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Representing such diverse academic areas as chemistry, theology, and counseling and educational psychology, four junior faculty members are the recipients of the 2008 Way Klingler Young Scholar Awards. They were recognized at the Annual Distinguished Scholars Reception on April 29.
“The recipients of the Way Klingler Young Scholar Awards were selected because of their contributions to research and their potential for outstanding future research,” said Dr. William Wiener, vice provost for research and dean of the graduate school. The awards of up to $32,000 are intended to fund $2,000 in operating costs and cover up to 50 percent of salary to afford the recipient a one-semester sabbatical.
Although the research of Dr. Dmitri Babikov, assistant professor of chemistry, involves the tiniest of scales, the application of that work affects the entire planet. In his theoretical physical chemistry and molecular physics research, Babikov studies chemical processes on an atomic scale, modeling elementary events of reactions and predicting outcomes of molecular collisions and properties of new molecules.
“One of my research projects focuses on the reaction that forms ozone,” said Babikov. “Ozone is an important component of Earth’s atmosphere that we must preserve in the stratosphere — keeping the ‘ozone hole’ from getting bigger — while preventing human-caused tropospheric ozone, the main component of smog.”
The theoretical nature of Babikov’s work is crucial when experiments are impossible or insufficient for understanding chemical processes. He carries out such state-of-the-art calculations using some of the world’s fastest parallel supercomputers.
Dr. Lisa Edwards, assistant professor of counseling and educational psychology, researches the well-being of ethnically diverse individuals, particularly Latino/a youth.
The field of psychology has tended to focus on Latino/a juvenile delinquency, alcohol and drug abuse and low educational attainment, according to Edwards. She is interested in providing a more balanced understanding of the strengths Latino/a youth possess, how they experience well-being and how to nurture strengths to give them the best opportunity to succeed.
“Thanks to the time afforded by the Young Scholars Award, next year I plan to further explore the influence of cultural strengths, such as family and religion, on the prevention of early sexual behavior among Latino/a youth,” said Edwards. “My research ties very closely to the social justice emphasis inherent in the Jesuit tradition at Marquette.”
Although everyone probably complains about the global energy crisis at least a little, Dr. James Gardinier, assistant professor of chemistry, is actually doing something about it. His research involves discovering new inorganic (metal-based) catalysts for converting petroleum sources and new organic (carbon-based) white-light emitting compounds for highly energy-efficient illumination sources.
“This much-appreciated award comes at a critical time in my research,” said Gardinier. “It provides me the freedom to gather and publish preliminary results to secure major funding from agencies such as the U.S. Department of Energy. I am eager to use the resources and research time to try to find solutions to a few of our country’s energy problems.”
Those efforts could reduce the burden of high-energy prices on the economically disadvantaged and potentially eliminate dependency on foreign oil sources, according to Gardinier.
Dr. Andrei Orlov, assistant professor of theology, will use his sabbatical to complete a monograph on the Apocalypse of Abraham, a Jewish work written in the first century AD that survived only in its Slavonic translation. Orlov will explore the apocalypse’s significance for understanding New Testament Christology, eschatology (ultimate destiny of humanity) and salvation history.
“As a Catholic university, we are committed to the unfettered pursuit of truth,” said Orlov. “Since our pursuit of truth is guided by the illuminating powers of not only human intelligence but also Christian faith, it is important for us to have thorough knowledge of our Christian theological legacy. The study of the Apocalypse of Abraham will contribute to a better understanding of the conceptual world of the New Testament writings that constitute the core of Catholic theology.”
PÈRE MARQUETTE
DISCOVERY AWARD
HONORARY DEGREES
- Nominations for Honorary Degrees
- Listed by Year - Honorary Degree Recipients 1980 to present
- Listed by Name - Honorary Degree Recipients 1980 to present
FACULTY AWARDS FOR
TEACHING EXCELLENCE
- 2007 Recipients of the Faculty Awards for Teaching Excellence
- Past Recipients of the Faculty Awards for Teaching Excellence
LAWRENCE G. HAGGERTY AWARD
FOR RESEARCH EXCELLENCES
WAY KLINGLER FACULTY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Quick Facts About Marquette
| Identity: | Catholic, Jesuit, private |
| Established: | 1881 |
| Location: | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Undergraduate: | 8,048 |
| Postgraduate: | 3,500 |
| Campus: | Urban, 80 acres |
| Athletics: | 14 NCAA Division I teams (Big East Conference) |
| Colors: | Blue and Gold |
