Faculty Scholar Medals for Outstanding Research Work

17 March 2005— Five Penn State professors will receive 2004-2005 Faculty Scholar Medals for Outstanding Achievement. Maureen Carr, professor of music, will receive the Arts and Humanities Medal; Hong Ma, professor of biology, will receive the Life and Health Science Medal; James F. Kasting, distinguished professor of geosciences, will receive the Physical Sciences Medal; Akhlesh Lakhtakia, distinguished professor of engineering science and mechanics will receive the Engineering Medal, and Frank R. Baumgartner, distinguished professor of political science, will receive the Social and Behavioral Sciences Medal.

Established in 1980, the award recognizes scholarly or creative excellence represented by a single contribution or a series of contributions around a coherent theme. A committee of faculty peers reviews nominations and selects candidates.

Ma receives his medal for his research on the molecular basis of plant reproduction, which helps us understand one of the most important and basic of biological processes: the production of eggs and sperm. Using a variety of approaches, including molecular genetics of flower development and genome-based studies of flower evolution, Ma's research is at the forefront of both disciplines and is widely applicable to plants and animals that reproduce sexually, including humans.

Ma received his B.A. from Temple University in 1983 and his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1988. He was a postdoc at the California Institute of Technology from 1988 to 1990. He joined Penn State in 1998. He received the American Cancer Society Junior Faculty Research Award for1994-1997 and a Guggenheim Fellowship for 2004-2005.

For the full story on all five award winners see details at: http://live.psu.edu/story/10889

[Karen Zitomer]