John T.
Cooper Jr. '92
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Year Awarded: 2017
John Cooper, associate professor of practice and planner-in-residence, also serves as director of the Texas Target Communities Program (TTCP), interim director of the Center for Housing & Urban Development, associate director of outreach for the Hazard Reduction & Recovery Center, and director of engagement for the Institute for the Environment. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas A&M University and earned his Ph.D. in city and regional planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hell. Soon thereafter, he launched his community development career at MDC, a nationally respected community development nonprofit, where he helped lead a four-year project developing solutions to help 22 communities across the Carolinas increase local employment, income and wealth, and build the leadership assets and structures necessary for long-term economic renewal. He also managed a project focused on increasing disaster awareness and preparedness in disadvantaged rural communities and another aimed at teaching policy framing and advocacy skills to non-profits working to build public support for policies that benefit rural children and families. With these experiences, Dr. Cooper returned to Texas A&M in 2012 to lead the TTCP, a high-impact service learning and community outreach program within the College of Architecture and supported in part by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. The goal of the TTCP is to provide tailored support, grounded in local context and informed by interdisciplinary teams skilled at solving complex problems. Under Dr. Cooper’s leadership, TTCP has assisted more than 20 underserved communities across Texas, invested up to 12,000 hours of student and faculty expertise for each community, and connected communities to resources across the Texas A&M System for assessing and leveraging community assets.
College: Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning
Award Level: Extension, Outreach, Continuing Education and PD
Elizabeth
Crouch '91
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Year Awarded: 2017
Elizabeth Crouch, assistant dean for undergraduate education and lecturer in the Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, earned her Ph.D. in genetics from Texas A&M University. She joined the Biomedical Sciences Program (BIMS) as an academic advisor in 2001 and rose to the position of director in 2008 and assistant dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in 2014. Among her many duties are to counsel students, supervise the BIMS advising staff, and help set the policies of the program. She has taught 14 semesters at Texas A&M, including 6 semesters of a course she designed: An Introduction to Phenotypic Expression in the Context of Human Medicine. Her current areas of interest are student development/retention, promotion of student research and study abroad, and effective mentoring. Her nominator wrote that Dr. Crouch helps and inspires students, cares deeply about their welfare and development, and meets their individual needs while requiring them to accept their responsibilities and rise to their fullest potentials. Her supporters describe her as a highly engaged administrator who interacts continually with the more than 2,300 high-achieving and diverse undergraduate students in the College. They speak of the sustained, individualized, compassionate help she consistently gives to students. Recurrent themes include her commitment to individuals’ wellbeing, her personalization of guidance to meet individual students’ circumstances and goals, her problem-solving abilities, her attentiveness to detail, her empathy and her interpersonal skills. In the words of a former student who is now in medical school, “Dr. Crouch is one of the most compassionate and caring people that I have ever met….I can honestly say that knowing Dr. Crouch has made me a better man, a better student and a better mentor to others.”
College: College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Award Level: Student Relations
Alan
Dabney
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Year Awarded: 2017
Alan Dabney, associate professor of statistics, earned a Ph.D. in biostatistics from the University of Washington. Since joining the College of Science faculty in 2006, Dr. Dabney has dedicated himself to undergraduate teaching. His particular strengths are in transforming complicated material into easily accessible lessons and in developing inventive curriculum that can be used by other faculty. His innovative approach to teaching is exemplified by his creation of an educational video that features him on green screen with special effects as he presents statistics lectures to undergraduates. The video was so successful that Freeman Publishing secured his services for the production of a series of 35 similar video lectures on introductory statistics. Dr. Dabney has co-authored The Cartoon Introduction to Statistics, which presents introductory statistics material in a graphic novel format, effectively using unique visual techniques creatively to teach key concepts of statistics. In addition, he has published a computer simulation in the journal Teaching Statistics that can be used in the classroom to teach introductory statistics. He also was instrumental in the development of the new bachelor of science degree in statistics that he co-advises with a faculty colleague all statistics majors. Dr. Dabney is the recipient of The Association of Former Students College-Level Award for Teaching, the Texas A&M Montague?Center for Teaching Excellence Scholar Award, and the Eppright Professorship in Undergraduate Teaching Excellence. A former undergraduate student wrote this about working on statistics research with Dr. Dabney, “This was a formative experience for me, which revealed to me the excitement and creativity that exists in current statistics research: a perspective that is all too difficult to see when taking a typical introductory statistics class.”
College: Department of Statistics
Award Level: Teaching
Amy E.
Earhart '99
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Year Awarded: 2017
Amy Earhart is an associate professor of English and affiliated with Africana Studies. She has been employed at Texas A&M for 21 years, 2 in her current position. She earned her Ph.D. in English with a certificate in Women’s Studies from Texas A&M. Dr. Earhart’s nominator describes her as not only one of the outstanding teachers in the Department of English, but also as a leading innovator in the evolving world of digital humanities and online pedagogy. For example, she pioneered a robust, fully online Survey of American Literature course that 175-250 students take each semester and went on to lead a successful effort to develop additional online courses in the Department. She also incorporates high-impact digital humanities projects in her classes, notably the Alex Haley Papers, which led to a publication for involved students, The Millican “Riot,” 1868, a digital archive of primary sources about this crucial local event. Her nominator adds that her pedagogical innovations transmit both solid content and lifelong critical skills to her students as well as teaching students the importance of previously ignored writers in the American literary tradition. Dr. Earhart, a recipient of the Montague-CTE Scholars Teaching Award, teaches undergraduate core curriculum and specialty courses as well as graduate seminars, and receives consistently outstanding student evaluations. A deeply honest and poignant letter from a former student, who now works at YES Prep Public Schools in Houston, describes how Dr. Earhart transformed her own view of “Blackness”: “I was appreciative to Dr. Earhart for teaching me about our history so I could teach others. From that moment, I decided to take any opportunity I could to educate others about our history.” Dr. Earhart’s is humanities teaching at its finest. It directly impacts the lives and work of students and helps create a more discerning, just, and informed society.
