Mississippi State celebrates research success with annual banquet

Dr. Henry Wan, center, honored with the 2017 Ralph E. Powe Research Excellence Award at Mississippi State, is congratulated by Vice President for Research and Economic Development David Shaw, left, and Vice President for the Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine Greg Bohach, right. (Photo by Beth Wynn)

STARKVILLE, Miss.—More than 50 Mississippi State students, faculty and staff are 2017 selections for exceptional research and leadership honors.

The honorees, their guests and senior administrators celebrated the university’s research achievements during a campus awards luncheon today [April 27] in the Hunter Henry Center’s Hal and Linda Parker Ballroom.

Dr. Henry Wan was recognized with the afternoon’s top honor: the 2017 Ralph E. Powe Research Excellence Award.

Wan is a professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Basic Sciences. Currently, he has seven active grants totaling more than $4.5 million. Most of these funding awards are highly competitive, including a National Institutes of Health R01 grant for which funding rates are generally less than 10 percent.

“Dr. Wan is internationally recognized by leading scientists for his innovative laboratory and computational approaches to understanding and developing more effective and efficient approaches that prevent and treat influenza,” said Greg Bohach, vice president for ��Ƶ’s Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine.

The program and banquet are co-sponsored by the offices of the vice presidents for Research and Economic Development and the Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine.

Wan has published 105 peer-reviewed papers, and he has developed 14 software programs, including widely used antigenic cartography software. He has presented more than 100 posters and almost 150 oral presentations at prestigious venues all over the world. He has mentored 69 trainees ranging from high school students to visiting faculty members.

He also serves on editorial boards of three journals, including Nature’s Scientific Reports. He has been invited to serve on several grant review panels for agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, CDC and Food and Drug Administration. He has organized several major scientific meetings and symposia, including the First Animal-Human Interface Symposium in Shanghai, China.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in veterinary medicine from Jiangxi Agricultural University in Nanchang, China. He earned a master’s degree in avian medicine from the South China Agricultural University in Guangzhou, China. He earned a master’s degree in computer science at Mississippi State, and a Ph.D. in veterinary medical sciences at ��Ƶ’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

The Powe Award is a memorial to the ��Ƶ alumnus and longtime research vice president who died in 1996. It is selected at the university level from nominations received from the ��Ƶ community.

The annual research awards program honors individuals who contribute significantly to ��Ƶ’s mission of research. In addition to faculty, it recognizes and rewards students and staff for accomplishments and creative endeavors, as well as for increasing awareness of the university’s many research programs and capabilities.

“This annual awards banquet brings together researchers from across campus and from a wide range of programs to showcase the depth and reach of our overall research enterprise,” Bohach said.

David Shaw, vice president for research and economic development, echoed that assessment.

“The collaborative culture we have at ��Ƶ and the wide-ranging interests of our researchers are two of the key components in our success, and we look forward to celebrating our research achievements and the outstanding work of our faculty, staff and students every spring,” he said.

Other 2017 research award winners include (alphabetically, by academic unit):

--Bagley College of Engineering: Tom Lacy, faculty; Sheri Johnson, research support; Mohammad Mathtabi, graduate student; and Alex Calhoun, undergraduate student.

--College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station: Jeff Gore, faculty; Jesse Morrison, research support; Zhenghong Bao, graduate student; and Lucas Ferguson, undergraduate student.

--College of Architecture, Art and Design: Jacob Gines, faculty; Lori Neuenfeldt, research support; and Cody Smith, undergraduate student.

--College of Arts and Sciences: Sam Winer, faculty; Kimberly Rayborn, research support; Fadi Sun, graduate student; and Taylor Prislovsky, undergraduate student.

--College of Business: Brandon Cline, faculty; Andrew Dhaenens, graduate student; and Josh Bedi, undergraduate student.

--College of Education: Kun Huang, faculty; Tiffany Middleton, research support; Jeffrey Simpson, graduate student; and Alana Joy Turner, undergraduate student.

--College of Forest Resources: Jilei Zhang, faculty; Florent Bled, research support; Austin Omer, graduate student; an Jacob Jones, undergraduate student.

--College of Veterinary Medicine: Chinling Wang, faculty; Shirley Guo-Ross, research support; and Stephen R. Reichley, graduate student.

--��Ƶ-Meridian: Lyle Wallace, graduate student.

--Office of Research and Economic Development: Jennifer Sappington, undergraduate student.

--University Centers and Institutes: Renee Brannon, research support.

Also honored were new graduates of the university’s 2016-2017 Benjamin F. Hilbun Faculty Leadership Program:

--Amy Crumpton, associate professor, interior design.

--Darrin Dodds, associate extension/research professor, plant and soil sciences.

--Deborah Eakin, associate professor, psychology.

--Jeffrey Eells, associate professor, CVM Basic Science Department.

--Yong Fu, associate professor, electrical and computer engineering.

--Jeffrey Haupt, professor, art.

--Alexandra Hui, associate professor, history.

--Melissa Moore, professor and department head, marketing, quantitative analysis and business law.

--Andy Perkins, associate professor, computer science and engineering.

--Edwin Webster, professor, chemistry.

Mississippi State’s success with developing intellectual property and licensing new technology also was part of the day’s celebration as nine inventors were recognized for obtaining patents in Fiscal Year 2016:

--Janice Chambers, Giles Distinguished Professor of Veterinary Medicine and director, Center for Environmental Health Sciences.

--Howard Chambers, a professor in ��Ƶ’s Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology until his death last December.

--Attila Karsi, associate professor, CVM Basic Science Department.

--Leland Lanford, farm manager, Delta Research and Extension Center.

--Mark Lawrence, associate dean and professor, CVM Basic Science Department.

--Edward Meek, laboratory manager, CVM Basic Science Department.

--Philip Steele, Warren S. Thompson Professor Emeritus of Wood Science and Technology, College of Forest Resources.

--Qiangu Yan, assistant research professor, Forest and Wildlife Research Center.

--Fei Yu, associate professor, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering.

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