Research Awards Gala will recognize notable USU faculty
Faculty members at Utah State University will be recognized for their notable research and accomplishments at the annual Research Awards Gala Monday.
The event will “celebrate Utah State University’s Researchers of the Year, Notable Grant Recipients and the D. Wynne Thorne Career Research Awardee,” according to the announcement.
The gala will also honor many of the other top faculty researchers, including those who have been named Faculty Fellows or Carnegie Professors, and those who have been awarded USU Graduate Mentor of the Year or an NSF CAREER Grant.
“The Research Awards Gala is the most prestigious night for recognition of research being conducted at Utah State University,” said Katie Feinauer, Communications Specialist for the Office of Research and Graduate Studies. “We will recognize those individuals who have made a sustained impact on research at Utah Sate,” she said.
Professors are hired and promoted largely on the basis of the quality and frequency of their research, as well as their ability to attract grants and outside funding.
“Research is a main focus of Utah State University, and that’s one of the things we display and we emphasize through Research Week and all of its events,” Feinauer said. The gala will recognize their success and contributions.
“We are excited about this year’s college researchers of the year. They are a diverse group, with diverse interests and passions, and we love to see that,” Feinauer said.
The event will kick off Research Week, which is dedicated to acknowledging the numerous researchers — faculty members as well as students — on campus, and calling attention to their projects.
Other notable Research Week events include the Faculty Author Exhibition on Tuesday, the D. Wynne Thorne Lecture on Wednesday, the Student Research Symposium on Thursday and Ignite USU on Friday. All of the events are held in the Merrill-Cazier Library.
“This is a big undertaking. We begin heavily planning for the gala, and all of Research Week, in January of each year,” Feinauer said. The gala is from 6:00-8:00 p.m. on April 11 at the Riverwoods Conference Center in Logan. The event is invite-only.
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