2026 Utah State University Faculty Awards

Andy Anderson is a Principal Lecturer in the Department of Biology. His career has included 42 years of teaching, mentorship, and service. A dedicated educator who has shaped generations of pre-health students, he is known for exceptional instructional quality, hands-on learning opportunities, and meaningful mentorship that extends well beyond graduation. Through his outreach and statewide contributions, Anderson has strived to have a lasting influence on student success and embody Utah State University’s commitments to learning, access, and impact.

Gregory Anderson is an Associate Professor of Practice in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department and Director of the Center for Design and Manufacturing of Advanced Materials. A leader in composite materials, adhesion science, and advanced manufacturing, he brings more than three decades of industry and research experience to his academic role. At USU, Anderson has established new academic programs, industry partnerships, and outreach initiatives, including a professional certificate in composites, a scholarship endowment, and an annual symposium on composites and extreme‑temperature materials. He teaches multiple advanced courses—most of which he developed—and advises graduate students and student professional societies.

After more than 15 years of professional experience in general civil, structural, and bridge engineering, Austin Ball now brings the perspective of a practicing civil engineer into the classroom. At the core of Ball's work is a commitment to teaching and mentoring students as they transition into practicing engineers. Beyond the classroom, he actively advises student organizations, supporting students as they build leadership skills, professional identity, and readiness for engineering practice. Through mentoring, hands‑on support, and leadership in senior design, he consistently elevates students’ confidence, skills, and readiness to enter the engineering profession.

Kelly Bradbury is a Professional Practice Associate Professor in the Department of Geosciences and an affiliated faculty member within the Kinesiology and Health Science’s Yoga minor studies program. She has been a primary mentor or co-advisor for three graduate students and has served on numerous graduate committees. Bradbury also serves as the Graduate Program Coordinator for the Department of Geosciences and teaches a graduate onboarding course and undergraduate courses, including Applied Geoscience Techniques, Environmental Geoscience, and Yoga and Nature. She enjoys spending time with her family, including her dogs, cats, and ducks, gardening, being in the mountains, and serving as a volunteer with CAPSA, USU’s Beaver Ecology and Relocation Collaborative, and Bear River Land Conservancy.

Sarah K. Braden is an Associate Professor in the School of Teacher Education and Leadership, where she trains future teachers and education researchers. In her research, Braden uses applied linguistic methods to develop instructional design principles that take advantage of the inherent strengths of multilingual youth in STEM-focused classrooms. Braden has had several research projects funded by the National Science Foundation. On those projects, she collaborated with scientists and education researchers to design and deliver informal STEM learning opportunities on cosmic ray physics and engineering to middle and high school students.

Aishwarya Chandrasekaran is a lecturer for the Environment and Society Department and Co-Director of the Geospatial Collective. Through strategic partnerships, Chandrasekaran has connected undergraduate students with professional projects. Her students have secured competitive grant funding, presented at professional conferences, and co-authored peer-reviewed publications. In every aspect of her mentorship, Chandrasekaran seeks to provide students with authentic research experiences that build both technical competence and professional confidence, positioning them for success in graduate programs and geospatial careers while strengthening USU's connections with industry partners throughout Utah and beyond.

Casey Coombs is a Professional Practice Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences. She also serves as the Faculty Director of the Student Nutrition Access Center (SNAC), leading campus-based initiatives that address food insecurity through research, programming, and student-engaged learning. Her teaching and scholarship center on public health nutrition, food security, social determinants of health, and global health, with a strong emphasis on experiential, equity-centered education that prepares students for real-world impact. Coombs's leadership in teaching, curriculum development, mentoring, and campus engagement reflects a deep dedication to student growth and academic success.

Shannon Cromwell is an Extension Professor at Utah State University with more than 21 years of experience in Extension, 14 of them spent serving Sanpete County. She is nationally recognized for her leadership in youth development and family programming and is one of only 15 appointed mentors for the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (NEAFCS). In addition to her leadership roles, Shannon has made a significant impact through innovative programming and resource development, securing more than $4.9 million in funding to support youth and family initiatives, including the Sanpete County 4-H Afterschool Program, a statewide model serving approximately 150 youth daily.

