Honors and awards

November 2017

Rajala wins national IEEE accreditation award

Sarah Rajala, dean of the College of Engineering, is the 2017 national recipient of the Meritorious Achievement Award in Accreditation Activities from the Educational Activities Board of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. This award provides recognition for efforts to foster the maintenance and improvement of education through the process of accreditation of engineering, engineering technology, computer science and applied science programs.

Iowa State wins innovation 'talent' award from APLU

Iowa State won an award for economic engagement bestowed by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). The APLU's annual Innovation and Economic Prosperity awards are given annually in four categories. Iowa State was honored in the "talent" category at the APLU's annual meeting Nov. 12 in Washington, D.C. The APLU cited Iowa State's establishment of an ecosystem to incubate startups and advise existing firms, including its CYstarters and CyBIZ Lab programs for students. It also said the university is contributing to the state's talent development through programs available before college, including the North Central STEM hub and the Culturally-based Youth Leadership Accelerators run by Extension and Outreach 4-H Youth Development.

Sharma selected as AIAA associate fellow

Anupam Sharma, assistant professor of aerospace engineering, has been named an associate fellow by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Sharma, who has been at Iowa State since 2012, studies owl wings for bio-inspired ideas for quieter aircraft and wind turbines. 

Carriquiry honored by Technology Association of Iowa

Alicia Carriquiry, Distinguished Professor of statistics, received a 2017 Women of Innovation Award for research innovation and leadership from the Technology Association of Iowa. Winners were selected based on their professional experience, history of innovation, ability to think creatively and solve problems, and demonstration of leadership. 

VanDerZanden receives national teaching award

Ann Marie VanDerZanden, associate provost for academic programs, received the USDA National Excellence in College and University Teaching Award for food and agricultural sciences, presented by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. VanDerZanden also is a Louis Thompson Distinguished Undergraduate Teacher and horticulture professor.

White receives lifetime achievement award

Pamela White, University Professor emeritus of food science and human nutrition and former dean of the College of Human Sciences (2009-16) received the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities' Board on Human Sciences. The award honors a nationally recognized leader who has a significant history of promoting and advancing the human sciences in higher education.

Woteki receives national public service award

Catherine Woteki, professor of food science and human nutrition, is the recipient of the 2017 Ellen Swallow Richards Public Service Award from the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities' Board on Human Sciences. The award honors a nationally-recognized leader who has a significant history of promoting and advancing the human sciences. Woteki served as under secretary for food safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (1997-2001), dean of ISU's College of Agriculture (2002-05), and chief scientist and undersecretary for research, education and economics at the USDA (2010-2017).

Iverson awarded Arthur L. Day Medal

Neal Iverson, professor of geological and atmospheric sciences, was honored with the Arthur L. Day Medal from the Geological Society of America, based on his transformative work applying physics to the study of how glaciers move and shape landscapes. The award recognizes outstanding distinction in the application of physics or chemistry to the solution of geologic problems.

Ommen wins young investigator award

Danica Ommen, assistant professor in statistics, won the Stephen E. Fienberg CSAFE Young Investigator award at the 2017 International Conference on Forensic Inference. The award rewards and encourages excellence in forensic statistics at an early stage of career development. Her presentation examined if enough forensic evidence samples have been collected to provide a reliable value of evidence to the court system such as a Bayes Factor or approximate likelihood ration, leading into a discussion about the size of forensic databases.