College: Department of English
Award Level: Teaching
Yalchin
Efendiev
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Year Awarded: 2017
Yalchin Efendiev, professor of mathematics and holder of the Mobil Chair in Computational Science, joined the faculty of the College of Science in 2001. He earned his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from California Institute of Technology and previously served as a research associate for Chevron Petroleum Technology Company and as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Minnesota. He is the director of the Institute of Computational Science at A&M and the Numerical Porous Media SRI Center at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Dr. Efendiev played a leading role in the development and analysis of the "multiscale finite-element method.” Multiscale problems are those which involve physical processes acting on different time and length scales. As such, they encompass many important applications but pose extremely difficult computational challenges. Along with the development of the multiscale finite element method, he has made pioneering contributions to the application of this technique to porous-media fluid flow, including groundwater remediation and oil-recovery modeling. Dr. Efendiev's work has been recognized nationally and internationally through awards and honors, including being named a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society and receiving the Fraunhofer Bessel Award from the Alexander von Humblodt Foundation. As a graduate advisor, Dr. Efendiev has had 22 Ph.D. students who have graduated under his supervision since 2004 and he is currently a chair for 6 more Ph.D. students. His nominators wrote, “…he is a great mentor to many junior people: Ph.D. students, postdoctoral associates, and young researchers within his sphere of influence. He has always encouraged them to strive for more accomplishments and never hesitated to give assistance, suggestions, and encouragement.”
College: Department of Mathematics
Award Level: Graduate Mentoring
Timothy R.
Elliott
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Year Awarded: 2017
Timothy Elliott, professor of educational psychology, earned his Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of Missouri. Before joining the faculty of the College of Education and Human Development in 2006, he served on the faculties of Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is a member of the American Psychological Association, which awarded him the Distinguished Service Award and the Roger G. Barker Distinguished Research Contribution Award. He has also received the Dorothy Booz Black Award for outstanding Achievement in Counseling Health Psychology from the Society of Counseling Psychology and the Essie Morgan Lifetime Research Award from the American Association of Spinal Cord Injury Psychologists and Social Workers. Throughout his career, Dr. Elliott has systematically studied the adjustment of individuals living with chronic and debilitating health conditions. This work has resulted in more than 200 peer-reviewed journal articles, 50 book chapters, and external funding from several federal agencies. Dr. Elliott conducted the first randomized clinical trials of a psychological intervention for family caregivers of persons with spinal cord injuries as well of those with traumatic brain injuries. Colleagues in Germany adapted his intervention protocol for use with family caregivers of stroke survivors. Dr. Elliott developed the Telehealth Council Clinic at Texas A&M, where he serves as executive director, to provide telepsychology services to remote sites in five Brazos Valley counties, each designated as a health-provider shortage area. “In my view, Dr. Elliot’s record of scholarship is unquestionably outstanding and renowned, and his recognition and leadership among his peers is extraordinary” a colleague from Oklahoma State University writes.
College: Department of Educational Psychology
Award Level: Research
Kevin
Gustavus '08
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Year Awarded: 2017
Kevin Gustavus is responsible for the day-to-day supervision, training and performance of the seven-member team of the College of Architecture’s business office, as well as implementing the College budget, and managing contracts and grants, the College’s revenue, payroll, continuing education, and project accounts. Prior to attending Texas A&M University he served six years as a non-commissioned officer in the United States Army. Upon completion of his service, he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Texas A&M University and his Master of Business Administration from the University of Houston?Victoria. Mr. Gustavus joined the staff of the College of Architecture in 2006, after serving in the Division of Finance and Administration. While at Texas A&M, Mr. Gustavus has twice been the recipient of the College of Architecture Star Performer Award, as well as a recipient of the President’s Meritorious Service Award, the Committee of Senior Business Administrators (CSBA) “Best in Business” Team Award, and the Linda J. Todd Outstanding Support Staff Award. He is a member of the College of Architecture’s Staff Council, serves as the College’s representative on the CSBA, and was elected to the University Staff Council, serving in fall 2009 and spring 2010. His nominators credit him with a number of significant contributions to the College of Architecture and to the university, including the facilitating the creation of and establishing funding for the Staff Scholarship Program, establishing the College’s Safety Team, and creating a Conversation Partners Program for International Students, Faculty and Staff within the College. A supporter commented, “I honestly can’t say enough about how impressed I am with Kevin and how he operates. His contributions to the College of Architecture are significant and his personal commitment to excellence is unmatched.”
College: College of Architecture Business Office
Award Level: Staff
Paul E.
