Four NDSU faculty members will receive prestigious university honors. Adnan Akyüz, professor of climatological practices and North Dakota state climatologist, will be honored with the Odney Award; Dean Webster, chair and professor of coatings and polymeric materials, will be recognized with the Waldron Award; Rajani Ganesh-Pillai, assistant professor of marketing, will be acknowledged with the Peltier Award; and Sean Sather-Wagstaff, associate professor and graduate recruitment chair of mathematics, will receive NDSU's first Mentoring Excellence Award.
The recipients will be recognized during the annual Celebration of Faculty Excellence scheduled for Wednesday, May 6, at the NDSU Harry D. McGovern Alumni Center. The NDSU Development Foundation sponsors the awards.
“NDSU has many amazing and dedicated faculty members,” said Provost Beth Ingram. “The four faculty being honored this spring have distinguished themselves as the best of the best. I am truly delighted to be able to recognize their accomplishments.”
The Odney Award was established by the family of the late Robert Odney to recognize outstanding faculty teaching at NDSU. Akyüz will be recognized for his passion for teaching and for bringing his subject matter to life.
"Dr. Akyüz is an exemplary example of the impact educators can make in the lives of their students," Allison Haider, a senior majoring in biological sciences, wrote in a nomination letter. "Each and every day in meteorology with Dr. Akyüz was a new adventure; one in which we learned, laughed and were inspired by his excitement in the classroom."
Haider also praised his guest lectures in local middle school classrooms, saying, "Dr. Akyüz inspires the minds of the next generation through sharing his passion of meteorology and climatology with his students."
Akyüz earned a bachelor's degree at Istanbul Technical University, Turkey, and a master's degree and doctorate in atmospheric science from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
The Fred Waldron Research Award was established to recognize outstanding faculty research. Renowned around the world, Webster will be honored for his development of novel coatings and polymeric materials and his discoveries in the area of bio-based polymers.
During his career, Webster has 94 peer review publications, nine book chapters and 23 patents. He has received more than $30 million in collaborative grants and about $4 million in individual grants. Webster has trained about 60 undergraduate and graduate students and postdocs.
"Dean is a major contributor to the scientific community," wrote Scott Wood, dean of science and mathematics, in a nomination letter. "He has and continues to make outstanding contributions in a variety of different areas and deserves recognition from the NDSU community."
Webster earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a doctorate in materials engineering science at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
The Peltier Award was established by Joseph and Norma Peltier to honor innovation in teaching. Ganesh-Pillai will be recognized for her efforts to bring hands-on experience, theory-based understanding and an enhanced global perspective to her marketing students.
One of her innovative practices is a game called "Baffa Baffa," where the goal is to have students understand culture's role in business and how it can affect transactions and relationships.
"This is an eye-opening experience for a lot of students," wrote Chanchai Tangpong, professor of management. "This makes them more aware of and more sensitive to cultural issue underlying marketing decisions."
Ganesh-Pillai earned a bachelor's degree and Master of Business Administration from the University of Pune, India. She also earned a Master of Business Administration from Emporia State University, Kansas, and a doctorate from the University of Central Florida.
The Mentoring Award was established to recognize distinctive mentoring by faculty. Described by supporters as "a model of excellent mentoring," Sather-Wagstaff has built an extensive mentoring record with both graduate and undergraduate students. He has successfully mentored five doctoral students, and has co-written 12 publications with his doctoral students, with other papers under review.
He created a teaching-mentoring program for new graduate students, and developed a program where graduate students shadow a teacher before they lead their own courses. Sather-Wagstaff also mentors young faculty as an ally and advocate for NDSU's FORWARD program.
In a letter of nomination, Susan Cooper, assistant professor of mathematics, wrote, "Dr. Sather-Wagstaff's exceptional mentoring has benefited numerous people from many different communities and levels of education both on and off NDSU's campus."
Sather-Wagstaff earned a bachelor's degree at the University of California at Berkeley and a master's degree and doctorate from the University of Utah.
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