Faculty and Staff Accolades

Below are some of the awards and honors University of Maryland faculty and staff have earned since April:

The University of Maryland was selected as one of the top five host institutions of Bike to Work Day 2022. More than 165 people who participated in the May cycling event, sponsored by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, identified UMD as their employer.

Elizabeth Aparicio, assistant professor of behavioral and community health, received the 2022 ECPN John B. Reid Early Career Award from the Society for Prevention Research.

Two university employees received 2022 Board of Regents Staff Awards: Katheryn Atchison, assistant director of the Iribe Initiative for Inclusion and Diversity in Computing at the Department of Computer Science, was honored for inclusion, multiculturalism and social justice; and Maureen Schrimpe, Dining Services nutritionist, was recognized for outstanding service to students in an academic or residential environment.

Balakumar Balachandran, Minta Martin Professor and chair of the mechanical engineering department, was awarded the Robert R. Scanlan Medal by the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Engineering Mechanics Institute for his contributions in nonlinear, engineering mechanics, with a focus on structures and aeroelasticity.

John T. Consoli, photographer and Terp magazine creative director in the Office of Marketing and Communications, won the 2022 Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Circle of Excellence Grand Gold—the international competition's top award—in photography portraiture. His image of Joseph Richardson, the Joel and Kim Feller Endowed Professor of African-American Studies and Anthropology, appeared with the Winter 2021 feature "Trigger Guard."

Hal Daumé III, a professor of computer science with joint appointments in the Language Science Center and the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, was part of a team that received the Test of Time Award from the Association for Computational Linguistics, which recognizes papers for their long-lasting impact on the field. It honored a paper co-authored 10 years ago that uses computer vision to produce descriptions of images.

Sylvester James Gates Jr., the Clark Leadership Chair in Science in the Department of Physics and School of Public Policy, was named the 2023 recipient of the Hans Christian Oersted Medal, presented by the American Association of Physics Teachers. It recognizes outstanding, widespread and lasting impact on the teaching of physics through leadership in physics education, service and mentoring.

Samuel Graham, Jr., dean of Maryland Engineering, will receive the 2022 American Society of Mechanical Engineering’s Allan Kraus Thermal Management Medal, which recognizes an individual’s significant contributions in thermal management along with dedication to the field of thermal science and engineering.

Katrina Groth, associate professor of mechanical engineering and associate director of the Center for Risk and Reliability, was awarded the Landis Young Member Engineering Achievement Award from the American Nuclear Society.

Michael Hicks, a professor of computer science with an appointment in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, was recognized by the Association for Computing Machinery with the Special Interest Group on Programming Languages’ Distinguished Service Award. He was also part of a team honored with a Distinguished Paper Award at the 31st USENIX Security Symposium for research that offers a tool and new protocols to help assess rapidly evolving “fuzz” testing methods currently used by programmers and security experts.

Liangbing Hu, director of the Center for Materials Innovation and professor of materials science and engineering, was among the winners of the 2022 R&D 100 Awards from R&D World magazine for his invention of an expanded cellulose super ion conductor.

Alireza Khaligh, professor of electrical and computer engineering with a dual appointment in the Institute for Systems Research, received the 2022 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Power Electronic Society Vehicle and Transportation Systems Achievement Award. He was cited for contributions to the advancement of power electronics for electrified transportation systems.

The American Psychological Association appointed William Liu, professor and chair of the Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education, to be editor of the Journal of Counseling Psychology. He also received the 2022 Janet E. Helms Award for Mentoring and Scholarship.

Boris D. Lushniak, dean of the School of Public Health, was appointed to serve on the board of directors for the National Fitness Foundation, the official charity of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition.

Distinguished University Professor of entomology Margaret Palmer was awarded honorary membership in the British Ecological Society for contributions to the generation, communication and promotion of ecological knowledge and solutions.

Mihai Pop, a professor of computer science and director of the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, was named a fellow of the International Society for Computational Biology for his achievements in computational biology and bioinformatics.

Allynn Powell, director of the Career Center, was named the Mackes Leadership Awardee by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, recognizing exemplary leadership skills and initiative while promoting an environment of respect, ethical standards, diversity, equity, inclusivity and innovation.

Karen Rane, director of the Plant Diagnostic Laboratory, received a lifetime achievement award from the National Plant Diagnostic Network, which maintains a central database and network of laboratories for monitoring agricultural pests and pathogens in the U.S.

Jennifer Roberts, associate professor of kinesiology, was appointed an executive council member for the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s Strategy Group on COVID-19 and Ecosystem Services in the Built Environment. It focuses on the pandemic’s impact on the access and use of ecosystem services on our built environments.

Kevin M. Roy, professor of family science, was elected member-at-large of the National Council on Family Relations Board of Directors. An expert in the field of fatherhood research, he is an editor of the new Sourcebook on Family Theories and Methodologies.

Hanan Samet, a Distinguished University Professor of computer science with an appointment in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, received the Solid Modeling Association’s Bézier Award, given to an individual or group for stellar contributions to solid, geometric or physical modeling and its applications.

Rachelle Sampson, associate professor of logistics, business and public policy, received the inaugural Panmure House Prize, administered by the Edinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University in partnership with FCLTGlobal to recognize research identifying potential flows of capital to innovation. She and co-researchers found that long-term-oriented firms are more likely to produce breakthrough inventions.

Lemma W. Senbet, William E. Mayer Chair Professor of Finance, was inducted as a fellow of the Academy of International Business for his interdisciplinary research that spans international finance, corporate finance and finance for development, as well as economic policy research and outreach involving Africa. Last semester, he received the Ethiopian Crown’s Victory of Adwa Medal for his contributions to his native country.

Puneet Srivastava, professor and associate dean for research and associate director of the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station, received the 2022 Best Technical Paper Award from The Journal of Hydrologic Engineering. It outlined new, more comprehensive methods for identifying and characterizing drought conditions in coastal areas.

Sacoby M. Wilson, associate professor in the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health and director of the Center for Community Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health, is the 2022 recipient of the Dr. Robert Bullard Environmental Justice Award.