Hardin
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Year Awarded: 2017
Paul Hardin, University Distinguished Professor and holder of the John W. Lyons Jr. '59 Chair, earned his Ph.D. in genetics from Indiana University. Following postdoctoral training at Brandeis University, he was a faculty member of the biology faculty at Texas A&M University as an assistant professor from 1991 to 1995. He then moved to the University of Houston as an associate professor with tenure and was later promoted to professor. He returned the faculty of the Texas A&M College of Science in 2006. Dr. Hardin’s research helped to establish the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a premier model organism for studying the circadian clock. He discovered the first circadian feedback loop in gene expression in the brain of the fruit fly, which established the mechanistic framework for circadian timekeeping in circadian transcription, interlocking feedback loops within the timekeeping mechanism, and the presence of circadian clocks in peripheral tissues. Each discovery has profoundly affected science’s understanding of the role of the human clock in health and disease. In recognition of his contributions to the field of rhythms research, Dr. Hardin received the Aschoff-Honma Prize from the Honma Life Science Foundation in Japan. He served as president of the world’s premier society for the research of circadian biology, the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms. He also belongs to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Genetics Society of American, and the Society for Neuroscience. He has authored more than 96 publications and been cited more than 6,500 times. “In many ways the history of Paul’s work is the history of where the field has gone,” a colleague from Dartmouth University wrote. “The successful prosecution of this effort has propelled Hardin into the top ranks of chronobiologists in the world today.”
College: Department of Biology
Award Level: Research
Mark A.
Hussey '79
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Year Awarded: 2017
Dr. Mark Hussey’s 34-year career at Texas A&M University began as a graduate student and has brought him to the top of the organization. After earning his master’s then Ph.D. in plant breeding, he was a faculty member and later head of the department of soil and crop sciences. He was later named director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research. In 2008, he was appointed vice chancellor and dean for agriculture and life sciences, and in 2014, he went to Texas A&M University as interim president. In May 2015, Dr. Hussey returned to be vice chancellor and dean, where he leads the college’s 300+ faculty and nearly 8,000 students. He also oversees The Texas A&M University System’s four agricultural agencies: Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M Forest Service, and Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, as well as the University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. A visionary and dedicated servant leader, Dr. Hussey has managed the creation of an unprecedented construction campaign that makes the west campus home to 13 of 14 academic departments. It includes the multi-million dollar agriculture and life sciences complex on the Texas A&M University campus, providing the first-of-its-kind headquarters for Texas A&M AgriLife. Additionally, he created the vision and raised more than $6 million dollars to build the first phase of The Gardens at Texas A&M University, a unique and beautiful outdoor classroom for Aggies and the community. He also initiated the AgriLife Advanced Leadership Program, which provides leadership training for AgriLife faculty leaders in the making. He is an advocate for the land-grant university system of research, teaching and extension, holding national leadership positions in the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities.
College: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Award Level: Administration
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Larry
Johnson
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Year Awarded: 2017
Larry Johnson, professor of veterinary integrative biosciences, earned his Ph.D. in reproductive physiology from Colorado State University. He joined the faculty of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in 1987. His scholarly interests are in toxicology, histology and reproductive physiology. He teaches a graduate course in scientific ethics and undergraduate, graduate and professional level courses in histology. He also teaches a new elective for veterinary students on the development of communication, organization and mentoring skills through outreach to K-12 students. His nominators say that he is passionate about teaching and helping students to learn. His philosophy is that teaching represents a unique opportunity for instructors to facilitate students’ inherent desire to learn by stimulating their curiosity and imagination. As an example of his desire to reach students where they are, all of his supporters lauded his YouTube channel (VIBS Histology), which features 140 videos that he produced to help his students learn about histology and to make sense of slides that look like “a bunch of pink and purple with little lines and flakes and swirls.” Amplifying that praise, one former student noted that of the almost 6,000 subscribers to the channel “only 31% of the views are within the United States, which means that an overwhelming majority of his outreach is educating students globally.” His nominators say that it is “his intent is to educate the world.” In that regard, he teaches his students to also be passionate about teaching and particularly about working with K-12 youth to peak their interest in agricultural, environmental, and veterinary/medical sciences. In short, as a current student wrote, “Dr. Johnson has a joy for teaching and education.”
College: Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences
Award Level: Teaching
Mary P.
McDougall '97
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Year Awarded: 2017
Mary McDougall, associate professor of biomedical engineering with a joint appointment in electrical and computer engineering, earned her Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Texas A&M University. She joined the faculty of the College of Engineering in 2006. Her research is focused on developing novel hardware and methodologies for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Her nominator wrote that Dr. McDougall is a dedicated and gifted educator, who beyond the classroom has mentored students in research, promoted broader participation in engineering, and established programs that promote undergraduate research training and preparation for graduate school. Dr. McDougall’s teaching philosophy is based on three fundamental approaches: 1) making sure the students can understand the “big picture” by applying the class theory to the real world; 2) maintaining enthusiasm about the material; and 3) being personally accessible to the students. Comments from her teaching reviews demonstrate her success in implementing these approaches. A student wrote that she provides “great explanations,” clearly translating electromagnetic theory using real world examples. Another described her class as “Hands down, the most interesting and rewarding course I’ve taken at TAMU.” In addition to consistently receiving consistently high teaching reviews, Dr. McDougall has also developed two new courses. The first, a course in magnetic resonance engineering, provided experiential learning for students by building an NMR spectrometer in the classroom and constructing a desktop MRI system from the ground up. One student commented, “The fact that you build your own MRI. Seriously…that’s cool!” About the second course, which examines non-ionizing electromagnetic theory in the context of biomedical applications, a student wrote, “EM theory was presented intuitively, and you could see the excitement on students’ faces.”
