Twenty-nine University of Michigan faculty members are receiving awards this fall in recognition of their notable contributions in the areas of teaching, mentoring, service and scholarship. They will be honored at a Faculty Awards Celebration on Oct. 23. Read the full list of reciepients here.
Distinguished Faculty Achievement Awards
The Distinguished Faculty Achievement Awards honor senior faculty who consistently have demonstrated outstanding achievements in the areas of scholarly research or creative endeavors, teaching and mentoring of students and junior colleagues, service and other activities.
Charles L. Brooks III
Cyrus Levinthal Distinguished University Professor of Chemistry and Biophysics; Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis Professor of Chemistry, professor of chemistry and of biophysics, and director of the program in biophysics in LSA; professor of macromolecular science and engineering in the College of Engineering
Brooks has made major contributions to statistical mechanics, computational chemistry and biophysics. He has also readied the next generation of scientists through the creation of new undergraduate courses, and has a longstanding commitment to helping students achieve their career goals in academia and biotechnology. His numerous national and international awards include the American Chemical Society’s National Award in Computational and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, the Gilda Loew Memorial Award from the International Society of Quantum Biology and Pharmacology, and the Hans Neurath Award, the Protein Society’s most prestigious award for advancing foundational knowledge in protein chemistry. Brooks has published more than 425 journal articles, including in Science and Nature. Most recently, he has developed a technique that rapidly evaluates the utility of drug candidates, making it possible for medicinal researchers to focus their efforts on the most promising prospects for improving human health. Brooks has held numerous leadership-service positions, including president of the Protein Society, an international, not-for-profit scholarly society, where he has worked to expand outreach to those underrepresented in the field.
Faculty Recognition Awards
The Faculty Recognition Awards are intended for mid-career faculty members who have demonstrated remarkable contributions to the university through achievements in scholarly research or creative endeavors; excellence as a teacher, adviser and mentor; and distinguished participation in service activities of the university and elsewhere. Eligible candidates include full professors with no more than four years in rank, and tenured associate professors.
Julie S. Biteen
Professor of chemistry and of biophysics, and associate chair of the Department of Chemistry in LSA
Biteen is an international leader in biophysical and bioanalytical chemistry, a scholar who is shaping the field of high-resolution microscopy and physical chemistry, and an educator whom her students praise for the clarity, consistency and warmth of her instruction. Biteen has developed powerful, super-resolution microscopes that enable high-resolution, real-time imaging and analysis of nanometer-scale processes, including in living cells, research that is considered the innovative edge of modern bioscience. She has advanced fundamental bacterial cell biology, offering new insights into DNA replication and repair, bacteria responses to stress, and bacterial cell organization. In 2020, she received the Special Creativity Award from the National Science Foundation, and in 2021 she was elected to the leadership of the American Chemical Society’s Physical Chemistry Division. Biteen, who receives near-perfect evaluations from her students, developed a core values statement for those working in her lab that defines what it means to be a scientist in the 21st century. It has been adopted by colleagues and scientists around the world. She is her department’s first associate chair for graduate education.
