences-Newark, was recognized for her research on the intersection of politics, culture, race and gender, and for engaging students and generating dynamic and civil classroom discussion.
Sungsoo Kim, Department of Accounting, School of Business-Camden, was recognized for his research into the relationship between corporate financial reporting and the valuation of firms, and for his ability to motivate students to think analytically about these issues.
Seth D. Koven, Department of History, School of Arts and Sciences, was honored for his award-winning research on the history of ethics, and for inspiring his students to take risks and explore challenging topics.
Jody A. Miller, School of Criminal Justice, was recognized for her outstanding qualitative scholarship in the areas of gender, race, class and inequality, and for her deep commitment to fostering successful student collaborations and community engagement.
Carolyn M. Moehling, Department of Economics, School of Arts and Sciences, was recognized for her influential American economic history research and her ability to teach students how economists think and characterize issues related to social inequality.
Fernando J. Muzzio, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, School of Engineering, was honored for his pioneering research in pharmaceutical product and process design, and for his leadership in the development of the Engineering Research Center for Structured Organic Particulate Systems. The center provides students the opportunity to interact with postdoctoral scientists, faculty and business leaders.
Nelson Maldonado-Torres, Department of Latino and Hispanic Caribbean Studies, Program in Comparative Literature, School of Arts and Sciences, was recognized for his transformative redefinition of Latino and Ethnic Studies and his ability to challenge students to question accepted doctrine to develop their own voices.
The Rutgers Board of Trustees Research Fellowship for Scholarly Excellence honors faculty members who have recently been promoted with tenure and whose work shows exceptional promise. The fellowship includes a citation and a $1,000 research account.
Ulla D. Berg, Department of Latino and Hispanic Caribbean Studies and Department of Anthropology, School of Arts and Sciences, was honored for her highly regarded cross-disciplinary research on critical issues related to contemporary migration, ethnicity, and race, particularly her substantial and original contributions to a more nuanced understanding of the recent exodus from Peru to the United States.
Siobain M. Duffy, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, was recognized for her highly original research that combines computational and experimental approaches to attain a deeper understanding of the evolution of natural virus populations.
Katherine C. Epstein, Department of History, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University-Camden, was honored for her pioneering research that bridges the history of science, military history, economic and business history, legal history, and political and diplomatic history, and which has reframed the discussion about the origins of the military-industrial complex.
Vikki S. Katz, Department of Communication, School of Communication and Information, was recognized for her highly original contributions to the field of immigration and communication studies, which have had a critical impact on the work of scholars, policymakers, and members of the immigrant community.
Joanna L. Kempner, Department of Sociology, School of Arts and Sciences, Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research was honored for her innovative research on the social and cultural construction of illness, particularly her exploration of the gendering of illnesses such as migraine and cluster headaches.
Adam Kustka, Associate Professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Rutgers University-Newark was recognized for his state-of-the-art research on plankton photosynthesis and nutrient utilization, particularly his work on trace metal biogeochemistry.
Gary Schneider, Department of Visual Arts, Mason Gross School of the Arts, was recognized for his compelling photographs and deep understanding and critical analysis of photography.
David Chen Yu Shih, Department of Physics and Astronomy, School of Arts and Sciences –New Brunswick, was honored for contributing to the formal and phenomenological aspects of High Energy Theoretical Physics and his work on theories of supersymmetry breaking and mediation.
Aram A. Sinnreich, Department of Journalism and Medical Studies, School of Communication and Information, was recognized for his research on the cultural changes resulting from emerging technologies and the legal and regulatory conflicts they create.
Weijie Song, Department of Asian Languages & Cultures, School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick, was honored for publishing works in English and Chinese that have contributed to film studies, popular culture, diaspora studies, and cross-cultural and literary studies.
Elizabeth B. Torres, Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick, was recognized for contributing to the understanding of the neural control of movement and the relationship between the motor and cognitive phenomena.
Emily S. Van Buskirk, Department of Germanic, Russian and Eastern European Languages & Literature, School of Arts and Sciences –New Brunswick, was honored for her work in Slavic literary studies which has transformed the understanding of the life and times of Russian writer Lydia Ginzburg.
Nina Zhang, Department of Plant Biology and Pathology, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, School of Environmental and Biological studies, was recognized for her research in mycology, including the evolution, phylogenomics, and systematics of fungi in Magnaporthales.
The Presidential Fellowship for Teaching Excellence honors newly tenured faculty members for outstanding teaching and scholarly work. A research account has been established for each recipient.
Emily Allen-Hornblower, associate professor, Classics, School of Arts and Sciences, was recognized for her passionate dedication to teaching and mentoring, and her skillful guidance of class discussions, which allows to discover for themselves how to find the answers to important questions.
Siobain M. Duffy, associate professor, Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, was recognized for developing courses that engage and educate students in the classroom, and her commitment to developing exciting opportunities for students, including a certificate in evolutionary medicine.
Ivo Ph. Jansen, associate professor, Accounting, School of Business-Camden, was recognized for his enthusiastic and skillful classroom teaching and his ability to engage students in new concepts and ideas while teaching them to think through and analyze the most difficult problems.
Lauren J. Silver, associate professor, Childhood Studies, Faculty of Arts & Sciences-Camden, was honored for her innovative teaching, generous mentoring, and her creation of exciting environments, in and out of the classroom, fostering student engagement and innovative research.
Weijie Song, Asian Languages & Cultures, School of Arts and Sciences, was recognized for his passionate and enthusiastic teaching and for fostering critical thinking, independent reflection and group interactions among his students.
The Office of Faculty Diversity Initiatives celebrates and honors a select number of faculty who have been leaders in promoting diversity at Rutgers, either through their own research and teaching or in other venues. Recipients receive a citation and a $1,000 honorarium.
Rod K. Brunson, School of Criminal Justice, was honored for his internationally recognized research on police-community relations in urban neighborhoods, as well as his dedication to diversifying the field of criminal justice.
Leon A. Fraser, Management & Global Business, Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick, was recognized for his leadership role in the Rutgers Business School’s Task Force on Undergraduate Access and commitment to student achievement inside and outside of the classroom.
Kevin L. Lyons, Supply Chain Management & Marketing Sciences, Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick, was honored for his long-term efforts to diversify Rutgers’ use of suppliers, his teaching of sustainable supply chain management in today’s global economy, and his commitment to promoting women and hiring minorities.
Jody A. Miller, School of Criminal Justice, was recognized for her efforts to diversify academia through the support of junior scholars, and her research into the interrelationships of race, crime, and justice to make the criminal justice field more inclusive.
Arturo E. Osorio-Fernandez, Management & Global Business, Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick, was honored for his work with the state’s Hispanic and LGBTQ communities to support a diverse relationship between Newark residents and Rutgers.
The Rutgers College Class of 1962 Presidential Public Service Award honors members of the faculty, student body, or staff for volunteer service to government, professional and scholarly organizations, or the public. The award includes a $2,500 honorarium.
Anne Morrison Piehl, Department of Economics, Program in Criminal Justice, School of Arts and Sciences, was honored for her work on state commissions to improve the criminal justice system by reforming corrections policies and criminal sentencing, expanding special drug courts to increase treatment opportunities and reduce prison time, and for her national leadership on the pressing issue of increased incarceration in the United States. Piehl also was recognized for her key role in the Boston “Operation Ceasefire” project, working closely with the police department to strategize how to reduce violent crime and provide needed data to help police departments make changes to improve residents’ lives in their communities.