College: Department of Biomedical Engineering
Award Level: Teaching
Henry
Musoma '00
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Year Awarded: 2017
A native of Zambia, Henry Musoma is assistant director of the Center for International Business Studies (CIBS). After earning his doctorate in educational leadership at Texas Christian University, he joined the faculty of the Mays Business School in 2012. His nominator wrote, “His students are inspired by him to make a positive difference, and Dr. Musoma, himself, personifies his oft-repeated exhortation: ‘You can count the number of seeds in an orange, but you can never count the number of oranges in a seed.’ If the seeds in the orange represent the number of students Henry has served and influenced, that number may be nearly uncountable; but the good work those students are inspired to accomplish (the oranges in the seed) is so vast as to be beyond measure.” In addition to his duties with CIBS, his supporters say that Dr. Musoma helps students internalize a vision of who and what they can be by helping them raise their vision beyond the immediate. He inspires students to be better people. As one former student put it, “Dr. Musoma cares…about helping students discover themselves and to become extraordinary people in life.” He models what he envisions for his students. By being generous with his time, story and resources; he helps students see what is possible. He creates opportunities. A good example is the annual trip to Africa. Each year, Dr. Musoma creates a life-changing opportunity for Regents Scholars and convinced leaders at Philip’s 66 to fund the trip. The result is a two-week international experience for students who would not otherwise be able to travel ? including many who have never left Texas. And, he listens ? witness the continual flow of students to his office. These are not just students in his classes, they are also students who hear him speak in other venues and believe he is someone with whom they can connect.
College: Center of International Business Studies
Award Level: Student Relations
Casey J.
Papovich
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Year Awarded: 2017
Casey Papovich, professor and holder of the Marcia and Ralph Schilling Chair in Physics and Astronomy, received his bachelor’s in physics from the College of William and Mary and his doctorate from Johns Hopkins University. Before joining the faculty of the College of Science in 2008, he was a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Arizona’s Steward Observatory, led scientific results from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, and was awarded NASA’s Spitzer Prize Postdoctoral Fellowship. He is a recognized expert in extragalactic astrophysics with a focus on galaxy formation and cosmology. Dr. Papovich was one of the pioneers using deep imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope to measure the growth of stars in galaxies over the history of the Universe. He is a frequent user of the world’s largest ground-based telescopes, and he has led large programs with NASA’s space-based observatories. Dr. Papovich’s recent work has important implications for many aspects of subsequent evolution of galaxies — one of the major science objectives of the next generation of space telescopes. His work is helping to define the observing plans for these $5 billion-level projects — an indicator of his global impact. As of January 2016, he has authored or co-authored more than 190 highly cited peer-reviewed publications. In 2014, 2015, and 2016, he was selected one of Thomas Reuter’s Highly Cited Researchers — awarded to the top one percent of cited researchers.
College: Department of Physics and Astronomy
Award Level: Research
Mary Margaret "Meg"
Penrose
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Year Awarded: 2017
Meg Penrose, professor of law, joined the faculty of Texas Wesleyan School of Law, now known as Texas A&M School of Law in 2009. She earned her Juris Doctorate from Pepperdine Law School and her Mater of Laws in international human rights from the University of Notre Dame Law School. Her nominators wrote, “Professor Penrose personifies excellence in teaching.” Her students constantly praise her as being the best teacher they’ve ever had! Students love her enthusiasm, creativity and passion for the law. Her dean noted that she is an “exceptional and respected teacher, as reflected in [her] strong teaching evaluations and multiple teaching awards.” Professor Penrose teaches large classes covering subjects that are covered on bar examinations around the country. In two of the last three semesters, she has had more students in her classes than any other Texas A&M Law faculty member. The terms students use most commonly to describe Professor Penrose’s teaching include “amazing,” “brilliant,” “enthusiastic,” and “inspiring.” Her student evaluations are full of comments praising her availability outside of class and her passion for the law. Several students complimented her energy and noted that her enthusiasm for the subjects she teaches is contagious. As one student remarked, “I fell in love with Constitutional Law because of her.” Another indicated that she “teaches for both class and life in general.” The commendations she has received are remarkable considering her demanding standards and teaching rigor. One student noted, “I would have felt like I let her down if I wasn’t prepared” for class. Another remarked, “I looked forward to her class and often felt disappointed when it ended.” Another student sums it up with, “Penrose skyrocketed past all my hopes and expectations for this class….I can’t wait to take another class with her!”
College: School of Law
Award Level: Teaching
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Veronica
Stilley '90
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Year Awarded: 2017
Veronica Stilley is the primary conduit of information and procedures for students in Department of Information and Operations Management (INFO). Her duties include managing the Student Services Office, supervising the academic advisors, advising undergraduate and master’s students, supervising master’s admissions processing, assisting with Ph.D. admissions processing, maintaining student and applicant records, scheduling departmental courses, coordinating course catalog updates, and hiring, placing and supervising graduate teaching assistants. She has been at Texas A&M University for eight years. She earned a bachelor’s in Educational Curriculum and Instruction and a master’s in Educational Administration from Texas A&M University and joined the staff of the Mays Business School in 2009. She previously served as an academic coordinator at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, and as a teacher in Longview and in New Braunfels. She is a three-time recipient of the INFO Department Staff Service Excellence Award, and a recipient of both the Mays Business School Star Performer Award and the Mays Business School Outstanding Staff Achievement Award. Ms. Stilley continually goes beyond her assigned job duties. She also volunteers her time to programs for the wider university and the City of College Station. Her nominators wrote that “…she continually goes beyond her assigned job duties. Not merely performing them with excellence, but creating new and interesting opportunities, and anticipating and solving problems before the rest of us are aware of potential issues.”
College: Department of Information and Operations Management
Award Level: Staff
Connie D.
