Issue: 1100

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
April 8, 2020 – Special Awards Issue

Top Stories

A Message from Dean Daniel J. Robison
“Congratulations to all 2020 CALS Faculty and Staff award winners! It would have been great to gather together last month to celebrate your achievements, but our current coronavirus crisis has changed everyone’s plans. Until we are able to meet again, with plans for a belated awards ceremony in September, this special edition of CALS Online will serve to provide some of the recognition you deserve. Check out all the embedded links to photos and brief write-ups on each winner, plus the contributed other honors sent in by many of our departments and units. A news release also will be distributed on these honors today. Again, thanks for all you do that contributes to the excellence of our teaching, advising, research, extension and outreach, diversity and global engagement programs!”

CALS Honors Faculty and Staff Achievements 
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has announced recipients of its 2020 awards in teaching, advising, research, P&S, extension and global engagement. This year’s award program offered additional opportunities for professional and scientific staff recognition. There are 11 awards that P&S staff are now eligible for and the restriction limiting P&S staff to one award during their career at ISU was eliminated. The award ceremony was rescheduled due to COVID-19. Faculty and staff will be honored at the college’s fall convocation on Sept. 17 at 4:10 p.m. in the Memorial Union Campanile Room. A wine and cheese reception will follow the program. More information on this year’s award winners is available online. The links below also provide more information and photos of each recipient.

Teaching and Advising Awards

  • Early Achievement in Teaching Award – Marna Yandeau-Nelson, Genetics, Development and Cell Biology
  • Outstanding Achievement in Teaching Award – Nick Christians, Horticulture
  • Excellence in Teaching by Lecturers and Adjunct Faculty Award – Amani Elobeid, Economics
  • Distance Education Teaching Award – Nancy Boury, Plant Pathology and Microbiology
  • Early Adviser Award – Scott Smalley, Agricultural Education and Studies
  • Outstanding Adviser Award – Joan Cunnick, Animal Science
  • Outstanding Service in Student Recruitment and Retention Award – James Wright, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

Research and Diversity Awards

  • Early Achievement in Research Award – Nick Serão, Animal Science
  • Mid-Career Achievement in Research Award – Asheesh (Danny) Singh, Agronomy
  • Outstanding Achievement in Research Award – Kan Wang, Agronomy
  • Faculty Award for Diversity Enhancement – Michelle Soupir, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

P&S and Staff Awards

  • Early Adviser Award – Kelsey Powell, Animal Science
  • Research Award – Jeffrey Askey, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
  • Outstanding New Professional Award – Omar de Kok-Mercado, Natural Resource Ecology and Management
  • Excellence Award – Kent Berns, Research and Demonstration Farms
  • Outstanding Achievement in Extension and Outreach Award – Garland Dahlke, Iowa Beef Center
  • Learning Community Coordinator Award – Amy Brandau, Economics
  • Merit Award for Achievement and Service – Jeff Thorson, Animal Science

Extension Awards

  • Early Achievement in Extension and Outreach Award – Adam Janke, Natural Resource Ecology and Management
  • Outstanding Achievement in Extension and Outreach Award – Daren Mueller, Plant Pathology and Microbiology

Global Engagement Awards

  • Outstanding Achievement in International Agriculture Award – Dirk Maier, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
  • Team Award – Uganda School Garden Program
    • Gail Nonnecke, Horticulture
    • Lee Burras, Agronomy
    • Dorothy Masinde, Horticulture
    • Shelley Taylor, Global Agriculture Programs
    • Richard Schultz, Natural Resource Ecology and Management
    • Tom Brumm, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
    • Julie Blanchong, Natural Resource Ecology and Management
    • Kevin Duerfeldt, Horticulture
    • Catherine Swoboda, Horticulture

Dean’s Awards

2019 Faculty and Staff Awards, by Department

Departments were asked to submit notable honors and awards received by faculty and staff in 2019. Congratulations to those listed below and thank you to those who shared the information. 

Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

  • Thomas Brumm – Outstanding Achievement in Teaching Award, CALS
  • Jay Harmon – PEI Professional Engineer of the Year Award, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
  • Adina Howe – Early Achievement in Research Award, CALS
  • Ramesh Kanwar – Kishida International Award, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
  • Jacek Koziel – Fulbright Specialist, U.S. Department of State
  • Jacek Koziel – Emerging Leaders Academy, ISU
  • Jacek Koziel – Global Peer Review Awards, Publons
  • Steve Mickelson – Faculty Excellence Award, Association of Technology, Management and Applied Engineering
  • Michelle Soupir – McNair Faculty Mentor of the Year, ISU
  • Charles Sukup – Outstanding Alumni Award, 4-H Foundation Legacy Awards
  • Hongwei Xin – Biological Systems Engineering Hall of Fame, University of Nebraska

Agricultural Education and Studies

  • Nate Dobbels – Early Achievement in Learning Community Coordination, ISU
  • Awoke Dollisso – Faculty Award for Diversity Enhancement
  • Nancy Grudens-Schuck – Distance Education Teaching Award, CALS
  • Mark Hainline – Distinguished Poster Presentation Award, American Association for Agricultural Education
  • Misty Lambert – Journal of Agricultural Education Article of the Year Award, American Association for Agricultural Education
  • Misty Lambert – 2019 Educator Award, North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture
  • Robert Martin – Golden Owl Award, Nationwide and Iowa FFA Foundation
  • Mike Retallick, Judy Levings and Greg Miller – Team Award (Plant Breeding Education in Africa), CALS
  • Mike Retallick – Fellow, American Association for Agricultural Education
  • Mike Retallick – Distinguished Alumni University Award, University of Wisconsin-Platteville
  • Skyler Rinker – Distinguished Poster Presentation Award, American Association for Agricultural Education
  • Scott Smalley – Early Achievement in Teaching Award, CALS
  • Scott Smalley – Distinguished Poster Presentation Award, American Association for Agricultural Education

Agronomy 

  • William Beavis – Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • Sylvia Cianzio – Regents Award for Faculty Excellence, ISU
  • Susana Goggi – Honorary Membership Award, Iowa Seed Association
  • Douglas Karlen – Distinguished Service Award, American Society of Agronomy, Soil Science Society of America
  • Mark Licht – Early Achievement in Extension and Outreach Award, CALS
  • Thomas Lubberstedt – Outstanding Achievement in Research Award, CALS
  • Ken Moore – Carl Sprengel Agronomic Research Award, American Society of Agronomy
  • Maria Salas – Raymond and Mary Baker Agronomic Excellence Award, CALS
  • Arti Singh – AgOnline Teacher of the Year Award, Brenton Center
  • Walter Suza, Gretchen Anderson, Jessica Barb, Thomas Lubberstedt and Assibi Mahama – Team Award (Plant Breeding Education in Africa), CALS
  • Mary Wiedenhoeft – Morrill Professor, ISU
  • Stephanie Zumbach – Outstanding Service in Student Recruitment and Retention Award, CALS

Animal Science

  • Don Beitz – Dean’s Citation for Extraordinary Contributions, CALS
  • Jennifer Bundy – Early Adviser Award, CALS
  • Jennifer Bundy – Early Achievement in Academic Advising, Award, ISU
  • Joe Cordray – International Mission Award, Gamma Sigma Delta
  • Jack Dekkers – Distinguished Service Award, National Swine Improvement Federation
  • James Dickson – Regents Award for Faculty Excellence, ISU
  • Nicholas Gabler – Mid-Career Achievement in Research Award, CALS
  • Anna Johnson – Outstanding Achievement in Extension and Outreach Award, CALS
  • Anna Johnson – Outstanding Achievement in Extension or Professional Practice Award, ISU
  • Anna Johnson – Dean Lee R. Kolmer Award for Excellence in Applied Research, CALS
  • Aileen Keating – Stephen B. Harris Mid-Career Scientist Award, Society of Toxicology
  • Aileen Keating – Research Mission Award, Gamma Sigma Delta
  • Aileen Keating – Mid-Career Achievement in Research Award, ISU
  • Susan Lamont – Outstanding Achievement in International Agriculture Award, CALS
  • Susan Lamont – Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • Steve Lonergan – LEAD21 Leadership Development Program, APLU
  • Mary Sue Mayes – Carroll Ringgenberg Award, ISU
  • Sherrlyn Olsen – Teaching Mission Award, Gamma Sigma Delta
  • John Patience – Fellow, American Society of Animal Science
  • John Patience – Master of the Pork Industry, National Hog Farmer
  • Jason Ross – Food Systems Leadership Institute, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
  • Max Rothschild – Fellow, International Society of Animal Genetics
  • Marshall Ruble – Milleman Family Mentorship Award, CALS
  • Jodi Sterle – Outstanding Adviser Award, CALS
  • Jodi Sterle – Academic Advising Impact Award, ISU
  • Leo Timms – Dean’s Citation for Extraordinary Contributions, CALS
  • Cory Walker – Emerging Leaders Academy, ISU
  • Curtis Youngs – Honorary Member, Golden Key International Honour Society

Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology

  • Robert Jernigan – Regents Award for Faculty Excellence, ISU
  • Reuben Peters – Roy J. Carver Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, CALS and LAS
  • Guru Rao – Fellow, National Academy of Inventors
  • Dipali Sashital – Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation

Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology

  • Fred Janzen – Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • Amy Toth – Fulbright U.S. Scholar, Argentina
  • Grace Wilkinson – Career Award, National Science Foundation

Economics

  • Edward Balistreri, John Crespi, Chad Hart, Dermot Hayes, Minghao Li, Lee Schulz, David Swenson and Wendong Zhang – Bruce Gardner Memorial Prize for Applied Policy Analysis Award, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association
  • Mark Edelman – Achievement in Economic Development in Iowa Award, ISU
  • Neil Harl – Estate Planning Hall of Fame, Distinguished Accredited Estate Planner, National Association of Estate Planners and Councils
  • Keri Jacobs – Distinguished Extension Program Group Award, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association
  • Keri Jacobs – University Ambassador, Land O’Lakes Global Food Challenge
  • Keri Jacobs, Ziran Li and Dermot Hayes – Best Paper Award in Applied Risk Analysis, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association
  • Brent Kreider – Dean’s Professorship, LAS
  • Sergio Lence – International Service Award, ISU
  • Sergio Lence and GianCarlo Moschini – Best Article in Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists
  • Alejandro Plastina – Distinguished Extension Program Individual: Less Than 10 Years Award, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association

Entomology

  • Joel Coats – Fellow, American Chemical Society
  • Ginny Mitchell – Regents Award for Staff Excellence, ISU

Food Science and Human Nutrition 

  • Whitney Baxter – P&S Early Achievement in Administration Award, CHS
  • Erica Beirman – Lecturer/Clinician/Adjunct Faculty Distinguished Service Award, CHS
  • Diane Birt – George Washington Carver Distinguished Service Award, CALS
  • Shannon Coleman – Impacting Iowans Award, ISU Extension and Outreach
  • Sarah Francis – Mid-Career Achievement in Research Award, CHS
  • Sarah Francis – Lura M. Lovell Faculty Fellow, ISU
  • Sarah Francis – Research Excellence Award (NE-1439), USDA NIFA
  • Lorraine Lanningham-Foster – Career Achievement in Teaching Award, CHS
  • Kevin Schalinske – Margaret Ellen White Graduate Faculty Award, ISU
  • Kevin Schalinske – Regional Food and Agriculture Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award, USDA
  • Angela Shaw – Inclusive Excellence Award, ISU
  • Alison St. Germain – Medallion Award, Iowa Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
  • Linda Svendsen – Faculty Award for International Achievement, CHS
  • Toni Wang – LEAD21 Leadership Development Program, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
  • Zhiyou Wen – 2019 Startup Technology Company of the Year, Technology Association of Iowa
  • Wendy White – Dr. Thelma McMillan Professorship in Food Science and Human Nutrition, ISU
  • Auriel Willette – Early Achievement in Research Award, CHS
  • Catherine Woteki – Food Systems Leadership Award, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities

Genetics, Development and Cell Biology 

  • Diane Bassham – Fellow, American Society of Plant Biologists
  • Clark Coffman – Thomas B. Thielen Award, ISU Division of Student Affairs
  • Mohan Gupta – CAREER Award, National Science Foundation
  • Karri Haen Whitmer – Excellence in Teaching by Lecturers and Adjunct Faculty Award, CALS
  • Carolyn Lawrence-Dill – Fellow, Food Systems Leadership Institute
  • Geetu Tuteja – Early Achievement in Research Award, LAS
  • Yanhai Yin – Emerging Leaders Academy, ISU

