Awards & Accolades

Video about COVID-19 challenges on the Navajo Nation wins two awards

A video produced by the Indigenous Food, Energy and Water Security and Sovereignty program received Facilitators' Choice and Public Choice awards in the 2021 STEM for All Video Showcase.

The showcase, held online in May, featured 287 videos highlighting strategies to engage students during the COVID-19 pandemic and to address educational inequities.

The Indige-FEWSS video was one of 24 to win a Facilitators' Choice award, recognizing entries that set a positive tone for constructive discourse, and one of 13 recognized with a Public Choice award, voted on by showcase visitors.

The video, "Rising to the Call: Indige-FEWSS Navajo COVID-19 Response," examines how the program collaborated with the Navajo Nation, where the pandemic highlighted the ongoing challenges of inadequate food, energy and water.

The project was led by Nikki Tulley, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Environmental Science. Other team members included: Karletta Chief, associate professor and extension specialist in the Department of Environmental Science; Vasiliki Karanikola, assistant professor of chemical and environmental engineering; Torran Anderson, community engagement coordinator with the Institute for Energy Solutions; and graduate students Manuelito Chief, William Borkan, Sarah Abney and Jaymus Lee.

The showcase is facilitated by the nonprofit organization TERC with multiple partners, including the National Science Foundation and the National Science Teaching Association.

American Society for Mass Spectrometry honors Michael Marty for 'exemplary paper'

Michael Marty, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has won the 2021 Ron Hites Award from the American Society for Mass Spectrometry.

The annual Ron Hites Award is given to the principal author of an exemplary paper published in the previous two volumes of the Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry. The award recognizes a "high quality presentation of outstanding original research."

The exemplary paper was "Expanding the Types of Lipids Amenable to Native Mass Spectrometry of Lipoprotein Complexes." It was written by Marty and four co-authors: Marius Kostelic and Deseree Reid, graduate students in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and alumni Alex Ryan (Class of 2019) and Jibriel Noun (Class of 2020).

Marty's research centers on developing mass spectrometry methods to study the structure and biophysics of membrane proteins and antimicrobial peptides.

The award will be officially presented during the ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics, which runs Oct. 31-Nov. 4. Marty will receive a $2,000 award and his co-authors will be awarded certificates of commendation.

AZPM receives six Regional Murrow Awards

Arizona Public Media has won six Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association. AZPM won the awards in the categories of small-market radio and small-market television in the association's Region 3, which includes stations in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

The award-winning pieces, and the categories in which they won, are:

• "Two Spirit Powwow" – Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• "Wildlife and the Bighorn" – Excellence in Video
• "La Vaquita" – News Documentary
• "OSIRIS-Rex: Touch and Go" – Feature Reporting
• "Police program offers drug treatment instead of arrest" – Hard News
• "Quitobaquito Protests" – Continued Coverage

The awards were announced May 6. AZPM advances to the national Edward R. Murrow Awards competition. Winners will be announced this summer.

Laura Todd Johnson named Arizona's Educational Institution General Counsel of the Year

Laura Todd Johnson, senior vice president for legal affairs and general counsel, has been named Educational Institution General Counsel of the Year.

The Arizona Corporate Counsel Awards, presented by the State Bar of Arizona and the Arizona chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel, are given to Arizonans with extraordinary legal skills in honor of their achievements and contributions to the state's communities.

Johnson began working as an attorney at the University in 2002 and was appointed general counsel in 2012. She was honored at a virtual awards ceremony in April.

Barry Brummund honored for leadership as CIO

Barry Brummund, the University's chief information officer, won the 2021 Education ORBIE award for schools and higher education organizations from ArizonaCIO.

The ArizonaCIO ORBIE Awards honor chief information officers for excellence in technology leadership. Winners are chosen through a peer review process led by past ORBIE winners, based on the effectiveness of their leadership, the business value created by technology innovation and their engagement in their industry and community.

Brummund, who has been at the University for more than 10 years, was appointed CIO in 2018.

In accepting the award at an online event in April, Brummund thanked the members of his team, which he called "some of the most creative, dedicated, thoughtful and smartest people on the planet."

ArizonaCIO is a peer leadership network of chief information officers in the state and is one of 21 chapters in the national membership organization, InspireCIO Leadership Network.

Arizona Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Names Christine Carlson the Outstanding Dietitian of the Year

Christine Carlson, senior associate director of retail dining and nutrition for Arizona Student Unions, won the Outstanding Dietitian of the Year award from the Arizona Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

The award recognizes leadership in legislation, research or education within the association or the winner's community or profession.

Carlson oversees dining services and coordinates nutrition programming at the student unions, convenience stores and cafés on campus. She has led the nutrition program for six years and is the only Pac-12 retail dining director who is also a registered dietitian.

The Arizona Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is an affiliate of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Carlson was honored during the Arizona Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics annual conference, held earlier this month.

Operation Hat Trick honors University efforts

The University of Arizona was among the finalists for the Excellence in Service Award from Operation Hat Trick, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting wounded U.S. combat veterans.

The University supports military service members and veterans through the sale of limited edition merchandise featuring military-style designs. In honor of those and other efforts, Operation Hat Trick is donating $15,000 to the Tucson Fisher House.

The Fisher House Foundation provides homes throughout the country where families of military members and veterans can stay for free while a loved one is in the hospital.

The Excellence in Service Awards were presented by video conference on May 25. This is the third consecutive year the University has been recognized.

We want to know about your good news. If you, your team or a colleague has won any major awards, been honored nationally or internationally, or accomplished some other major feat that deserves recognition, let us know about it.

To submit your news, please send us an email with the following information:

• Name of the person, team or unit receiving the honor with full University titles.
• Information about the award/honor and the organization that granted it. Please include a link to the official announcement of the award/honor.
• When the honor was announced and when it will be presented (or was presented).
• A photo of the honoree. If others appear in the photo, please provide their names and identifying information, such as their University title or other affiliation.

Questions? Contact Lo Que Pasa at uaatwork@email.arizona.edu.