Peter Crooks is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics. His research unifies parts of algebraic geometry, geometric representation theory, mathematical physics, and symplectic geometry. His approach is to harness Lie theory, the most coherent framework for continuous symmetry to date. Recent successes include his joint work with Maxence Mayrand, titled Symplectic Reduction Along a Submanifold. Another recent success is Crooks's single-authored article Universal Families of Twisted Cotangent Bundles, which was published in Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society. Peter pursues these and other follow-up research opportunities with his graduate students.

Aryn M. Dotterer is a Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies and an internationally recognized scholar ranked among the top 2 percent of global researchers in 2024. A first-generation college graduate from a multi-ethnic family of Mexican, Indigenous, and European ancestry, she has dedicated her scholarly and service endeavors to advancing educational access, equity, and success for marginalized youth and their families. Dotterer's strengths-based research agenda has made significant contributions to developmental and educational psychology, particularly through her work on protective factors that foster positive development in the context of adversity.

Erika Espinosa-Ortiz joined the Department of Biological Engineering as an Assistant Professor in 2024. Her research focuses on developing enhanced fungal-based biotechnologies for a wide range of applications, including bioremediation, wastewater treatment, recovery of value-added products from waste, and biomanufacturing. She is also passionate about teaching and mentoring students. Espinosa-Ortiz's commitment to teaching, hands-on learning, and meaningful mentorship elevates both individual student success and the broader program. She seeks to foster an environment where learners feel supported, challenged, and motivated to excel.

Scott Findley is an Associate Professor of Economics. In addition to serving as chair of his department's curriculum committee, Findley has also served for the past few years on the university's general education committee and has been integral in the formation of the new Center for Civic Excellence and the development of an entirely new set of general education requirements university-wide. Findley is also a frequent visitor to local high schools, supervising concurrent enrollment instruction in economics, giving guest lectures on economics and finance topics, and holding informal college information sessions for students each academic term.

Brian Gowen is a Research Professor in the Department of Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Sciences and has served as director of the Institute for Antiviral Research since 2021. He specializes in the pre-clinical development of antiviral therapies for severe diseases caused by arenaviruses and bunyaviruses, immunity to viral infections, modeling viral diseases, and virus-host cell interactions. He has published more than 90 peer-reviewed articles, holds four patents, and serves on the editorial boards of Antiviral Research and Scientific Reports. Gowen received the prestigious William Prusoff Young Investigator Award in 2011 from the International Society for Antiviral Research for his early career contributions to the field of antiviral research. He directs a research program funded by numerous grants and contracts totaling more than $5M over the past three years.

Jennifer R. Grewe is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and serves as Director of Connections, USU’s first-year experience program, and co-Director of the Undergraduate Psychology Program. Her work focuses on creating inclusive, evidence-based mentoring structures that support students from their transition into college through preparation for research, leadership, and professional careers. She mentors undergraduate students in research and leadership development, and her students regularly present their work at local, regional, and national venues. Grewe is also a long-time advisor of the USU Psi Chi chapter and an active member of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology. She is known for building strong learning communities and helping students develop confidence, belonging, and professional identity throughout their university experience.

Chris Hartwell is an Associate Professor in the Department of Management and serves as the director of the Master of Human Resources program, teaching courses on talent acquisition and talent management. He has directly mentored 20 graduate assistants in his 10 years at USU, while informally mentoring countless other students. Hartwell has two decades of professional experience in human resources, including recruiting, selection, performance management, employee training & development, and consulting. His research interests include employee selection, performance feedback, HR technology, and leadership. His research has been published in multiple top journals, including the Journal of Applied Psychology and the Journal of World Business, and he has been quoted as an expert in notable publications, such as Forbes and The Economist.

David G Herrmann is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Marketing & Strategy. Several years after joining the Huntsman School, he became involved in the study abroad program and has been very active in global learning since. Beginning in 2018, he has led global learning trips to Vietnam, Thailand, China, Seattle, Spain, and Japan. Herrmann developed the SEED program, which places students in developing countries to help aspiring entrepreneurs build their businesses. He also founded the Huntsman School’s Entrepreneurship Club, E-Week, and a speaker series course. He is passionate about giving USU students the hands-on skills to be successful in business, whether they work for someone else or start their own companies.

Liyuan (Joanna) Hou is an Assistant Professor of Biological Engineering. Her research focuses on environmental microbiology, harmful algal bloom monitoring, antibiotic resistance, and microplastics, with an emphasis on integrating molecular tools, water quality data, and emerging modeling approaches to protect public and environmental health. Hou leads multiple federally and industry-funded projects in collaboration with agencies such as the U.S. Geological Survey and the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, and she is deeply committed to mentoring undergraduate and graduate researchers through hands-on, publication-driven research experiences.

