Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Home » award

award

UT Researchers Receive NSF CAREER Awards for Science, Engineering

by

Two researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have received prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER awards to help them establish a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research.

Stephanie Kivlin, an associate professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Wei Wang, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering, join the NSF’s Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program, which supports the nation’s best early-career faculty and recognizes their promise as academic role models in research and education.

Adams Expands Research Flock with Latvian Fulbright Experience

by

Colton Adams, a 2023 graduate in honors ecology and evolutionary biology, continued his academic journey as one of UT’s 13 Fulbright Scholars for 2023–2024, contributing to the Big Orange reputation as a top producer of these accomplished students. 

Adams traveled to the University of Latvia, in the city of Riga, to collaborate with the zoology and animal ecology group there, investigating questions about behavioral ecology and acoustic communication in mixed-species flocks of birds. He found himself immediately taken with the Eastern European landscape.

Burghardt honored by Animal Behavior Society

by

Animal behavior captivated Gordon Burghardt as a boy, and over more than half a century at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, his interdisciplinary research advanced ethology in areas including animal play, social behavior, communication, reptile behavior, enrichment, and animal cognitive abilities.

The Animal Behavior Society (ABS) recognized his outstanding lifetime achievement by awarding Burghardt the 2024 Distinguished Animal Behaviorist Award during its annual meeting in late June.

UNDERstory Game is Award Finalist

by

Dr. Susan Kalisz, former head of the EEB department, along with Cary Staples of the School of Design and Tim Arment from the College of Architecture and Design have created the UNDERstory board game based on their long-term research. The game has received a lot of attention, and the creators are finalists for a 2023 James Paul GEE! Award!

Check out the game here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD0fSBNVfiQ

and vote for UNDERstory to win the GEE! Award here: https://forms.gle/R3KEi7AFbDA6NRy49

EEB Spring 2023 Awards Video

by

Faculty, staff and students from EEB gathered on May 18, 2023 to celebrate the end of the semester, recognize award-winners, and honor retirees. Check out this YouTube video to see all of the winners, along with some photos from the celebration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzOlHjXd_pY

EEB Graduate Student Maryrose Weatherton nominated for Cheek Graduate Student Medal of Excellence Award

by

The Jimmy and Ileen Cheek Graduate Student Medal of Excellence is awarded annually to an outstanding graduate student currently enrolled at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The award is given to a student pursuing a PhD and has completed at least four semesters of study. Nominees are considered for their high academic potential and achievement, leadership and community involvement, commitment to and passion for the chosen field of study, personal sacrifice for their education and effort above and beyond the call of duty. 

Maryrose Weatherton, a PhD student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, was among the nominees honored last Thursday, April 27 in the Mary Greer room in Hodges Library. Maryrose was one of only four nominees from the College of Arts and Sciences. Maryrose works in Dr. Elizabeth Schussler’s lab, and her research interests include education research, student success, and resource use. The Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology looks forward to celebrating Maryrose’s accomplishments at the Spring Semester celebration later this month. 

EEB Faculty Awarded

by

Three of EEB’s own faculty members, Nina Fefferman, Orou Gaoue, and Xingli Giam, were honored with awards at the recent College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Awards Night. 

Nina Fefferman was recognized with the Academic Outreach Award for Service – she was not able to attend the ceremony, as she was doing more of the pandemic preparedness / response work for which she was honored.

Orou Gaoue was recognized with the Academic Outreach Award for Research and Creative Activity. 

Xingli Giam was recognized with the Early Career Excellence in Research and Creative Achievement  award. 

Congratulations to these faculty members!