UL Lafayette celebrates research excellence with faculty recognition

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette honored faculty Feb. 11 during an annual ceremony for research excellence. Faculty from each college along with research staff were recognized during the Research Recognition Ceremony at the LITE Center.

“Collectively, all of your efforts galvanized the transition and transformation of the University into an R1 top-tier research university, per the recent Carnegie Classification,” said Dr. Ramesh Kolluru, vice president for Research, Innovation, and Economic Development.

The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education ranked UL Lafayette as an R1 top-tier research university, its most prestigious designation, late last year. Just 3% of public and private universities in the United States have achieved this status.

“The research you conducted, the collaborations you worked on, and the hours you put into your work contributed to this designation and today, we are recognizing your research excellence,” said Kolluru during the ceremony.

Award recipients from 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 were honored. A ceremony was not held last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Honorees by category include:

Research Excellence Award

These awards recognize senior faculty members who have demonstrated exceptional research and scholarship in their respective colleges.

College of the Arts
2019-2020: Ms. Kiwana McClung
2020-2021: Dr. Garth Alper

B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration
2019-2020: Mr. Chase Edwards
2020-2021: Dr. Joshua Bendickson

College of Education
2019-2020: Dr. Dianne Olivier
2020-2021: Dr. Natalie Keefer

College of Engineering
2019-2020: Dr. Xiao-Dong Zhou
2020-2021: Dr. Xiao-Dong Zhou

College of Liberal Arts
2019-2020: Dr. Philip Auter
2020-2021: Dr. Hung-Chu Lin

College of Nursing & Health Sciences
2019-2020: Dr. Paula Zeanah
2020-2021: Dr. Tricia Templet

Ray P. Authement College of Sciences
2019-2020: Dr. Miao Jin
2020-2021: Dr. Wu Xu

Rising Star Award

These awards recognize junior faculty members showing great promise in scholarship in their respective colleges.

College of the Arts
2019-2020: Ms. Hagit Barkai
2020-2021: Ms. Kate Gordon

B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration
2019-2020: Dr. Javier Portillo-Elias
2020-2021: Dr. Javier Portillo-Elias

College of Education
2019-2020: Dr. Jeremy Foreman
2020-2021: Dr. Scott Fuller

College of Engineering
2019-2020: Dr. Jonathan Raush
2020-2021: Dr. Farzad Ferdowsi

College of Liberal Arts
2019-2020: Dr. Manyu Li
2020-2021: Dr. Elena Babatsouli

College of Nursing & Health Sciences
2019-2020: Dr. Jeanne Cartier
2020-2021: Dr. Justin Fontenot

Ray P. Authement College of Sciences
2019-2020: Dr. Cameron Browne
2020-2021: Dr. Kelly Robinson

Outstanding Doctoral Student Mentor

This award recognizes faculty who have shown exceptional productivity in the support of the education of doctoral students in their respective colleges.

College of Education
2019-2020: Dr. Dianne Olivier
2020-2021: Dr. Christopher Giroir

College of Engineering
2019-2020: Dr. Boyun Guo
2020-2021: Dr. Magdy Bayoumi

College of Liberal Arts
2019-2020: Dr. John Laudun
2020-2021: Dr. Sadie Hoagland

College of Nursing & Health Sciences
2019-2020: Dr. Deedra Harrington
2020-2021: Dr. Roger Rholdon

Ray P. Authement College of Sciences
2019-2020: Dr. Kalimuthu Krishnamoorthy
2020-2021: Dr. James A. Nelson

Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor

This award recognizes faculty who have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to undergraduate students and their advancement as undergraduate researchers.

College of the Arts
2019-2020: Ms. Ashlie Latiolais
2020-2021: Dr. William Plummer

B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration
2019-2020: Dr. Colleen Wolverton
2020-2021: Dr. Praveen Das

College of Education
2019-2020: Dr. Christine Briggs
2020-2021: Dr. Greggory Davis

College of Engineering
2019-2020: Dr. Dilip Depan
2020-2021: Dr. Jonathan Raush

College of Liberal Arts
2019-2020: Dr. Michelle Jeanis
2020-2021: Dr. Erika Caramillo-Hatch

College of Nursing & Health Sciences
2019-2020: Dr. Tricia Templet
2020-2021: Dr. Gwen Leigh

Ray P. Authement College of Sciences
2019-2020: Dr. Beth Stauffer
2020-2021: Dr. Andi Petculescu
2020-2021: Dr. Karen Smith

University College
2019-2020: Dr. Jessie Broussard

Outstanding Achievement in Externally Funded Research

This award recognizes faculty who have been awarded externally sponsored projects in an amount of $1,000,000 or more during the fiscal years 2020 and 2021.

2019-2020
Dr. Kara Farmer-Primeaux
Dr. Emad Habib
Dr. Nicholas Kooyers
Dr. James A. Nelson
Dr. Jonathan Raush
Dr. Ruth Ruprecht
Dr. Francois Villinger
Dr. Xiao-Dong Zhou

2020-2021
Dr. Constance Broussard
Dr. Kara Farmer-Primeaux
Dr. Vijaya K. Gopu
Dr. Miao Jin
Dr. Ruth Ruprecht
Dr. Beth Stauffer
Dr. Raju Thapa
Dr. Nian-Feng Tzeng
Dr. Francois Villinger
Dr. Rodney B. Yantis
Dr. Xiao-Dong Zhou

Certificate of Achievement in Sponsored Research

This award recognizes faculty who have been awarded externally sponsored projects in an amount between $500,000 and $1,000,000 during the fiscal years 2020 and 2021.

2019-2020
Dr. Raymond Biggar Jr.
Ms. Cynthia Carrier
Dr. Baojin Ding
Dr. Vijaya K. Gopu
Dr. Elisabeta Mitran

2020-2021
Dr. Raymond Biggar Jr.
Ms. Cynthia Carrier
Dr. Farzad Ferdowsi
Dr. Emad Habib
Dr. Nicholas Kooyers
Dr. Ning Liu
Dr. Elisabeta Mitran
Dr. James A. Nelson
Dr. Mohsen Amini Salehi
Dr. Natalia Sidorovskaia

Certificate of Achievement in Innovation

This award recognizes faculty actively involved in advancing the University’s innovations through granted patents in the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years.

2019-2020
Dr. Rakesh Bajpai
Dr. David Bellar
Dr. Andrei Chistoserdov
Dr. Paul Darby
Dr. Dhan Lord Fortela
Dr. Daniel Gang
Dr. Asadollah Hayatdavoudi
Dr. Rafael Hernandez
Dr. Mohammad Madani
Dr. Gabriela Petculescu
Ms. Yasmeen Qudsi
Dr. Emmanuel Revellame
Dr. Mohsen Amini Salehi
Mr. Wayne Sharp
Dr. Joshua Vaughan
Dr. Mark Zappi
                                                                                                                                 
2020-2021
Dr. Magdy Bayoumi
Dr. Boyun Guo
Dr. Asadollah Hayatdavoudi
Dr. Helen Hurst
Dr. Arun Lakhotia
Dr. Jennifer Lemoine
Ms. Kari Smith
Dr. Radhey Srivastava
Dr. Mark Zappi