Each year, Eberly College honors faculty members with its Outstanding Teacher Awards, Outstanding Researcher Awards and the Award for Outstanding Outreach or Public Service. Recipients in each category receive a stipend to help further their research, teaching and service efforts.
The Outstanding Teacher Award recognizes the distinctive contributions of Eberly College’s best teachers. In addition to their monetary award, Outstanding Teachers have their names added to a permanent plaque in Woodburn Hall to commemorate their recognition. The recipients of the 2024-25 Outstanding Teacher Awards are:
· Tiffany Edwards, Teaching Assistant Professor in the Department of Forensic and Investigative Science
· Bonnie Brown, Program Coordinator and Teaching Assistant Professor of Native American Studies
· Vicki Sealey, Associate Professor in the Mathematics Department
With more than 12 years of experience in forensic science and death investigations, Edwards has brought real-world expertise into the classroom. Since 2017, she has taught Criminal Justice and Forensic Science, engaging students through hands-on learning and mentorship.
Brown has developed and taught courses on Contemporary Native American Issues, Native American Women in Leadership, Sovereign Tribal Nations and Black Indians, among others. She has also organized the West Virginia Teacher Institute, service-learning projects and workshops focused on Indigenous history and education. Her contributions have previously earned her the Eberly College Outstanding Public Service Award and the Neil S. Bucklew Award for Social Justice.
Sealey’s teaching approach is grounded in historical and current math education research literature. She utilizes student-centered curriculum materials and active learning in every class session, provides frequent and detailed feedback on student work, and employs compassion for students who may not have had the best math opportunities and preparation in high school. Sealey also freely disseminates lecture notes, student activities and notes through a website she created for other math instructors.
The Outstanding Researcher Award recognizes Eberly faculty’s distinctive achievements in research and scholarship – this includes developing new information, critically examining new or old information, writing scholarly essays, and publishing novels, plays, poems or nonfiction essays. The award may be given for a single work of special significance or for a collection of related works. The recipients of the 2024-25 Outstanding Researcher Awards are:
- Dr. Lian Li, Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy
- Dr. Mark Brazaitis, Professor in the Department of English
- Dr. Edward Brzostek, Associate Professor in the Department of Biology
Li joined the department of Physics and Astronomy at West Virginia University in 2016 to establish a world-class experimental facility for quantum materials research.
“Quantum materials have the potential to form the foundation of the emerging "Quantum Age," much like semiconducting materials, such as silicon, enabled the current Information Age,” he said. “With our capability to synthesize materials atom-by-atom and conduct atomic-resolution imaging, we currently focus on data-driven autonomous experiments to discover new quantum magnets and high-temperature superconductors, which have the potential to lead to novel devices for emerging quantum technologies, including computing and sensing."
Brazaitis is the author of eight books and has won several prestigious literary awards.
“We are a college of outstanding researchers. It's an honor to be acknowledged for my work, and it's a pleasure to have such dynamic, innovative, and inspiring scholars as colleagues,” he said. “Our collective endeavors are more vital than ever”
Brzostek’s lab research focuses on how to understand interactions between plants and soil microbial activity and nutrient availability in soils with the consequences of these strategies on ecosystem carbon storage.
"Our work on forest responses to acid rain has shown that there are both good and bad consequences,” he said. “The good consequence is that most trees grew faster and the soils stored more carbon. The bad consequence is that it impaired water quality and led to shifts in tree and microbial species in our forests. As we move forward, I am excited by our current work examining what the success of the Clean Air Act that reduced acid rain means to the persistence of both the good and the bad consequences."
Eberly College’s Award for Outstanding Outreach or Public Service recognizes faculty whose outreach or service activities apply the results of teaching and research to create positive impact upon residents or programs in the region or state. The award may be given for an extensive special project or a series of related activities that exceed normal expectations for service. The recipient of the 2024-25 Award for Outstanding Outreach or Public Service is Joshua Lohnes, Research Assistant Professor of Geography.
Lohnes was selected for his contributions to food security efforts at the University, state and global levels.
He contributes to participatory action research that advances more just and equitable economic relationships through the food system, particularly for those vulnerable to food insecurity and hunger. His work supports local, national and international coalitions that seek to advance the Right to Food through principles of Food Sovereignty and Food Justice.
"I hope this award serves to recognize and elevate the dedication of the many people across the state of West Virginia and beyond organizing to ensure that everyone has physical and economic access at all times to adequate food," he said.
