Stories
Nov. 20, 2020
Emily Piontek Receives Distinguished Thesis Award as Part of 2020 Celebration of Excellence
Emily Piontek received the 2020 Distinguished Thesis Award as part of this year’s virtual Celebration of Excellence Awards. This past spring, she graduated with her Master’s in Natural Resources with an emphasis in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources and a Certificate in Public Policy. During the completion of her research, Piontek was advised by Sonja Wilhelm Stanis, associate professor in the School of Natural Resources. Both Piontek and Wilhelm Stanis were honored as part of Celebration of Excellence. Piontek’s thesis, Residents’ perceptions of ecosystem services & environmental justice in urban greenspace: A mixed methods exploration in St. Louis, Missouri, provided…
Nov. 16, 2020
Rebecca North Receives Outstanding Early Career Teaching Award as Part of 2020 Celebration of Excellence
Rebecca North, assistant professor of water quality in the School of Natural Resources (SNR), received the Outstanding Early Career Teaching Award during CAFNR’s 2020 virtual Celebration of Excellence awards celebration. North joined the University of Missouri in 2016 as an assistant professor of water quality in the School of Natural Resources. Before coming to MU, she served as a research associate for the Global Institute for Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatchewan, Canada. North earned her bachelor’s degree (environmental science) and PhD (limnology) at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. She was a postdoctoral fellow for…
Nov. 13, 2020
Rebecca North Serves as Editor of Special Issue in Prestigious Journal
Rebecca North, assistant professor in the School of Natural Resources, recently served as an invited editor of a special issue in Frontiers in Environmental Science and Frontiers in Marine Ecosystem Ecology. The focus of the special issue was on climate change and light in both freshwater and marine ecosystems, including the variability and ecological consequences. Along with serving as a guest editor, two of North’s graduate students published papers in the Environmental Science section in the issue. “The goal of this research topic was to provide a broad overview of how aquatic light environments are changing at present, and…
July 9, 2020
Charles Nilon Named the Newest Holder of the William J. Rucker Professorship in Fisheries and Wildlife
Charles Nilon, professor of urban wildlife management in the School of Natural Resources, was recently named the newest holder of the William J. Rucker Professorship in Fisheries and Wildlife. From its inception in 1944, the William J. Rucker Professorship in Fisheries and Wildlife’s purpose has been for the “instruction of youth upon the subject of the value and preservation of wild life.” Funds are used primarily to support graduate research assistant stipends. “I have known Dr. Nilon almost since the start of my MU career, when I arrived in 1999,” said Pat Market, interim director of the School of Natural…
July 7, 2020
Randall Miles Receives 2020 Thomas Jefferson Award
Randall Miles, associate professor emeritus of soil science in the School of Natural Resources, received the 2020 Thomas Jefferson Award as part of the UM System President’s Awards. The Thomas Jefferson Award is reserved for faculty who rise above excellence and demonstrate clear distinction, not only in their career, but also in service to the University of Missouri and humankind. Over his career as a beloved instructor at MU, Miles has made a major impact on student education. Beyond that, his profound passions for soil science, human health and community wellbeing have led him to make fundamental contributions to…
July 7, 2020
Chung-Ho Lin Receives 2020 President’s Award for Economic Development
Chung-Ho Lin, associate research professor in the School of Natural Resources, received the 2020 President’s Award for Economic Development from the UM System. This award recognizes faculty for distinguished activity in meeting the University of Missouri’s goal of serving as an economic engine for the state and its citizens. Awardees demonstrate entrepreneurial innovation in using the classroom, outreach programs or the laboratory as vehicles for increasing or developing new economic activity in the state. Lin’s primary research involves the use of plants, microbes and engineered enzymes for bioremediation, ecological restoration and development of bioeconomy. He is the lead scientist…
June 2, 2020
Robin Rotman Honored with Win Horner Award for Innovative Writing Intensive Teaching
Robin Rotman, an assistant professor in the School of Natural Resources, was recently honored with the Win Horner Award for Innovative Writing Intensive Teaching for the 2019-20 academic year. Inspired by early Campus Writing Programs Director Win Horner, this award celebrates innovative approaches to teaching writing in the disciplines. In her Environmental Science 4400W course, Professor Rotman mentors students through complex legal writing, and, by the conclusion of each semester, her students create their own Journal of Environmental Law, Policy, and Justice. …
May 8, 2020
Lisa Groshong Earns MU Distinguished Dissertation Award – Discipline Winner
Lisa Groshong is being honored by the MU Graduate School with the MU Distinguished Dissertation Award for her dissertation titled “Looking Broadly and Deeply into Perceptions of Local Climate Change Impacts Among Visitors to Missouri State Parks.” This work was supervised by Sonja Wilhelm Stanis, associate professor in the School of Natural Resources. The results of Lisa’s research suggest opportunities for state park managers to take action toward locally oriented climate change mitigation, education and communication. Groshong is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri.
May 8, 2020
Ben Knapp Earns Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources Outstanding Young Alumni Award
The Outstanding Young Alumni Award recognizes the accomplishments of individuals who have excelled in professional and civic accomplishments and have graduated from Purdue FNR within the last 15 years. Ben Knapp, who earned his bachelor’s degree in forestry from Purdue in 2003, is an associate professor of silviculture in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri. After completing his master’s and doctorate degrees at Clemson in 2005 and 2012 respectively, Knapp began teaching at Missouri as a tenure-track assistant professor. In 2018, he was promoted to associate professor. He teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in silviculture…
May 5, 2020
Laura Hertel Honored with Haynes Distinguished Service Award from the CAFNR Alumni Association
Laura Hertel, Senior Coordinator of Student Services, School of Natural Resources, has been honored with the 2020 Dana Brown Haynes Distinguished Service Award from the CAFNR Alumni Association. Hertel, who earned her bachelor’s in Communications and Elementary Education from University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, has been part of the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri since 1992, currently serving as Senior Coordinator of Student Services. She also instructs a course on College Success in SNR. She established the Natural Resources Alumni Organization, coordinates the annual Trivia in the Wild Scholarship Fundraiser and established the annual new student breakfast.