Brett Hurst is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Animal, Dairy & Veterinary Sciences Department. His research initially focused on evaluating compounds for antiviral efficacy in cell culture and animal models against several respiratory viruses. In 2020, he shifted focus to researching the COVID-19 virus. During that time, he mentored several graduate students who published their research in peer-reviewed journals and presented their data at international scientific conferences. Hurst was promoted to Research Associate Professor in 2024 and has developed new research areas exploring the Mpox virus (formerly monkeypox) and highly pathogenic avian influenza virus with the support of his graduate students.

Matthew Jaremski is the F. Ross Peterson Professor of Economic History and a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. His research focuses on understanding the financial dynamics that underlie or follow macroeconomic events by looking at the historical U.S. financial system. The historical period provides a unique environment for studying the financial system, as the majority of banks were regulated by their state legislature, were highly susceptible to bank runs, and had little ability to receive emergency liquidity in times of distress. Jaremski's research has been published in leading academic journals in both economics and finance, including the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking, and Journal of Economic History.

Rose Judd-Murray is an Associate Professor in the Applied Sciences, Technology & Education Department. In her career, she has exemplified sustained, high-impact leadership across university, college, and departmental levels. She has strengthened faculty development through extensive ETE contributions, enhanced student success through USU Connections, and provided meaningful service on the Faculty Senate, Graduate School Council, and childcare initiatives. Judd-Murray's work on general education redesign, the successful Carnegie Community Engagement classification, and major Extension-based food security projects has had significant positive impacts.

Amanda Katz is an Assistant Professor of U.S. History specializing in science, technology, culture, and environment. Within these fields, she focuses primarily on rural and municipal infrastructure, transportation, and mobility. During the past three years, she has built an exceptionally active, inclusive mentoring culture spanning statewide and Logan campuses. Katz creates belonging through popular Honors Book Labs and community book clubs, mentors Honors and ASPIRE-funded undergraduate researchers whose work reaches symposia and professional venues, and guides students toward life-changing opportunities such as study abroad and competitive awards. Her students’ acceptances to graduate programs, research recognitions, and public presentations vividly demonstrate her outstanding impact as an all-around undergraduate mentor.

Stephen M. Kwiatek is an Assistant Professor of Special Education in the Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling. His experience as a high school special education teacher fostered his commitment to high-quality instruction and removing barriers to learning, and it continues to shape his approach to college teaching, research, and service, all of which focus on preparing youth with disabilities for meaningful and independent adult lives. Since starting at USU, Kwiatek has taught eight unique undergraduate courses, primarily required for special education licensure. He also recently started teaching a doctoral-level course to support students from six disciplines in developing effective and reflective teaching practices for undergraduate and graduate education.

Lu Lawrence is an Assistant Professor in Instructional Technologies and Learning Sciences. She earned her PhD from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and held postdoctoral positions at the University of California, Irvine, and Carnegie Mellon University. As a learning scientist and design researcher, Lawrence partners with communities to design educational environments that address their unique learning needs. She uses community-engaged research approaches to investigate how collaborative research can lead to sustainable and meaningful change.

Kezia Manlove is an Associate Professor in the Department of Wildland Resources. She studies the interface between wildlife movement, pathogen transmission, and predation, and is helping to define an ecological subdomain focused on animal-animal encounters. Manlove currently co-leads a national research program encompassing 11 academic institutions and two federal agencies that studies pathogen transmission in free-ranging deer populations. Through this program, she and her research partners are working to uncover the genetic, physiological, and fitness effects of the COVID-19 virus and Chronic Wasting Disease on deer.

Mirella Meyer-Ficca is an Associate Professor in the Veterinary Clinical and Life Sciences Department, where she leads a research program focused on the intersection of environmental exposures, germline biology, and epigenetic inheritance. Her current research explores how environmental factors—including toxicants, oxidative stress, and nutrition—influence gene regulation in offspring. Her work aims to determine how paternal exposures shape the health of future generations. She has mentored graduate and undergraduate students across multiple departments, including veterinary medicine, animal science, natural sciences, and biology. As a mentor, she strives to empower students to become passionate, successful researchers dedicated to improving the health of future generations.

