21 Special Recognition We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Tingying Xu has been awarded a highly competitive National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER grant— one of the most prestigious honors given to early-career faculty in the sciences. As far as we know, Dr. Xu is the first faculty member in the Boone Pickens School of Geology to receive this distinguished award. Her fiveyear, $592,324 project, titled “CAREER: Unraveling the Role of Bivalent Metals on Fungal Manganese Oxide Biomineralization Mechanisms,” will explore how common metals influence fungal-driven biomineralization processes that play a vital role in Earth’s metal cycles. Dr. Xu’s research combines laboratory chemistry, cutting-edge structural and molecular techniques, and environmental applications. The outcomes will improve our understanding of metal cycling in nature and advance low-cost bioremediation strategies for polluted environments. We are proud to celebrate this major milestone in Dr. Xu’s career and the department’s growing research excellence. DR. TINGYING XU Receives Prestigious NSF CAREER Award The Outreach Faculty Excellence Award was created to recognize and honor faculty contributions toward the OSU outreach mission of enhancing the quality of life in Oklahoma, the nation and the world by contributing to the human, economic and cultural development of our citizens. Barnes works with faculty to create high-quality online courses as well as facilitating professional development opportunities for continuing education within the geosciences. Barnes currently directs the collaboration between OSU and the National Ground Water Association to address a critical shortfall of geoscience workers and to improve access to groundwater for people around the world. Outreach Faculty Excellence Award DR. CAITLIN BARNES The NGWA University program co-founded by Dr. Todd Halihan and Dr. Caitlin Barnes won three awards this year. The program received the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education Online Innovation Award for its one-of-a-kind online learning experience and the far-reaching scale of the program’s platform. The public service announcement bringing attention to groundwater issues won both Bright Idea Grand Prize and Excellence in Social Media awards from the Oklahoma College Public Relations Association for overall media campaign and visually stunning social media posts. The captivating notion of medical workers washing their hands in muddy water was the unique brainchild of Halihan, while Barnes wrote, directed and produced the public service announcement commercial, website and social media campaign. Award-Winning Program: NGWA UNIVERSITY spring.2025
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