Horticulture

  • Diana Cochran – Extension Mission Award, Gamma Sigma Delta
  • Susan DeBlieck – P&S Outstanding New Professional Award, CALS
  • Shuizhang Fei – Team Award (Plant Breeding Education in Africa), CALS
  • Ajay Nair and Jed Findlay – Extension Division Education Materials Award, American Society for Horticultural Science
  • Margaret Sprecher, GRS – Learning Community Coordinator Award, CALS
  • GRS Learning Community – Learning Community Collaborator Award, ISU

Natural Resource Ecology and Management

  • Tom Isenhart – Dean Lee R. Kolmer Award for Excellence in Applied Research, CALS
  • Dick Schultz – Milleman Family Mentorship Award, CALS

Plant Pathology and Microbiology

  • Daren Mueller – LEAD21 Leadership Development Program, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
  • Gary Munkvold – Fulbright Specialist, U.S. Department of State
  • Gary Munkvold – Regents Award for Faculty Excellence, ISU
  • Steve Whitham – Rossmann Manatt Faculty Development Award, CALS

Sociology 

  • J. Gordon Arbuckle – William R. Freudenburg Award of Merit, Rural Sociological Society
  • Monic Behnken – Emerging Leaders Academy, ISU
  • Matthew DeLisi – Fellow, Association for Psychological Science
  • Cornelia Flora – Richard P. Haynes Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award in Agriculture, Food and Human Values, Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society

CALS Administration and Centers

  • David Acker, Associate Dean for Academic and Global Programs – Dean’s Citation for Extraordinary Contributions, CALS
  • Lois Benning, Career Services – P&S Excellence Award, CALS
  • Joe Colletti, Senior Associate Dean – Excellence in Leadership Award, Experiment Station Committee on Organization and Policy, APLU
  • Haley Cook, Communications – First Place (Society Programming Division), National Agricultural Alumni and Development Association
  • Jeffery Erb, Research Farms – Merit Award for Achievement and Service, CALS
  • Mike Gaul, Career Services – Friend of AGR Award, ISU’s Alpha Gamma Rho Chapter
  • Eric Krueger, Brenton Center – Bronze Award (Distance Education and Instructional Design), Association for Communication Excellence
  • Barb McBreen, Communications – Silver Award (Scriptwriting for Visual Media), Association for Communication Excellence
  • Melea Reicks Licht, Communications – Silver and Bronze Award (Editing), Association for Communication Excellence
  • Melea Reicks Licht, Ed Adcock, Haley Cook, Barb McBreen, Brian Meyer, Ann Robinson, Julie Stewart, Communications, and PUSH Branding and Design –Silver Award (Publishing for Magazines and Periodicals); Bronze Award (Publications for Diverse Audiences), Association for Communication Excellence
  • Melea Reicks Licht, Communications, and PUSH Branding and Design –Bronze Award (Graphic Design), Association for Communication Excellence
  • Melea Reicks Licht, Communications – Second Place (Print – College Magazine), National Agricultural Alumni and Development Association
  • Melea Reicks Licht and Haley Cook, Communications – Second Place (Multimedia – Social Media), National Agricultural Alumni and Development Association
  • Manjit Misra and Yuh-Yuan Shyy, Seed Science Center – One of 2019’s Best Innovations in Agricultural, Food and Biological Engineering and Technology, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
  • Manjit Misra, Seed Science Center – Silver Telly Award, Non-Broadcast Documentary Series (Seeds! Diversity of Wonder); Bronze Telly, General Education Category (A Day Without Seeds)
  • Dean Daniel J. Robison – Medallion, Endowed Dean’s Chair, CALS
  • Howard Tyler, Student Services – Corly Brooke Learning Community Advocate Award, ISU
  • Andy Zehr, Student Services – First Place (Multimedia – Websites); First Place (Campaign Series Division), National Agricultural Alumni and Development Association

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online

Julie Stewart, Editor
jstewart@iastate.edu, (515) 294-5616 
http://www.cals.iastate.edu/news/agonline

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online, the newsletter for faculty and staff in Iowa State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is published by email every Monday. The deadline for submitting content is 12 p.m. on Friday. 

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