Extraordinary members of the University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty have been honored during the last year with awards supported by the estate of professor, U.S. senator and UW Regent William F. Vilas (1840-1908).
Vilas Research Professorship
Samuel Gellman, Ralph F. Hirschmann Professor of Chemistry, was named to a Vilas Research Professorship.
Created “for the advancement of learning,” Vilas Research Professorships are granted to faculty with proven research ability and unusual qualifications and promise. The recipients of the award have contributed significantly to the research mission of the university, and are recognized both nationally and internationally.
Gellman joined the UW–Madison faculty in 1987. His laboratory has since helped to establish a new discipline of chemistry, combining tools and concepts from organic chemistry, biophysics and biology to design, synthesize and evaluate unnatural molecules that mimic the structures and functions of proteins and nucleic acids.
This research — spanning more than 300 publications — has been conducted in conjunction with dozens of graduate students and undergraduates, and Gellman, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, has enjoyed introducing thousands of undergraduates to organic chemistry in the classroom.
The professorship provides a salary supplement, funding for research expenses and a retirement supplement for faculty who serve at least 15 years as a Vilas Research Professor.
Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professorships
Twelve professors were named to Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professorships, an award recognizing distinguished scholarship as well as standout efforts in teaching and service. The professorship provides five years of flexible funding — two-thirds of which is provided by the Office of the Provost through the generosity of the Vilas trustees and one-third provided by the school or college whose dean nominated the winner.
The recipients are:
Amy Quan Barry, English
AnHai Doan, Computer Sciences
Richard Hsung, Pharmacy
Ullrich Langer, French and Italian
Katherine Magnuson, Social Work
Melanie Matchett Wood, Mathematics
Joel Pedersen, Soil Science
Anne Pringle, Botany
Parmesh Ramanathan, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Jenny Saffran, Psychology
Lones Smith, Economics
Scott Straus, Political Science
Vilas Faculty Mid-Career Investigator Awards
Sixteen professors received Vilas Faculty Mid-Career Investigator Awards, recognizing research and teaching excellence. The award provides flexible research funding for one year.
The recipients are:
Andrea Arpaci-Dusseau, Computer Sciences
Jeri Barak, Plant Pathology
Lyric Bartholomay, Pathobiological Sciences
Guillermina De Ferrari, Spanish and Portuguese
Deborah Ehrenthal, Obstetrics and Gynecology
Felix Elwert, Sociology
Audrey Gasch, Genetics
Kristine Kwekkeboom, Nursing
Xuejun Pan, Biological Systems Engineering
M. Zachariah Peery, Forest and Wildlife Ecology
Marzena Rostek, Economics
Oliver Schmitz, Engineering Physics
Jennifer Schomaker, Chemistry
Lyn Van Swol, Communication Arts
Jason Yackee, Law
Tehshik Yoon, Chemistry
Vilas Faculty Early Career Investigator Awards
Eleven professors received Vilas Faculty Early Career Investigator Awards, recognizing research and teaching excellence in faculty who are relatively early in their careers. The award provides flexible research funding for one year.
The recipients are:
Christy Clark-Pujara, Afro-American Studies
Ricki Colman, Cell and Regenerative Biology
Christelle Guédot, Entomology
Chris Hittinger, Genetics
Sarah Paul, Philosophy
Robert Redfield, Surgery
Karu Sankaralingam, Computer Sciences
Raluca Scarlat, Engineering Physics
Linsey Steege, Nursing
Lu Wang, Mathematics
Stephen Young, Geography
This story originally appeared at news.wisc.edu.