Weaver
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Year Awarded: 2017
Connie Weaver, KPMG Professor of Accounting, joined the faculty of the Mays Business School in 2006. She earned her Ph.D. from Arizona State University. Her research investigates the effects of income taxes on financing, investing and financial reporting decisions. Dr. Weaver initially taught the basic tax course required for all Professional Program (PPA) and BBA accounting majors. While the technical course content is very challenging, she also focused on developing her student’s critical thinking and communication skills. Next, she developed and taught a master’s level tax course for PPA students that provides a comprehensive study of financial accounting for income taxes. For both, she consistently receives very high ratings on student evaluations, especially in the area of being an effective teacher. Moreover, she receives very positive feedback from students who say she consistently demonstrates that she cares about student learning. This is noteworthy because many of her students do not plan to focus on tax in their careers. Her students clearly appreciate the impact of her teaching on their knowledge of the challenging subject matter and their comments reflect her enthusiasm and obvious interest in ensuring that they learn. One student wrote, “Your love of teaching & of the material truly shines—even at 8 a.m.! You make corporate tax fun even for a non-tax person!” Another student wrote, “Honestly, at the beginning I thought this was going to be my least liked class, but it ended up my favorite.” Still another student wrote, “For someone who doesn’t like tax, I actually enjoyed this class! Arguably the best/most caring teacher I’ve had in my college experience.” To conclude, another student wrote, “You rock!! Definitely challenging to keep the class awake/motivated at 8 a.m. yet you did it every week.”
College: Department of Accounting
Award Level: Teaching
Ping
Yang
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Year Awarded: 2017
Ping Yang, professor and holder of the David Bullock Harris Chair in Geosciences in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences with a joint appointment in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, received his doctorate from the University of Utah. Before joining College of Geosciences in 2001, he held research scientist positions at the University of California, Los Angeles; the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; and the University of Maryland. An internationally renowned expert in the propagation of light throughout atmosphere, Dr. Yang specifically focuses on the scattering of light by particles — ice and water clouds and other atmospheric particles, generally referred to as aerosols. The outcomes of his research have made an enormous impact on remote sensing of ice clouds and dust aerosol by satellites and the broadband radiation parameterizations for application to climate models. In 2013, he received the Ascent Award from the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Atmospheric Sciences Section for “fundamental research in radiative transfer and remote sensing.” Dr. Yang has published 284 peer-reviewed journal articles, 11 invited book chapters, and 3 textbooks on atmospheric radiation. He was elected a fellow of the Optical Society of America, the American Meteorological Society, and the AGU. A 2005 paper by Yang et al., which documents an ice crystal scattering database in infrared spectrum, is the eighth most highly cited paper in applied optics over the past ten years. As one supporter states, “Some amazing scientists go the extra mile beyond being highly productive. They leave a legacy. This is the stature that I think Ping Yang has now achieved; he has taken the atmospheric radiation field in new directions and become a leader in shaping the future of the field. It has been immeasurably enriched by his contributions.”
College: Department of Atmospheric Sciences
Award Level: Research
Hong-Cai "Joe"
Zhou '00
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Year Awarded: 2017
Hong-Cai “Joe” Zhou, professor of chemistry, materials science and engineering, and holder of the Robert A. Welch Chair in Chemistry, earned his doctorate from Texas A&M University under the direction of F.A. Cotton. After completing a postdoctoral position at Harvard University, he served on the faculty of Miami University. In 2008, Dr. Zhou moved to Texas A&M University and in that short time has developed a truly exceptional, internationally recognized research program. He ranks among the top three U.S. and top five worldwide researchers in the field of metal-organic frameworks (MOF). Known as a pioneer in ligand design and synthesis, he also is an expert in kinetic control of MOF preparation. Dr. Zhou has received a Research Innovation Award from Research Corporation, an NSF CAREER Award, a Cottrell Scholar Award from Research Corporation, the Miami University Distinguished Scholar-Young Investigator Award, the Faculty Excellence Award from Air Products, and the DOE Hydrogen Program Special Recognition Award. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Chemical Society, and the Royal Society of Chemistry. Dr. Zhou has published 216 peer-reviewed papers and was recognized as a “highly cited researcher” by Thomson Reuters in 2014, 2015, and 2016 — the only chemist in The Texas A&M University System who has achieved this distinction. As one supporter states, “Professor Zhou has demonstrated an outstanding ability to execute world class research and attract major research funding. There is no question but that his contributions have had a major impact on the field of materials chemistry.”
College: Department of Chemistry
Award Level: Research
I. Yucel
Akkutlu
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Year Awarded: 2016
Yucel Akkutlu, associate professor of petroleum engineering, the George & Joan Voneiff Career Development Professor, and William Keeler Fellow, is the Director of Graduate Advising in the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering. He earned his Ph.D. in petroleum engineering from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Dr. Akkutlu joined the faculty of the College of Engineering in 2013 after serving in academic positions with the National Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics in Brazil, the University of Alberta in Canada, and the University of Oklahoma. His main research interest is fluid flow, transport, and reactions in porous media. He is the current executive editor of the SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) Journal. Two years ago, in addition to his teaching and research, Dr. Akkutlu took on the role of Director of Petroleum Engineering Graduate Advising. His nominator wrote that Dr. Akkutlu “takes great pride and ownership of his responsibility as a faculty member and the graduate advisor for our department,” going on to describe him as “a listener and problem solver, firm in his decisions, with ability to produce positive outcomes, always putting the student first, with genuine care and concern.” In this role, he is devoted to helping students. No matter how busy he is, he makes himself available for the students. He is described as an optimistic individual, who through patience is able to keep his interactions with students positive. His demeanor calms upset or angry students and often allows them come up with proactive solutions to their problems. Dr. Akkutlu is described by his supporters as showing a genuine concern for the well-being of each student.
