Five University of Arizona faculty members were recognized by former President Joe Biden in his final week in office with national-level awards for their contributions to science, education and mentorship.
Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching and Mentoring were given to UA’s Rodrigo Gutierrez and Ariel Beggs on Jan. 13.
And Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor by the U.S. government for scientists and engineers at the cusp of their independent research careers, were announced Jan. 14 for UA’s Paloma Beamer, Gurtina Besla and Kaitlin Kratter.
Gutierrez, director of the UA Center for Recruitment and Retention of Mathematics Teachers, was honored for his dedication to mentoring underrepresented students and fostering diversity in STEM fields.
Rodrigo Gutierrez
Gutierrez, whose research interests are the intersection of teacher development, mathematics education and teaching for social justice, focused his attention on Latinx and emergent bilinguals who were learning English while developing their first language, UA said in a news release this week.
Beggs, a program coordinator in the Center for Recruitment and Retention of Mathematics Teachers and a mathematics educator, was celebrated for innovative teaching methods and inspiring students to excel in STEM fields.
She recently led the center’s “Making Manipulatives Make Sense” series to make abstract mathematical concepts more understandable for students.
Ariel Beggs
“These awards recognize the exceptional potential for leadership early in a researcher’s career,” said Tomás Díaz de la Rubia, UA’s senior vice president of research and innovation and a full professor of physics as well as of chemical, biological, and materials engineering.
“The University of Arizona is a world-class research institution because of the innovative and transformative work of faculty at all stages of their careers dedicated to advancing the frontiers of knowledge and addressing society’s greatest challenges,” he said in a news release.
Beamer, a professor in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and director of the WEST Environmental Justice Center, was honored for her research work on environmental health disparities, also supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Paloma Beamer
Beamer’s research focuses on “the exposure of vulnerable populations to environmental contaminants, addressing critical public health challenges and driving policy change.”
Besla, a professor in the Department of Astronomy and an astronomer at Steward Observatory, was honored for her work in theoretical astrophysics. Her research delved into the evolution of the Milky Way and its satellite galaxies in an attempt to advance understanding of galaxy evolution and the properties of dark matter.
Gurtina Besla
Besla is also the director of the TIMESTEP undergraduate professional development program and the MESCIT math tutoring program for Native American scholars, research also supported by the National Science Foundation CAREER award.
Kratter is a professor in the Department of Astronomy, an astronomer at Steward Observatory and an affiliate of the Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Applied Mathematics. She was awarded for her innovative theoretical studies of star and planet formation, also supported by NASA.
Kaitlin Kratter
Kratter’s work “leverages large-scale numerical simulations to help explain the origin of the diverse populations of multistar systems and exoplanets in our galaxy.”
“We are very proud to have our colleagues awarded such prestigious honors for their work that is so central to our mission as Arizona’s flagship, land-grant university,” said UA President Suresh Garimella, a distinguished professor himself in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, in the news release.
“Having leaders of this caliber supports our central focus on student success, enables our impact in service to the state and the nation, and inspires all of us to strive for excellence in advancing our mission,” said Garimella.
