Iman Awards
Two K-State faculty members received $5,000 awards in recognition of their outstanding research and teaching in November.
T.G. Nagaraja, university distinguished professor of microbiology in the department of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine, and Andrew Barkley, university distinguished teaching scholar of agricultural economics in the College of Agriculture, received the Iman Outstanding Faculty Awards.
Nagaraja received the Iman Outstanding Faculty Award for Research, which recognizes faculty members who have distinguished themselves in their chosen profession and who have contributed significantly through research to improve the betterment of the education experience, or whose research has had a significant impact on their area of study.
Barkley received the Iman Outstanding Faculty Award for Teaching, which honors a full-time K-State faculty member for excellence in high quality instruction, strong relationships with students inside and outside the classroom and reputation for scholarship and distinguished service to the university.
The annual Dr. Ron and Rae Iman Outstanding Faculty awards are sponsored by the K-State Alumni Association and are made possible through the generosity of Dr. Ron and Rae Iman.
Distinguished Graduate Faculty
Bharat Ratra, professor of physics, and Raymond “Bob” Rowland, professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology, were recognized as Distinguished Graduate Faculty members during the Fall 2012 commencement ceremony. The award honors faculty members who are recognized nationally and internationally for their excellence in scholarship, research and teaching at the graduate level.
Ratra works in the areas of cosmology and astro-particle physics, researching the structure and evolution of the universe. In 1988, Ratra and Jim Peebles proposed the first dynamical dark energy model. Dark energy is the leading candidate for the mechanism that is responsible for causing the cosmological expansion to accelerate. The discovery that cosmological expansion is accelerating is one of the most significant scientific discoveries of the last quarter century.
Rowland’s current research interest centers on addressing fundamental problems in infectious diseases caused by emerging pig viruses. Rowland’s current focus is on molecular mechanisms of disease caused by porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus and porcine circovirus type 2. This research includes the design and development of novel detection and vaccine approaches, as well as the control of viruses in the field.