College: College of Engineering
Award Level: Individual Student Relationships
Terry
Alfriend
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Year Awarded: 2016
Terry Alfriend, TEES Distinguished Research Professor of Aerospace Engineering, joined the faculty of the College of Engineering in 1997. He earned his Ph.D. in engineering mechanics from Virginia Tech. Before coming to Texas A&M, Dr. Alfriend served on the faculty of Cornell University, conducted postdoctoral research at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and held positions with the Naval Research Laboratory, CIA Office of Development and Engineering, and the Naval Postgraduate School. He has been the leader of the Texas A&M team addressing the dynamics and control of satellite formation and is regarded internationally as a preeminent leader in astrodynamics, space situation awareness, and the dynamics and control of satellite formations. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and a Fellow of the American Astronomical Society (AAS). He has received the prestigious AIAA Mechanics and Control of Flight Award and AAS Dirk Brouwer Award. He was recently notified that he will receive the 2016 AIAA Guidance, Navigation and Control Award that is given to one person every other year. Dr. Alfriend has published one book, two book chapters, and more than 280 journal and conference papers in astrodynamics. His paper “The State Transition Matrix of Relative Motion for the Perturbed Non-circular Reference Orbit” has been cited more than 200 times. A colleague outside the university wrote, “In his nearly 50-year long stellar professional career as a world-class research and educator, he (Dr. Alfriend) played several major leadership roles and provided significant technical contributions to aerospace sciences that have set the bar and established the course of the field. Indeed he has made seminal contributions in just about every area of GNC.”
College: College of Engineering
Award Level: Research
David
Bessler
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Year Awarded: 2016
David Bessler, professor of agricultural economics and Regents Professor, joined the faculty of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in 1982. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis. Before coming to Texas A&M, he was a member of the faculty of Purdue University. Dr. Bessler is credited with the creation and use of time-series modeling approaches for forecasting the effects of policy, environmental, and market forces on agricultural prices, production, and consumption. His accomplishments and discoveries in this area have transformed applied economic modeling, provided great societal benefit, and have been acknowledged not only within agricultural economics but also more broadly in the fields of economics, finance, management science, and computer science. He has published 136 refereed journal articles, and his work has been widely recognized by colleagues through numerous awards and honors, including being named a Distinguished Fellow of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association and a Distinguished Scholar of the Western Agricultural Economic Association. He has also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Southern Agricultural Economics Association and The Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award for Graduate Mentoring, and was named a Simon Fellow in Econometrics at Victoria University of Manchester, U.K. His accomplishments are highly regarded by international leaders in agricultural economics. A colleague from the Sorbonne wrote, “Professor Bessler has revolutionized econometric thinking in matters of causal models.” Another colleague from the University of California, Davis, wrote that his “work has had a profound influence on the profession in price forecasting, analysis of futures markets, modeling of trade flows and measurement of integration of markets to name just a few.”
College: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Award Level: Research
Minnette
Bilbo
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Year Awarded: 2016
Minnette Bilbo is the business administrator in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. She joined the Texas A&M University staff in 1975 and has held progressively responsible positions throughout her 41 years with the university. Her nominator wrote that there are many ways in which her service and ability exceed the usual duties of her job and emphasized that one of her most valuable assets is “her nearly encyclopedic knowledge” of all aspects of business in the department. “There are hundreds of accounts and sub-accounts under the Department of Physics and Astronomy and she knows what all of them are and to whom they are assigned.” In addition, she is known as “a master of all Texas A&M’s various procedures: Concur, Aggie-Buy (and now BAM).” But the hallmark of Ms. Bilbo’s service to the department is her willingness and ability to work with principal investigators (PIs). The department has 72 faculty members, so the number of PIs is large. She works with each one to carefully organize their array of funding streams to maximize productivity. Ms. Bilbo is also the supervisor for other staff members who coordinate purchasing, travel, and payroll. But she is no ordinary supervisor. She is a master of all the functions that report to her and gladly steps in to fill the gap if a member of her team is out. Ms. Bilbo’s management makes the most difficult staffing days appear to be “business as usual.” In addition, she is very involved in the department’s outreach program, the Physics and Engineering Festival. During the festival, the department hosts about 4,000 visitors for a full day of hands-on demonstrations and talks. Such a program works only because of the large number of student, faculty, and staff volunteers. Ms. Bilbo organizes food for the volunteers and handles countless other logistical details. In sum, her supporters agree that “Ms. Bilbo has a profound dedication to Aggieland.”
College: College of Science
Award Level: Staff
Wesley
Bissett '97
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Year Awarded: 2016
Wesley Bissett is an associate professor of food animal medicine and director of the Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team (VET) in the Department of Veterinary Large Animal Clinical Services. He earned his D.V.M. and his Ph.D. in microbiology from Texas A&M. Before joining the faculty of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (CVM) in 2000, he was in private practice. Following the experiences of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on the campus and region, Dr. Bissett began to focus on disaster preparedness and response. He became a leader in the CVM’s new initiative to respond to animal issues during emergencies and disasters. In 2009, Hurricane Ike struck Texas and initiated the formation of the VET at the request of the Texas Animal Health Commission and Division of Emergency Management. Dr. Bissett has been the Director of the VET since its inception and has presided over the development of a 38-person team with assets valued in excess of $2 million. In addition, he has led the development of the nation’s first required clinical rotation in emergency preparedness and response. Dr. Bissett and his team of volunteer faculty, staff, and students have been deployed to provide aid following the 2011 Bastrop Complex Wildfire, a 2012 Brazos Country Alzheimer’s patient search, the 2013 West, Texas, fertilizer plant explosion, the 2014 response to the Dallas-Ft. Worth Ebola Outbreak, and the 2015 Wimberley Floods. The deployments have provided an exceptional educational experience for students while simultaneously serving the citizens of Texas. The impact the VET has on students revolves around the understanding that Aggies are committed to selfless service. The chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management summed up, writing that rarely “has one person in the emergency management community inspired so many to be better for the greater good than Dr. Bissett.”