Holly Murdock is an Assistant Professor in the Interior Architecture and Design program. She received her undergraduate degree in Interior Design from USU, where she enjoyed the opportunity to conduct undergraduate research as an honors student. She then continued her research with an MFA in Design Thinking at Radford University. There, her work focused on supporting the well-being of refugee children through the creative arts. Currently, Murdock's teaching and research interests include design thinking, supporting student mental health, and providing design services to local non-profit organizations. Personally, Murdock loves the beautiful mountains of Cache Valley, spending time with her family, being a failed foster kitten guardian, and vegetarian cooking.

Dennis Newell is a Professor and Interim Department Head for the Department of Geosciences. His leadership and service philosophy emphasize transparency, shared governance, and data-informed decisions to support student success and to strengthen research excellence. Newell is involved in an effort to modernize curriculum and foster collaborations by developing a new university department that brings together Earth, hydrological, and environmental scientists. His commitment to shared governance fostered trust, strengthened collegiality, and created a foundation for long-term departmental success.

Sarah O'Neill is an Assistant Professor of Spanish whose practice involves teaching beginning and intermediate Spanish learners while also directing a graduate program for language teachers. At the core of her work with graduate students lies a deep respect for students’ agency and how they will leverage their experiences in the Master of Second Language Teaching program. In Spring 2025, O'Neill became the director and graduate program coordinator of the Master of Science in Second Language Teaching program. She is striving to create an online master’s program in which graduate students know and interact with their cohort, engage with their local teaching community, and connect meaningfully with USU mentors and experts in pedagogical research and best practices.

Sydney O’Shay is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication and Media whose work is defined by a deep commitment to relational, student‑centered teaching. Across nine distinct undergraduate and graduate courses, she has earned a reputation for creating classroom communities where students feel empowered to participate, take intellectual risks, and develop confidence. O'Shay brings complex course material to life by integrating her research on health, risk, and crisis communication and illustrating theories through real‑world cases such as the Flint water crisis and Utah’s air quality challenges. Her creative, applied-learning assignments and supportive, engaging classroom environment, coupled with securing substantial student research funding and mentoring award-winning undergraduate and graduate scholars, demonstrate exceptional impact on student learning and success.

Elsa Perez is an Assistant Professor of Translation and Interpretation. Her teaching philosophy is focused on community engagement, and she collaborates with healthcare institutions and other non-profit organizations to provide experiential learning opportunities. At USU, she has created an innovative curriculum using video simulations and feedback that has led her to receive external grants to expand this program. Through structured practicums, job shadowing, research mentoring, and community-engaged translation projects, Perez has guided undergraduates into certification, paid medical interpreting positions, and competitive research presentations. Her relationship-rich, career-focused mentoring is already transforming students’ trajectories and meeting critical workforce needs in Utah.

Katie Potter is a Professional Practice Assistant Professor of Geosciences. Much of her research has involved studying volcanism and magma evolution associated with the Yellowstone-Snake River Plain hotspot, subsurface volcanic stratigraphy, and geothermal and carbon storage potential on the Snake River Plain of Idaho — all using drill core. She delivers a wide range of high-impact courses, revitalizes upper division offerings, and leads the GeoProfessional Program to strengthen workforce readiness. Her evaluations, mentorship, and integration of real-world, field-based learning have elevated the student experience.

Jim Powell is a Professor of Applied Mathematics, specializing in mathematical models and analysis techniques applied to ecology, biology, and engineering. Consulting with the Logan Forest Science Lab kicked off a 33-year-long trajectory in mathematical biology. Along the way, he has collaborated with researchers across multiple disciplines, embedded himself (and students) in field and lab projects, developed contextual approaches to math education, and was invited to be the rotating Program Director in Mathematical Biology at the National Science Foundation. Through innovative teaching, mentorship of dozens of graduate and undergraduate students, and impactful public service, Powell has exemplified the university’s highest ideals of scholarship, collaboration, and contribution to the public good.

Claudia Radel is a Professor of Human Geography and Department Head of Environment and Society. A leading scholar on migration, land use, and environmental change in Latin America, she has produced an influential body of widely cited work supported by major grants, including an NSF CAREER Award. Radel is also an award-winning teacher, mentor, and administrator who has sought to strengthen programs, support faculty, and advance USU’s mission with lasting impact. As a teacher of geography and environmental social science, she was honored as her college’s Teacher of the Year and Faculty Undergraduate Advisor of the Year, and has mentored numerous graduate students during the past 20 years.

