Each year, the Desert Research Institute (DRI) honors the incredible commitment and dedication of our faculty and staff through an award ceremony called the Celebration of Science. This year’s event was held virtually and recognized the winners of this year’s Nevada System of Higher Education Rising Researcher Award, the DRI Medals for Science, Service, and Outstanding Contributions, the Technologist of the Year, as well as internal divisional and milestone service awards.
2021 Award Winners
DRI Science Medal – Xiaoliang Wang, Ph.D.
The DRI Science Medal is given based on scientific achievement that has brought recognition to both the winning scientist and to DRI, through either cumulative or a singular outstanding achievement. This award builds on the history of the Count Alessandro Dandini Medal of Science and the Nazir and Mary Ansari Medal for Excellence in Science, which annually recognized the high scientific accomplishments of a DRI faculty member.
Outstanding Contributions Medal – Tim Brown, Ph.D.
The Outstanding Contributions Medial is given annually to a DRI faculty or staff member for outstanding contributions to the Institution. Evidence of contributions can include establishing new directions for research, securing a large grant, or management of large programs.
Service Medal – Jennifer Schultz
The DRI Service Medal is awarded annually to a faculty or staff member who makes broad impacts across the Institution and throughout our communities, making DRI a better place to work and securing our place as a core research asset.
Technical Employee of the Year – Alison Swallow
The Technical Employee of the Year is awarded annually to a staff member for outstanding contributions to the Institution.
Rising Researcher Award – Daniel McEvoy, Ph.D.
Awarded annually by the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) to a faculty member in recognition of outstanding early-career accomplishments in research.
Division Awards
George Burke Maxey Fellowship – Marc Berghouse
Peter B. Wagner Medal of Excellence – Monica Arienzo, Ph.D.
Jonathan O. Davis Scholarship – Erica Bradley and Hayden Kingrey
General Frederick Lander Scholarship – Pearson Nguyen
Colin Warden Memorial Endowment - Pramod Adhikari
Advisor of the Year award – Alison Murray, Ph.D.
Years of Service Milestones
50 Years of Service
- Jim Hudson
35 Years of Service
- Judith Chow
30 Years of Service
- Lynn Fenstermaker
- Hans Moosmuller
- Ron Hershey
- Tim Minor
- Peter Ross
25 Years of Service
- Steve Kohl
- Gayle Valdez
20 Years of Service
- Yvonne Rumbaugh
- Vicki Hall
- Richard Susfalk
- Lynn Karr
- John Karlas
- Glen Wilson
- David Page
- David Campbell
- Cheryl Collins
- Alison Murray
15 Years of Service
- Steven Bacon
- Sophie Baker
- Maureen King
- Karl Schoen
- Donna Schlemmer
- Derek Kauneckis
- Charles Dolbeare
- Alan Heyvaert
10 Years of Service
- Tatianna Menocal
- Tamara Wall
- Suzanne Hudson
- Robert Read
- Maria Vasquez
- Jeffrey Wedding
- Jason Rada
- Iva Neveux
- Eric Wilcox
- Daniel McEvoy
- Albert Wolff
5 Years of Service
- Xuelian Bai
- William (Jim) Metcalf
- Vinay Amin
- Teresa Wriston
- Rae Yuhas
- Nicole Sund
- Kevin Heintz
- Karen Stewart
- John Goetz
- Joanne Huston
- Erick Bandala Gonzalez
- Bruce Lipp
Congratulations to our faculty and staff who were recognized during this year’s Celebration of Science! Perhaps our Special Guest, NSHE Regent Jason Geddes put it best when he said, “DRI is known here in Nevada and around the world as a place where groundbreaking research is conducted, but the greatest asset that DRI has is its people.”
