It was another good year for Biology faculty and students, who received a number of competitive awards. Graduating senior Cat Shoults received a 2009 Award of Excellence from the national Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi. She is only the second Missouri State student to be awarded this honor. The awards are made to students who will be entering their first year of graduate or professional study. Cat will be attending graduate school at Yale University in the fall, where she will be studying epidemiology.
By all accounts, Cat’s recognition is well-deserved. Vice President of Phi Kappa Phi, Jaimie Trussell, had this to say of Cat’s accomplishments, “receiving this award is an honor for both Cat and our University. It speaks not only to the caliber of her academic achievements, but also to the quality of the program in which she excels.”
In addition to an excellent academic record, Ms. Shoults was recognized as one of Missouri State’s Citizen Scholars by the Board of Governors for her participation in and commitment to the public affairs mission. In addition, Cat participated in three undergraduate research projects.
Another student within the field of biology has distinguished himself in the field in truly remarkable ways. Mike Pillow works on mussel conservation in the laboratory of Dr. Chris Barnhart and was awarded the Best Poster Award from the Missouri Chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology at the Missouri Natural Resources Conference. Co-authors of the research for “Understanding the role of conglutinates in the survival of glochidia larvae exposed to dissolved copper” included Andrea Crownhart, Rebecca Brondel, and Chris Barnhart. After graduation in May, Mike will be working for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, based in Flagstaff, Arizona.