Lucas Rentschler is an Associate Professor of Economics, specializing in experimental economics and applied game theory. His approach to undergraduate mentorship reflects his belief that students learn best when they participate in creating knowledge rather than receiving it. Rentschler introduces students to professional circles through conference participation and collaboration with established scholars. His mentorship continues past graduation, and he has co-authored papers with former students years after they left USU. As Director of USU's Experimental Economics Laboratory, Rentschler has designed an innovative course in Experimental Economics and has built an environment where undergraduates contribute to ongoing research, moving from consumers of knowledge to producers.

Srisharan Shreedharan is an earthquake physicist whose undergraduate mentoring has become a defining feature of his research program at USU. Since establishing the USU Rock Deformation and Earthquake Mechanics Laboratory, he has integrated undergraduates directly into the core of his group’s scientific work. Each year, Shreedharan provides research training to multiple undergraduates who participate in laboratory earthquake experiments, data acquisition, microstructural analysis, and computational workflows. His commitment to providing rigorous, high-impact research experiences reflects his broader dedication to developing the next generation of Earth scientists.

Jennifer Sinor is a Professor of English and teaches creative writing. In the past 25 years, she has taught more than 2,000 students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, many of whom are now in universities across the country teaching their own students. She has taken on some of the most demanding roles (Associate Department Head, Graduate Advisor, creative writing and graduate program leadership, key college committees, and university roles) while centering inclusive governance and care. Her widely recognized mentorship of students, staff, and faculty, grounded in a philosophy of selfless service, has fostered a supportive and thriving academic community.

E. Bart Tarbet is a Research Professor in the Department of Veterinary Clinical and Life Sciences. In 2008, he joined the Institute for Antiviral Research at USU, and his research expanded to include developing animal models of human infectious disease to evaluate therapeutics and vaccines. In 2020, his lab received funding to develop an animal model for SARS-CoV-2 infection that progressed to COVID-19. In the past, Tarbet's lab focused on experimental therapeutics for respiratory infections such as influenza virus and COVID-19. Due to these unique models, his laboratory is becoming a research center to develop therapies to treat enterovirus infections in young children.

Felipe Valencia is an Associate Professor of Spanish and has served as president of the Society for Renaissance and Baroque Hispanic Poetry (2022–2025) and as visiting Associate Professor at Cornell University (2021). He studies how the women and men of the 16th- and 17th-century Hispanic world forged ways of making and reading poetry thoroughly inflected by early modern understandings of gender, sexuality, and the materiality of the body. He is currently working on a second monograph, Luis de Góngora and Gongorism: The Hispanic Sublime, and co-editing, with Elizabeth Rhodes, a collected volume on The Hiddenness of Sexual Violence in Early Modern Spanish Literature.

Dorothy Wallis is an Assistant Professor of Social Work. Since 2023, Wallis has mentored 10 undergraduate students on independent projects that have led to presentations, funding, and a desire to continue with research. Additionally, she has mentored 295 social work students in course-based research projects during her career. These projects get to the heart of social work by assessing food security, attitudes towards expanding homelessness, and a deeper understanding of the impact of trauma in our state. One of her favorite aspects of her role is connecting students to macro-level work to promote change, including by engaging them in the research process.

Andreas Wesemann is a Professional Practice Professor and Associate Department Head in the Department of Aviation Technology. In the last 11 years, Wesemann has taught more than 3,000 students and was selected as the Top Professor at Utah State University in 2020. He has been instrumental in expanding the Aviation Technology program to more than 800 students across three campuses, demonstrating his commitment to excellence in education and leadership. He actively seeks out opportunities to engage with students both in and out of the classroom, starting six new clubs and rejuvenating another. His dedication to student success, program growth, and the development of future aviation professionals makes him an exceptional undergraduate mentor.

Lacee Wilkey is a Lecturer in the School of Accountancy, where she teaches introductory, intermediate, and graduate-level courses in accounting and taxation. She serves as the faculty advisor for the Delta Omega student chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, has mentored students in the USU Honors Program, advised students competing in various case competitions, and assisted with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. Lacee strives to set an example of what every college should seek in their faculty, what every teacher should aspire to, and what every student hopes to get from their university courses.