The annual Research & Innovation Awards Reception was held in the Great Room of the Joe Crowley Student Union May 15, 2024. Research & Innovation recognizes faculty and rewards creativity, productivity and innovative research endeavors.
"I would like to thank you all for what you do for the University of Nevada and beyond," Mridul Gautam, vice president for Research and Innovation, said at the reception. "We are so fortunate to have you as colleagues and stewards of the research mission of this institution."
This year, there were two Outstanding Researcher Award recipients. These faculty members have a distinguished record in research or creative activities over their academic career.
The award in the STEM category went to Krishna Pagilla, the Ralph E. and Rose A. Hoeper Professor and Chair of Civil & Environmental Engineering in the College of Engineering.
The second Outstanding Researcher of the year, recognized in the SACS category – social science, arts, culture and society fields – was Eric Rasmussen, Foundation Professor of English in the College of Liberal Arts.
Peter Goin, Foundation Professor of Art in the College of Liberal Arts, was selected as the Regents’ Creative Activities Award recipient.
The Foundation Innovation Awards recognize two faculty or staff members for their contributions to innovation or the commercialization of ideas that impact and benefit the public’s well-being. Jennifer Carson, clinical associate professor, director of Dementia Engagement, Education and Research Program in the School of Public Health, was honored with this year’s Foundation Established Innovator Award.
The Foundation Early Career Innovator Award went to Alireza Tavakkoli, associate professor of Computer Science and Engineering in the College of Engineering.
Dorothy Hudig, professor of Microbiology and Immunology in the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, and her research team, were recognized as this year’s recipient of the Excellence in Laboratory Safety Award, consistently having one of the best-managed labs on campus.
This year, three Nevada Regents’ Rising Researchers were celebrated. In honor of the late and former Regent Jason Geddes, these awards are now referred to as the “Jason Geddes Rising Researcher Awards” in commemoration of his service and dedication to higher education.
One of the three Jason Geddes Rising Researchers was Hamed Ebrahimian, assistant professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the College of Engineering. Li Li, assistant professor of Environmental Health in the School of Public Health, also received a Jason Geddes Rising Researcher Award. The third Jason Geddes Rising Researcher Award went to Elizabeth Villalobos, assistant professor of Spanish Literature in the College of Liberal Arts.
Members of National Academies
• National Academy of Sciences – Geoffrey Blewitt, professor, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Department of Physics, College of Science
• National Academy of Engineering – Dani Or, Nevada Engineering Distinguished Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering
Faculty Honors
• AAAS Fellow – Andrei Derevianko, Sara Louise Hartman Endowed Professor in Physics, College of Science
• National Science Foundation CAREER Award – Jihwan Yoon, assistant professor, Electrical & Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering
• Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco Fellow – Jennifer Pearson, associate professor, School of Public Health
• National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship – Justin Gifford, associate professor of English literature, College of Liberal Arts
