Congratulations to all the winners of the College of Natural and Applied Sciences’ 2021 Faculty and Staff Awards. 

The annual awards ceremony honoring awardees with excellence in research, teaching or service took place May 5. These winners received nominations from departmental personnel committees, department heads or students.  

The event represented the 10th year in a row in which the college has presented awards to faculty and staff for their outstanding work.  

The award winners 

The 2021 recipients of the CNAS Faculty and Staff Awards include: 

The Atwood Research and Teaching Award 

• Dr. Razib Iqbal, associate professor of computer science 

CNAS Faculty Excellence in Teaching 

• Tina Hopper, instructor of biology 
• Dr. Babur Mirza, assistant professor of biology 
• Dr. Krista Evans, assistant professor of geography and planning 
• Dr. Yoshimasa (Nancy) Kageyama, assistant professor of hospitality leadership  
• Dr. Natasha DeVore, assistant professor of chemistry 
• Dr. Kyoungtae Kim, professor of biology  

CNAS Faculty Excellence in Research 

• Dr. Songfeng Zheng, professor of mathematics 
• Dr. Day Ligon, professor of biology 
• Dr. Gary Michelfelder, associate professor of geology  
• Dr. Deb Finn, assistant professor of biology 

CNAS Faculty Excellence in Service 

• Dr. Sean Maher, associate professor of biology 
• Dr. Kevin Mickus, distinguished professor of geology 
• Dr. Songfeng Zheng, professor of mathematics 

CNAS Instructor Excellence in Service 

• Brian High, senior instructor of chemistry 
• Angela Plank, senior instructor of biology 

CNAS Staff and Administrative Excellence Award 

• Mike Murphy, senior electronics technician  
• Craig Baird, electronics technician II 

CNAS Faculty Excellence – Student Selected and Awarded 

• Katie Tucker, marketing and recruitment specialist of hospitality leadership 
• Jeff Brannon, per course instructor of computer science 
• Dr. Krista Evans, assistant professor of geography and planning 
• Dr. Bradley Mills, instructor of physics, astronomy and materials science 

CNAS Diversity Award 

• Dr. Avery Russell, assistant professor of biology 
• Helena Metzker, senior instructor of chemistry 

Learn more about the award winners 

Awards policy changes 

The CNAS awards policy undergoes a committee review and receives recommended changes annually.  

Review the updated awards policy here.  

Congratulations, all!