Research Excellence

The Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation recognizes and highlights the work of its faculty and staff members through awards and honors for the excellence and distinction of their work. Annual awards are presented across the array of endeavors that are essential to the mission of the university.

Read about the 2024 Outstanding Research Award Winners

Outstanding Research Awards

The Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation, the Office of the Provost, and the Division of Graduate Studies annually host and sponsor the Outstanding Achievement Awards, which include the Outstanding Research Awards, the Distinguished Teaching Awards, the Williams Fellows and the Excellence Award for Outstanding Faculty Mentorship in Graduate Studies.

Outstanding Research Awardees receive commendation from the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation. The award includes $1,000 or $2,500 for a team in research support, a recognition memento, and a highlight of their work in internal and external communications.

A call for nominations is open to the UO campus for the five outstanding research awards listed below for the 2023-2024 year. Please see the Call for Nominations for full details including review criteria for each category.

  • Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Research Award: This award recognizes significant achievements by tenure or non-tenure track faculty or administrative staff in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the research and innovation community. The award is given to an individual or team that has demonstrated leadership, impact, and advocacy to contribute to a more diverse and inclusive environment. This may be achieved through efforts to broaden participation in research, engage underrepresented communities as research partners, or develop and implement novel programming or innovations to improve the culture of our research and innovation climate. 
  • Early Career Award: Tenure-track assistant professor, appointed for at least three years at the UO prior to nomination, a track record of significant scholarship and emergent recognition and support of such efforts, and a productive and impactful scholarly record.
  • Innovation and Impact Award: This award recognizes contributions by faculty and staff from all academic disciplines. The award is given to an outstanding individual or team that distinguished themselves and the university through entrepreneurial activities that resulted in innovations with a measurable societal or environmental impact and/or individuals whose broader public engagement activity has proactively shared their research or viewpoints on research and policy issues with the public via traditional and/or new media channels. These efforts reflect an important factor in our mission to create and disseminate knowledge across all disciplines and put it to work to benefit the community, the region, and the world.
  • Outstanding Career Award: Tenured faculty at the associate or full professor rank (must be an active, full-time UO employee), employed by the UO for at least seven years, track record of distinguished scholarship and external recognition and support of such efforts, and national/international prominence in their field of research.
  • Outstanding Career Research Faculty Award: Full-time, career research faculty appointment employed by the UO. This individual must have served as a PI on extramurally awarded projects submitted through the UO, have a track record of research independence, and have a substantial and impactful scholarly record OR they must have a documented record of providing exceptional and innovative technical support to UO researchers.

Nomination Process

This call is open to the UO campus for nominations and self-nominations for the five outstanding research awards. Nominations include a brief form, a nomination letter, and a recent CV for the nominee. For team nominations, you may upload CVs for the primary team leads.

Letters should be no more than one page in length, unique to each nominee, and must detail the research impact on the field and the significance of the individual’s research over the past several years. Where applicable, attention should be given to describing how the research portfolio has a broad impact on the discipline and beyond. 

Please use the Nomination Submission Form to submit nominations or self-nominations. 

DEADLINE EXTENSION - The deadline is no later than 11:59 pm on May 6, 2024.

Past Winners

AY 2023-24
  • Carlos Aguirre - Outstanding Career Award
  • Melissa Graboyes - Innovatoin and Impact Award
  • Marian Hettiaratchi - Early Career Award
  • Leland O'Driscoll - Career Research Faculty Award
  • Gabriel Sanchez - Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Research Award 
AY 2022-23
  • Ronald Mitchell - Outstanding Career Award
  • Ulrich Mayr - Outstanding Career Award
  • Diana Garvin - Early Career Award
  • Ashley Walker - Early Career Award
  • Aldis P. Weible - Career Research Faculty Award
  • Kent McIntosh - Advancing Diversity, Equity,, and Inclusion in Research Award
  • Stacey York - Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Research Award
  • Keat Ghee Ong - Innovation and Impact Award
AY 2021-22
  • Lynn Stephen - Outstanding Career Award
  • Stephen Shoemaker - Outstanding Career Award
  • Anne Brown - Early Career Award
  • Rhonda Nese - Early Career Award
  • Scott Watrous - Outstanding Accomplishment by a Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Researcher
  • Jennifer Pfeifer - Advancing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Research Award
  • Christopher Chávez - Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Research Award
  • Beth Stormshak - Innovation Award
  • Team Duckling - Impact Award
AY 2020-21
  • Leslie Leve - Outstanding Career Award
  • Richard Taylor - Outstanding Career Award
  • Ana-Maurine Lara  - Early Career Award
  • David DeGarmo - Outstanding Accomplishment by a Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Researcher
  • COVID-19 Monitoring and Assessment Program (MAP) Team - Innovation Award
  • Institute for Health in the Built Environment (IHBE) COVID-19 Research Team - Innovation Award
  • Ilana Umansky - Impact Award
AY 2019-20
  • Alice Barkan - Outstanding Career Award
  • Autumn Shafer - Early Career Award
  • Rhonda Nese - Early Career Award
  • Ann Glang - Outstanding Accomplishment by a Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Researcher
  • Robert Parker - Outstanding Accomplishment by a Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Researcher
  • Doug Toomey - Innovation and Impact Award
AY 2018-19
  • John Bellamy Foster - Outstanding Career Award
  • Jim Hutchinson - Outstanding Career Award
  • Aaron Galloway - Early Career Award
  • Sameer Shende - Outstanding Accomplishment by a Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Researcher
  • Michael Raymer - Innovation and Impact Award
AY 2017-18
  • Judith Eisen - Outstanding Career Award
  • Mark Johnson - Outstanding Career Award
  • Lucas Silva - Early Career Award
  • Kelly Sutherland - Early Career Award
  • K. Brigid Flannery - Outstanding Accomplishment by a Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Researcher
  • Allison Caruthers - Outstanding Accomplishment by a Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Support
  • Julie Sykes - Innovation and Impact Award
AY 2016-17
  • Paul Slovic - Outstanding Career Award
  • Ben Elias - Early Career Award
  • Robert Schofield - Outstanding Accomplishment by a Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Researcher
  • Steve Wiemholt - Outstanding Accomplishment by a Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Support
  • Shawn Lockery, Janis Weeks, and William Roberts - Innovation and Impact Award
AY 2015-16
  • John Postlethwait - Outstanding Career Award
  • Vera Keller - Early Career Award
  • Michael Pluth - Early Career Award
  • Scott Stewart - Outstanding Accomplishment by a Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Researcher
  • Ute Hostick - Outstanding Accomplishment by a Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Support
  • Richard Taylor - Innovation and Impact Award