Astronomy professor Dr. Mike Reed has been selected to receive the 2017 Director’s Award for Outstanding Faculty Research from the Honors College.

“I had no idea this was coming. It has really been my pleasure to work with this excellent group of students,” said Reed. “During early spring is when graduating students determine their after-graduation plans and this year has been especially rewarding in our department.”

In astronomy, all three graduating seniors have been accepted to graduate programs.

“This last year our research has been focusing on using data from the Kepler Space Telescope to do two very different things,” said Reed. “Most of my research students are doing stellar seismology where we use small light variations to see inside stars and determine their structure. Our other project is using Kepler data to search for Transit Timing Variations that can be used to look for unseen planets.”

Reed is proud of the work his undergraduate students have accomplished thus far and is honored to be receiving the award.

About the award

“The Director’s Award for Outstanding Faculty Research recognizes the exceptional research accomplishments of MSU’s Honors College Faculty. This award recognizes a faculty member’s research excellence and is meant to acknowledge those Honors College professors who serve as the best example of the ideal scholar/teacher who has not only made a significant contribution to their own field of research, but who have also helped to expand the growth and development of honors education at MSU. Director’s Award recipients have made major contributions to their own research fields and have participated in the ongoing success of Missouri State University’s Honors Program.”