2012 Faculty Achievements
* Michael Wesch, associate professor of cultural anthropology, recently received an
honorary doctorate from the Universidad de San Martin de Porres, Peru's largest university.
Wesch was chosen for the honor because many of his ideas have been highly influential to the university and its educational
programs. May 2012
* Trevor McKeeman has been selected for the 2013 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan Fellows Program in Innovation and Global Leadership. McKeeman is the director of business development for the K-State Institute for Commercialization and Mid-America Technology Management Inc. He joins 121 Sloan fellows from 31 countries to comprise a class of demonstrated leaders in business, government, academic, engineering, science and entrepreneurial fields. May 2012
* Matthias Kling, assistant professor of physics, has received the Nernst-Haber-Bodenstein prize from the German Bunsen Society for Physical Chemistry. The award honors outstanding scientific achievements of young scientists in the area of physical chemistry. Kling received the award for his work on the control of electron and nuclear dynamics in molecules, in particular the laser-induced localization of electrons on femtosecond to attosecond timescales. May 2012
* Three professors of animal sciences and industry are receiving national awards at the July meeting of the American Society of Animal Science/American Dairy Science Association. Jeff Stevenson will receive the American Society of Animal Science Physiology and Endocrinology Award and will also be named a fellow of the society in the research category. Mike Tokach will receive the American Society of Animal Science Extension Award. Barry Bradford will receive the American Dairy Science Foundation Scholar Award in Dairy Production. May 2012
* Daniel Y. C. Fung will receive the 2012 GMA Food Safety Award given by the International Association for Food Protection at the association's national meeting in in July. May 2012
* Mary Molt, assistant director of the university's housing and dining services and assistant professor of hospitality management and dietetics in the College of Human Ecology, received the Gold Plate award, the highest honor given by the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association, for her contributions to food service operations. May 2012
* Elaine Johannes, associate professor of family studies and human services, was named a State Afterschool Champion by the Afterschool Alliance for her work on behalf of afterschool programs. She was one of just eight state champions from around the country to receive the honor. May 2012
* Anil Pahwa, professor of electrical and computer engineering, received the IEEE Power and Energy Society's Douglas M. Staszesky Distribution Automation Award. The national honor is given to those with significant contributions to the field of distribution automation. May 2012
* Trevor McKeeman has been selected for the 2013 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan Fellows Program in Innovation and Global Leadership. McKeeman is the director of business development for the K-State Institute for Commercialization and Mid-America Technology Management Inc. He joins 121 Sloan fellows from 31 countries to comprise a class of demonstrated leaders in business, government, academic, engineering, science and entrepreneurial fields. May 2012
* Chad Miller, assistant professor of horticulture, forestry and recreation resources, has been selected by Greenhouse Product News as one of the top 40 individuals under the age of 40 who will help shape the future of the horticulture industry. May 2012
* Margaret Presley, instructor of social work at Kansas State University Salina, has been named the 2012 Social Worker of the Year by the Smoky Hill Association of Social Workers. To be eligible for the award, the nominee must be currently providing professional social work services in central Kansas. Presley has worked in the social work field since 1970. April 2012
* Blake Belanger, assistant professor of landscape architecture in the university's College of Architecture, Planning and Design, has received the 2012 Excellence in Design Studio Teaching at the Junior Level award from the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture. The award recognizes a faculty member's ability to direct design studio projects that demonstrate outstanding quality and/or emphasize the critical thinking, creative process. April 2012
* "Diversity in Design: Perspectives from the Non-Western World," written by Vibhavari Jani, associate professor of interior architecture and product design, received top honors at the annual conference of the Interior Design Educators Council. The council's annual Book Award recognizes and honors significant books that exhibit excellence in addressing the issues of the interior design profession, including practice, scholarship and education. The book helps educators incorporate non-Western design into their teaching. April 2012
* Lisa M. Butler Harrington, professor of geography, will receive the John Fraser Hart Award for Research Excellence from the Association of American Geographers' Rural Geography Specialty Group for her rural geography research. The award will be presented at the association's 2013 national meeting in Los Angeles, where the specialty group is planning a special session in her honor. The award was established to recognize scholars who have achieved and maintained excellence in the fields of agricultural and/or rural geography research. March 2012
* Raymond "Bob" Rowland, professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology, and collaborating researchers recently discovered a genetic marker that identifies pigs with reduced susceptibility to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, or PRRS. The research appeared in the Journal of Animal Science. March 2012
* Donna Potts, associate professor of English, is the author of a new book that examines the poetic traditions of Irish culture by exploring the pastoral genre, a genre in which humans have an intimate connection with the land. In "Contemporary Irish Poetry and the Pastoral Tradition," Potts examines six Irish poets in her book who have written significant collections of pastoral poetry and whose work is in dialogue with both the pastoral tradition and other contemporary pastoral poets. The book is available at local bookstores, online retailers or directly from Chicago Distribution services. March 2012
* Mary Molt, assistant director of housing and dining services, received a 2012 Silver Plate Award from the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association. The award recognizes outstanding achievement and innovation in the industry and is one of the highest honors in the food industry. Molt is the second K-State recipient of this award -- ranking K-State as a leader in the food service industry. February 2012
* Noel Schulz, K-State's first lady and Paslay professor of electrical and computer engineering, has begun serving a two-year term as president of the IEEE Power and Energy Society. The worldwide, nonprofit association has more than 28,000 members engaged in the electric power energy industry. January 2012
* Kendra McLauchlan, assistant professor of geography and director of the university's Paleoenvironmental Laboratory, was named by the Ad Astra Kansas Initiative as one of the top 150 scientists ever to work in Kansas throughout its 150 years of statehood. January 2012
* Sigifredo Castro Diaz, a bioprocessing engineer at the Advanced Manufacturing Institute, was named by the Ad Astra Kansas Initiative as one of the top 150 scientists ever to work in Kansas throughout its 150 years of statehood. January 2012