Faculty, Staff and Student Award Winners!

UM News Story default placeholder

Scientists Receives 2015 Provost’s Research Awards

Three UM Rosenstiel School faculty members are recipients of the 2015 Provost’s Research Awards. Evan D’Alessandro, Danielle McDonald, and Larry Peterson were honored at a March 27 award ceremony on the UM Coral Gables campus. The award is designed to foster excellence in research and creative scholarship at the University of Miami. The Provost’s Research Awards provide both salary support and support for direct research costs. The awards are classified into three categories based on discipline: the Max Orovitz Research Awards in the Arts and Humanities, the James W. McLamore Research Awards in Business and the Social Sciences, and the Research Awards in the Natural Sciences and Engineering.

The award-winning research projects:

  • Evan D’Alessandro – Research Assistant Professor of Marine Biology & Ecology, “Re-constructing movement patterns and habitat usage of invasive lionfish using micro-chemistry and stable isotope signatures in their otoliths.”
  • Danielle McDonald – Associate Professor of Marine Biology & Ecology, “Chemical communication in toadfish for the purpose of predator avoidance.”
  • Larry Peterson – Professor of Marine Geosciences, “A High Resolution Investigation of Variability in the East Asian Monsoon from Sea of Japan Sediments.”

Amel Saied Honored With Staff Appreciation Award

UM Rosenstiel School’s Amel Saied is a recipient of the 2015 Linda Sher-Collado Memorial Staff Appreciation Award. This award is bestowed upon a select group of outstanding administrative and support staff members by the UM Graduate Student Association executive board in honor of Linda Sher-Collado, a longtime reservationist at the University Center/Student Activities Center who was beloved by students and the community.

Saied, a research associate in the UM Rosenstiel School’s department of marine geosciences, was nominated by graduate students for her commitment to the school.

Accolades from her graduate student nominators:

“one of the cornerstones, a pillar of the RSMAS community”

“She has shown leadership by leading the RSMAS section of the Corporate Runs and her compassion for others by hosting monthly breakfasts for all… participating in group events ranging from soccer to beach cleanups”

“I don’t know how many times she has either stayed late or came in over the weekend to help students in the lab. She’s even given me snacks when it’s getting late and I’m still working because she knows that it will be a while before I can eat dinner. She really looks out for all the students she works with and helps them succeed with their research endeavors.”

This award showcases UM staff that continue Linda’s spirit of student support and building a better U.

Xaymara Serrano Awarded 2015 Ford Foundation Fellowship

UM Rosenstiel School Postdoctoral Associate Xaymara Serrano was recently awarded one of 18 Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowships given in 2015 nationwide.

These postdoctoral fellowships are awarded in a national competition administered by the National Research Council (NRC) to individuals who, in the judgment of the review panels, have demonstrated superior academic achievement, are committed to a career in teaching and research, show promise of future achievement as scholars and teachers, and are well prepared to use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students.

Xaymara plans to use these funds to support another year of her postdoctoral research at NOAA’s Atlantic and Oceanographic Meteorological Laboratory to investigate coral reef responses to climate change and land-based sources of pollution.