College: College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Award Level: Extension, Outreach, Continuing Ed, & Prof Dev
Megan
Carpenter
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Year Awarded: 2016
Megan Carpenter is a professor of law and one of the original faculty members of the Texas A&M School of Law, as well as the founding director of the Center for Law and Intellectual Property (CLIP), which has become a flagship program of the law school. She previously served on the faculty of the Texas Wesleyan University law school and in private practice. She earned an M.S. and a J.D. from West Virginia University and an LL.M. from the National University of Ireland. She is a nationally known expert in intellectual property with particular interest in entrepreneurship and the arts. She chairs the Academic Committee of the International Trademark Association and the Law and Entrepreneurship Special Interest Group for the United States Association for Small Business & Entrepreneurship (USASBE). Her nominators wrote that she is committed to the students’ learning and professional development beyond the classroom. She has been instrumental in providing students with hands-on experience by creating legal clinics that enable students to practice intellectual property and business law on behalf of actual clients, including collaborations with student entrepreneurs and inventors at Startup Aggieland on the campus in College Station. This is the first full-service clinic in legal education to cater particularly to a university’s own student entrepreneurs. Professor Carpenter has also established a mentoring program, called Need to Know, in which she encourages law students to conduct workshops that educate underserved segments of the community on relevant legal issues. This program has been a valuable way for students to develop their expertise as future professionals and share the knowledge they have gained in law school while serving the larger community. To date, students have educated more than 1,000 entrepreneurs, artists, and musicians.
College: School of Law
Award Level: Graduate Mentoring
Haipeng "Allan"
Chen
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Year Awarded: 2016
Haipeng “Allan” Chen is associate professor of marketing, Mays Research Fellow, and director of the Ph.D. Program in Marketing. He joined the faculty of the Mays Business School in 2007 after earning his Ph.D. in business administration from the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities). He conducts research in the area of behavioral decision theory, and his research interests focus on examining decision biases of individual consumers and managers, and their economic and cultural ramifications. Dr. Chen enjoys a reputation as an outstanding teacher at both the undergraduate and graduate levels who upholds high academic standards; demonstrates a high level of commitment, dedication, and passion for excellence; makes a concerted effort to provide the most relevant and current knowledge to his students; and motivates his students to be eager and committed learners for life. One former student wrote that every time she stepped into to Dr. Chen’s class, she knew three things would happen. She would learn something she was actually interested in. She would feel like a better student. And Dr. Chen would give the lesson his all. She concluded that his focus was not just to make his students better marketers but instead to make them better people. A doctoral student commented that Dr. Chen “draws every student’s attention with his clearly organized lectures, sharp thinking, expressive body language, and a friendly smile.” Another former student wrote that, in her marketing role at Union Pacific Railroad, she uses the lessons she learned from Dr. Chen on a daily basis. She also lauded Dr. Chen for making learning “exhilarating and enjoyable.”
College: Mays Business School
Award Level: Teaching
John L.
Crompton '77
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Year Awarded: 2016
John Crompton, University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences, earned his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. He joined the faculty of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in 1974. He has also served on the faculty of the Department of Marketing and as a consultant. His numerous awards include the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Agriculture Sciences National Excellence in Teaching Award, a Minnie Stevens Piper Professor award for excellence in teaching at Texas universities, a Texas A&M University Presidential Professor of Teaching Excellence award, and The Association of Former Students University-Level Award for Teaching. Over his career, he has chaired more than 30 Ph.D. and 50 M.S. committees. Each of these students has been taught to conceptualize abstract concepts and to empirically examine phenomena. In addition, through his mentorship, these students have learned to distribute the results of their research through high-quality writing and presentations. A colleague and former graduate student wrote, “John Crompton’s interest in his graduate students can be described as nurturing, parental, empowering, critical, intense, intrusive and invasive. We wouldn’t have it any other way!” His nominator commented that it is obvious that Dr. Crompton “enjoys helping young researchers and professionals achieve their potential,” and noted that he has the “uncommon ability to help people of all skill levels realize their potential.” A supporter added, “He always knew how to create a person-specific academic environment in which there is room for individual creativity and professional growth, bringing out the best in his students.” His supporters consistently praise his ability to instill confidence by encouraging students to raise their aspirations and demonstrating to them that they can accomplish much more than they think they can.
