On Tuesday, Nov. 6, students, faculty, staff and alumni of the School of Natural Resources were honored at the 2018 SNR Awards Banquet. This was the second year for the event, which recognizes excellence in service, advising, research and teaching. Shibu Jose, director of SNR, spoke at the event and presented the awards. Those honored on Nov. 6 included:

Shibu Jose, director of the School of Natural Resources, speaks at the recent SNR Awards Banquet.

Mark Morgan, associate professor, received the Exceptional Service Faculty Award. This award recognizes faculty for exceptional service to SNR and the broader community. Morgan teaches classes in outdoor recreation management and conducts research on human dimensions of natural resources as it relates to policy, visitor behavior, and communications (interpretation and environmental education). A former Fulbright scholar, Morgan has taught and conducted research in several Asian countries, including China, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

Greg Rotert, support systems administration specialist, received the Outstanding Citizen Staff Award. This award is given to a staff member who contributes by providing encouragement and support to co-workers; shows empathy and respect for others; builds and maintains good working relationships; works in a timely and professional manner with all stakeholders, internal and external; and contributes to all levels of the mission of the School of Natural Resources.

Chung-Ho Lin, research associate professor, received the Master’s Advisor Award. Lin’s primary research involves the use of plants and genetically modified microbes for applications in the area of phytoremediation and bioremediation in agroforestry.

Hong S. He, professor, received the Doctoral Advisor Award. His research looks at landscape response to various natural and social factors over large spatial and temporal domains by linking spatial models with geographic information systems. Projects with both theoretical significance and application potential are among his research priorities.

Jacob Fraser, research specialist, received the Outstanding Dissertation Award. Fraser is part of the GIS and Spatial Analysis Laboratory at Mizzou, where his current research focuses on tree species resilience to several projected climate change scenarios over large spatial and temporal scales as part of the Climate Change Response Framework project.

Danh Vu, graduate student, received the Outstanding Thesis Award for his thesis “Determination of Potential Health-promoting Compounds in Black Walnuts (Juglans nigra L.)” in which he described a novel approach to identify and characterize a wide range of health-promoting compounds among 12 black walnut varieties.

Lisa Groshong, a Ph.D. candidate in human dimensions of natural resources and graduate research assistant, received the Outstanding Graduate Student Award. This award recognizes graduate students who have shown exemplary promise in research, scholarship, leadership and service.

Jehnna Azzara, junior, received the Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award. This award recognizes undergraduate students who have shown exemplary promise in scholarship, leadership and service. She is an environmental science major with an emphasis in atmospheric science. Her interests are in broadcast meteorology, and she is currently an intern at KOMU-TV and with Patrick Market, professor, working on the campus weather forecast blog. She works in the SNR Business and Academic Programs Office and is a student teaching assistant for SNR’s Student Success Course.

Keith Goyne, professor of environmental soil chemistry and SNR associate director, received the Al Vogt School of Natural Resources award. This award recognizes professionalism and sustained contributions of a model employee in support of the School of Natural Resources’ mission. Those contributions include: excellent communication skills; friendliness; cooperation and support of MU employees, students and external stakeholders; consistent pursuit and accomplishment of their position’s responsibilities; and diplomacy and objectivity in resolving issues.

Anthony R. Lupo, professor of atmospheric science, won the Excellence in Teaching Faculty award. The honor recognizes faculty who are outstanding teachers and who employ novel and innovative teaching methods to achieve success in student learning.

Ranjith Udawatta, research professor of soil, environmental and atmospheric sciences, received the Outstanding Research Faculty award, which recognizes faculty for excellence in scholarship, research or creativity. Currently, Udawatta is conducting research on influences of agroforestry, grass buffer, and other conservation practices on water and soil quality.

Angela Carey, business support specialist, received the Tiger Award. (T=Thoughtfulness I=Inclusion G=Greatness E=Equity R=Responsibility). This award is given to a staff member whose service to the School and MU community is exemplary and unswerving. This staff member provides all level of support to meet the needs of people from different cultures, languages and disabilities in an inclusive and supportive way. This person impacts awareness of the values as part of the family of the School of Natural Resources and the University of Missouri, and helps to build a community which welcomes everyone.

Mike Griggs, who earned an M.S. in parks, recreation and tourism in 1991, Pat Jones, who earned her degree in soil science in 1950, and Bruce Loewenberg, forestry class of 1961, received the Black and Gold Distinguished Alumni Award. This award recognizes alumni of the School of Natural Resources based on their sustained accomplishments in professional life and service to the School of Natural Resources.

Griggs is a Columbia native who is the director of Columbia Parks and Recreation.

In 1997, Jones gifted her farm in Williamsburg to the Missouri Department of Conservation. Today, students use the land, now known as the Prairie Fork Conservation Area, to conduct research.

Loewenberg donated $1 million to the Tigers for Tigers program at Mizzou to help save the animals from habitat loss. The gift is used to train MU students in conservation biology and provide opportunities for students and researchers to participate in tiger research and international conservation.

To see more photos from this event, visit SNR’s Facebook page.