Conversations were in full swing, jokes were flying, and enthusiasm was strong during the Annual College Awards Banquet on the evening of February 26, 2016. The event is held each year to honor faculty members and staff in the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.
Dinner was served as Dr. Scott Sommerfeldt, dean of CPMS, announced the 2016 award recipients.
Sommerfeldt began the ceremony by acknowledging the success of the college faculty in securing external grants in 2015. The college received $12.8 million in external funding, almost double the amount received in 2014, and historically the largest sum of funding that the college has received in a given year.
“We recognize it’s your hard work that did that,” Sommerfeldt said. “We just wanted to express our appreciation to you and say, ‘Job well done.’”
The first honors distributed were the University Service Awards. These awards are given in recognition of faculty and staff for every five years of their service at BYU. Jennifer Thornton (5 years, Computer Science), Gordon Billings (10 years, Computer Science), Janet Fonoimoana (10 years, Chemistry and Biochemistry), Mark Erickson (15 years, Physics and Astronomy), Pete Dotson (15 years, Statistics), Wayne Anderson (20 years, Chemistry and Biochemistry), Bruce Jackson (35 years, Chemistry and Biochemistry), and Scott Daniel (40 years, Physics and Astronomy) each received a University Service Award.
Following the University Service Awards, Sommerfeldt announced the recipients of the College Awards—honors acknowledging outstanding service by faculty members and staff.
Pete Dotson, a computing support representative for the Department of Statistics, received the Outstanding Staff/Administrative Employee Award. Dotson works to provide software support, hardware security, and troubleshooting help to faculty and students.
Dotson has been of great value not only to CPMS, but also to the university as a whole. Many other departments have received Dotson’s help in system engineering, maintenance, and disaster recovery.
“He is always working to improve his knowledge about computer hardware and software to address not only current, but also . . . future needs in the department,” Sommerfeldt said.
Pace Nielsen, an associate professor in the Department of Statistics, was recognized with the Young Scholar Award, which is given for three to ten years of service. Nielsen has published thirty-four research papers since he received his Ph.D. nine years ago. His papers have been cited 156 times by 131 different authors.
Nielsen’s work is currently in the ninety-fifth percentile of number of papers published per year by all mathematicians. Both the quantity and quality of Nielsen’s research are exceptional.
“Pace is an extremely strong researcher in mathematics and an exceptional faculty member who is committed to the mission of BYU,” Sommerfeldt said.
Denise Stephens, an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, received the Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award for three to ten years of service. Stephens has consistently received high instructor and course ratings for every class taught for five straight years.
In addition, Stephens works hard to promote astronomy outside of the classroom. On Friday evenings, she can be found helping with the planetarium shows on the observation deck of the Eyring Science Center.
Moreover, she is the co-organizer of BYU’s Astrofest, which draws hundreds of people to campus each year.
“This is all at a personal sacrifice that demonstrates her commitment to promoting astronomy,” Sommerfeldt noted.
Duane Merrell, a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, received the Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award for ten or more years of service. During his twelve years at BYU, Merrell has developed a training program that has certified 139 physics teachers and produced numerous physical science teaching and chemistry education majors.
Merrell’s teacher training program was featured in Science, a well-respected and well-known academic journal, in 2007. His efforts have led BYU to producing more than twice the average number of physics and physical science teachers being produced by other universities.
“Duane leads by example in every aspect of his professional service,” Sommerfeldt said.
The last award of the evening, the Distinguished Citizenship Award, was given to Shane Reese from the Department of Statistics. Reese was honored for his contributions to the development of the new course rating system. He provided clear insight and support to college faculty and staff in communicating the issues and complexities of the new system.
In addition to his work on the new course rating system, Reese has served the college and university as an associate chair, graduate coordinator, member of the Faculty Advisory Council, and member of the University Awards Committee.
“We are fortunate to have Shane and his unbound enthusiasm here in the college,” Sommerfeldt said.