College: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Award Level: Graduate Mentoring
Darryl
de Ruiter
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Year Awarded: 2016
Darryl de Ruiter, professor of anthropology, earned his Ph.D. in anatomical sciences from the University of the Witswatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. He joined the faculty of the College of Liberal Arts in 2003 after completing postdoctoral research with the Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontology in South Africa. Dr. de Ruiter is internationally recognized as a preeminent scholar in the field of paleoanthropology. He has co-authored more than 60 papers in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes, including almost a dozen papers in the journals Science and Nature. His research has been featured on the covers of Science, Time Magazine, Discover Magazine, and Scientific American, as well as on television programs on the National Geographic Channel and in a recent PBS NOVA special. Dr. de Ruiter is one of three principal investigators at the famous Malapa site in South Africa, responsible for analyzing the skulls, jaws, and teeth of the early human ancestor Australopithecus sediba. He serves as a principal investigator at the newly discovered Rising Star Cave fossil site in South Africa, where the remains of dozens of individuals of a new type of human ancestor have been found, which Dr. de Ruiter and his colleagues call Homo naledi. Support letters from around the world indicate that his research is transforming the field of paleoanthropology, saying that he is “doing work at the forefront of human evolutionary studies”; “his actions represent “a new ethos in the discipline”; he is “clearly at the top of his field and deserving of recognition for excellence in research”; his work “has been groundbreaking” and brings “a never-before held, detailed understanding of early hominin behavior; and “the breadth and impact” of his “work has been equaled by very few” in the field.
College: College of Liberal Arts
Award Level: Research
Eduardo
Espina
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Year Awarded: 2016
Eduardo Espina, a native of Uruguay, joined the faculty of the College of Liberal Arts in 1987 after earning his Ph.D. in Hispanic-American literature from Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Espina is an expert in Latin American poetry and essay from the 19th century to the present, as well as fiction, theater, and culture. He is the author of eight books of criticism, four collections of essays and more than 10 poetry collections and anthologies. In addition he has published 30 refereed articles. Dr. Espina has been the recipient of numerous national and international awards for his work and is also an active conference and event organizer. He has successfully directed four dissertations to completion, including the first one to come out of the Department of Hispanic Studies. Among his honors and awards, Dr. Espina has been the recipient of the Premio Nacional de Ensayo (National Essay Prize) by the Ministerio de Educación y Cultura of Uruguay, the Premio Municipal de Poesía (Municipal Poetry Prize) by the City of Montevideo, and the Latino Literature Prize by the Latin American Writers Institute. A supporter wrote that Dr. Espina is “one of the most important poets of his generation in Latin America” and “has made TAMU the most important U.S. University in terms of contemporary Latin American poetry and poetics.” Another supporter wrote that “He sets the international gold standard of research not only for the vastness and richness of his knowledge, but especially for his unequalled dazzling and engaging writing,” “Reading Dr. Espina’s essays is absorbing, engaging, amusing, and enriching.” Another supporter stated, “Texas A&M University is very lucky to count Professor Espina as faculty. He is a distinguished scholar and original and fruitful thinker.”
College: College of Liberal Arts
Award Level: Research
Richard
Gomer
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Year Awarded: 2016
Richard Gomer is the Thomas Powell '62 Professor of Biology. He received a B.A. in physics from Pomona College and Ph.D. in biology from Caltech. After doing postdoctoral work at the University of California at San Diego, he served as a member of the faculty at Rice University. While there, he was also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and an adjunct faculty member at Baylor College of Medicine. He moved his lab to Texas A&M and joined the faculty of the College of Science in 2010. Until 2003, Dr. Gomer split his research between astronomy—focusing on mass transfer in close binary stars—and developmental biology—focusing on the formation of tissues of defined size and composition. In 2003, he and a postdoctoral researcher in his lab found a potential therapeutic for fibrosing diseases, such as congestive heart failure, cirrhosis of the liver, end-stage kidney disease, and pulmonary fibrosis. After this discovery, he stopped his astronomy work to focus on developmental biology and fibrosis, and co-founded a company to pursue the potential therapeutic. In clinical trials, the therapeutic is showing good efficacy at reversing disease in patients with pulmonary fibrosis and patients with myelofibrosis, a bone marrow fibrosis. At Texas A&M, in addition to doing basic research, his lab has identified a potential therapeutic for a lung disease called acute respiratory distress syndrome, as well as two second-generation therapeutics for fibrosis. He has authored more than 160 high impact publications, serves on the editorial boards of four journals, and holds 13 patents. His recent awards include being named Inventor of the Year by the State Bar of Texas and a National Academies Education Fellow in the Life Sciences.
College: College of Life Science
Award Level: Research
Melissa
Grunlan
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Year Awarded: 2016
Melissa Grunlan, associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering with a joint appointment in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, earned her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Southern California. After completing postdoctoral work in Texas A&M’s Department of Chemistry, she joined the faculty of the College of Engineering in 2005. She has been the director of undergraduate programs in biomedical engineering since October 2013. Her research is focused on developing polymer materials to improve the performance of medical devices. Her colleagues credit her outstanding contributions in teaching to the strength of her research program. Dr. Grunlan started the biomaterials focus area within the department and teaches core undergraduate courses. Her goal is the development of a comprehensive and cohesive biomaterials curriculum. Her teaching philosophy is to equip students with a strong understanding of fundamental principles that enable them to succeed in their future careers and become life-long learners. A current student, who is a 2015 Goldwater Scholar, credits Dr. Grunlan with her success and wrote, “Dr. Grunlan takes an unparalleled interest in the success and development of her students.” Another student wrote, “Research in Professor Grunlan’s laboratory transformed my educational experience and prepared me to pursue a Ph.D. after completing my undergraduate studies.” She added that “Dr. Grunlan fosters a fun and productive research environment where students are treated exceptionally well and can contribute meaningfully on a project while developing critical experimental and technical communication skills.” She concluded, “Prof. Grunlan is exceptionally talented at what she does. Clearly she has made substantial contributions toward the academic success of students and Texas A&M through her research, mentorship, and teaching.
College: College of Engineering
Award Level: Teaching