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  <title><![CDATA[Faculty and Staff Honored at 2025 Spring Sciences Celebration]]></title>
  <body><![CDATA[<p dir="ltr"><em>Download photos from this year’s Spring Sciences Celebration on the College of Sciences’&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gtsciences/albums/72177720325153495"><em>Flickr</em></a><em>.&nbsp;</em></p><p dir="ltr">The College of Sciences hosted its Spring Sciences Celebration at Tech Harrison Square this week to recognize outstanding faculty and staff for the 2024-25 academic year. Four recent retirees were also among those honored during the annual event.</p><p dir="ltr">“Spring Sciences is one of my favorite traditions at the College, a special moment to celebrate and thank exemplary members of our community,” says&nbsp;<a href="https://lozier.eas.gatech.edu/">Susan Lozier</a>, dean of the College of Sciences, Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Chair, and professor in the&nbsp;<a href="https://eas.gatech.edu/">School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences</a>. “While all our faculty and staff do incredible work every day, these honorees have gone above and beyond in their service and dedication to our mission.”&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">The 2025 awards and honorees are:</p><h3><strong>Faculty Development Awards</strong></h3><p dir="ltr">The&nbsp;<strong>Cullen-Peck Scholar Awards</strong> were established by&nbsp;<strong>Frank Cullen</strong> (Math 1973, M.S. ISyE 1976, Ph.D. ISyE 1984) and&nbsp;<strong>Elizabeth Peck</strong> (Math 1975, M.S. ISyE 1976) to encourage the development of especially promising mid-career faculty.&nbsp;</p><ul><li dir="ltr"><strong>Vinayak Agarwal</strong>, Chemistry and Biochemistry</li><li dir="ltr"><strong>Alex Blumenthal</strong>, Mathematics</li><li dir="ltr"><strong>Wing ‘Winnie’ Chu</strong>, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences&nbsp;</li></ul><p dir="ltr">The&nbsp;<strong>Gretzinger Moving the School Forward Award</strong>, endowed by&nbsp;<strong>Ralph Gretzinger</strong> (Math 1970) and named to honor his late wife&nbsp;<strong>Jewel</strong>, recognizes the leadership of a school chair or senior faculty member who has played a pivotal role in advancing equal opportunity in the composition of tenure-track faculty, fostering a family-friendly work environment, and providing a supportive environment for early-career faculty.&nbsp;</p><ul><li dir="ltr"><strong>Tansu Celikel</strong>, Psychology</li></ul><p dir="ltr">The&nbsp;<strong>Eric R. Immel Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching</strong>, endowed by&nbsp;<strong>Charles Crawford</strong> (Math 1971), recognizes exemplary teaching in foundational undergraduate courses.</p><ul><li dir="ltr"><strong>Emily Alicea-Munoz</strong>, Physics</li></ul><p dir="ltr">The&nbsp;<strong>Leddy Family Dean’s Faculty Excellence Award</strong> was established by&nbsp;<strong>Jeff Leddy</strong> (Physics 1978) and&nbsp;<strong>Pam Leddy</strong> to support a faculty member at the associate professor level with proven accomplishments in research and teaching.&nbsp;</p><ul><li dir="ltr"><strong>James Wray</strong>, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences</li></ul><p dir="ltr">The&nbsp;<strong>CoS Faculty Mentor Awards</strong>, established jointly by the College of Sciences and its ADVANCE Professor, honors the efforts and achievements of faculty members engaged in mentoring fellow faculty.&nbsp;</p><ul><li dir="ltr"><strong>Randall ‘Randy’ Engle</strong>, Psychology</li><li dir="ltr"><strong>Teresa Snow</strong>, Biological Sciences</li><li dir="ltr"><strong>Hui Zhu</strong>, Chemistry and Biochemistry</li></ul><h3><strong>Faculty Research Awards</strong></h3><p dir="ltr">The&nbsp;<strong>CoS Outstanding Junior Research Faculty Award&nbsp;</strong>and&nbsp;<strong>CoS Outstanding Senior Research Faculty Award</strong> recognize postdoctoral and non-tenure track research faculty who have made exceptional research contributions with significant impact on their field of study.</p><p dir="ltr"><strong>CoS Outstanding Junior Research Faculty Award</strong></p><ul><li dir="ltr"><strong>Sarah Orr</strong>, Biological Sciences</li></ul><p dir="ltr"><strong>CoS Outstanding Senior Research Faculty Award</strong></p><ul><li dir="ltr"><strong>Matthew Liska</strong>, Physics</li></ul><p dir="ltr">The&nbsp;<strong>CoS Research Faculty Community Trailblazer Award</strong> recognizes postdoctoral and non-tenure track research faculty who have demonstrated and sustained leadership that strengthens the sense of community among research faculty within the College.</p><ul><li dir="ltr"><strong>Avery Davis Bell</strong>, Biological Sciences</li></ul><h3><strong>Staff Awards</strong></h3><p dir="ltr">The College of Sciences Staff Awards are made possible by funding from the&nbsp;<strong>Betsy Middleton and John Sutherland Dean’s Chair</strong> endowment.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">The&nbsp;<strong>Leadership in Action Award</strong> is presented to a staff member who has made exceptional contributions to the College through innovative and strategic leadership, change management, business process improvement, special project leadership, and similar accomplishments.&nbsp;</p><ul><li dir="ltr"><strong>Arian Padron</strong>, Academic and Research Computing Services</li></ul><p dir="ltr">The&nbsp;<strong>Exceptional Staff Award</strong> and&nbsp;<strong>Friend of the Sciences Award</strong> recognize and celebrate performance above and beyond the call of duty. The awardees demonstrate high levels of execution in their primary job duties, auxiliary roles, and citizenship&nbsp;— positively impacting the strategic goals of their department and the College.</p><p dir="ltr"><strong>Exceptional Staff Award</strong></p><ul><li dir="ltr"><strong>Dexter Dean</strong>, Chemistry and Biochemistry</li></ul><p dir="ltr"><strong>Friend of the Sciences Award</strong></p><ul><li dir="ltr"><strong>Kay May</strong>, Office of Faculty Affairs</li></ul><p dir="ltr">The&nbsp;<strong>Rising Star Award</strong> honors a newer staff member who has made a significant impact during their short tenure by contributing to the strategic goals and initiatives of the College, showing passion for their work, and embracing the Institute’s culture and values.</p><ul><li dir="ltr"><strong>Nadia Moore</strong>, Academic and Research Computing Services</li></ul><h3><strong>2025 Retirees</strong></h3><ul><li dir="ltr"><strong>Ellery Ingall</strong>, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences</li><li dir="ltr"><strong>James “Jim” Sowell</strong>, Physics</li><li dir="ltr"><strong>Kurt Wiesenfeld</strong>, Physics</li><li dir="ltr"><strong>Z. John Zhang</strong>, Chemistry and Biochemistry</li></ul>]]></body>
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      <value><![CDATA[The College of Sciences recognized outstanding faculty and staff for the 2024-25 academic year as well as recent retirees.]]></value>
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      <value><![CDATA[<p>The College of Sciences recognized outstanding faculty and staff for the 2024-25 academic year as well as recent retirees.</p>]]></value>
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            <title><![CDATA[Spring Sciences Celebration Honorees]]></title>
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      <email><![CDATA[lvidal7@gatech.edu]]></email>
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      <value><![CDATA[<p><strong>Writer: </strong>Lindsay C. Vidal</p>]]></value>
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