UO researchers in biology, mathematics, physics and psychology have been chosen as winners of 2017 Research Excellence Awards.

Presented by the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation, the awards celebrate the significant achievement of UO faculty members engaged in research and scholarly activity. This year, seven faculty members are being recognized for research excellence in five awards categories.

The Outstanding Career Award will go to Paul Slovic, a professor in the Department of Psychology. The award is given to tenured faculty members at the associate or full professor rank with a history of distinguished scholarship.

The winner of the Early Career Award is Ben Elias, an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics. The honor recognizes tenure-track faculty members at the assistant professor rank who have a track record of significant scholarship and emergent recognition.

The award for an Outstanding Accomplishment Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Researcher goes to Robert Schofield, a research assistant professor in the Center for High Energy Physics. The award honors a nontenure-track faculty member engaged in independent research activities.

The award for Outstanding Accomplishment Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Research Support goes to Steve Wiemholt, a research specialist and instrument engineer in the Center for Advanced Materials Characterization in Oregon. The award recognizes a nontenure track faculty member with a documented record of providing exceptional and innovative technical support to UO researchers.

This year’s Innovation and Impact Award goes to Shawn Lockery, Janis Weeks and William Roberts for their work developing and bringing the NemaMetrix Screen Chip system to market. Lockery is a professor in the Department of Biology. Weeks and Roberts are professors emeriti. The award recognizes contributions by faculty and staff from any academic discipline for outstanding entrepreneurial activity that has resulted in innovations with a measurable societal or environmental impact.

The Research Excellence Awards will be delivered — along with the Distinguished Teaching Awards and Exceptional Mentorship Awards — as part of the Outstanding Achievement Awards ceremony, which begins at 5 p.m. Tuesday, June 6. The ceremony is co-hosted by the Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs, the Graduate School and the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation.

For more on the Research Excellence Awards and this year’s winners, see the story on the Office of Research and Innovation website.