In a vibrant celebration of academic excellence and community spirit, five outstanding postdoctoral scholars were honored with prestigious Postdoc Achievement Awards during Cornell鈥檚 celebration of National Postdoc Appreciation Week, held from Sept. 16-20.
Cornell is home to 789 postdoctoral scholars spread across nearly 90 departments where they play vital roles in the university鈥檚 research, teaching, and extension missions, contributing significantly to its global reputation.
The Postdoc Achievement Awards recognize individuals who have made contributions to community and show commitment to promoting inclusion at Cornell and in society. Winners were nominated and endorsed by letters from faculty, staff, and graduate and undergraduate students in one or more categories.
The awards and recipients are:
- Achievement Award for Excellence in Community Engagement: , Ph.D. 鈥19 (materials science and engineering and chemistry and chemical biology)
- Achievement Award for Excellence in Leadership: (Migrations Program, Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies)
- Achievement Award for Excellence in Mentoring: (chemistry and chemical biology), (biomedical sciences), and , Ph.D. 鈥23 (food science)
鈥淚t has been such a pleasure working at Cornell this past year. I am part of a team with amazing faculty leadership and program management staff who have given me the space to show initiative and suggest and explore new ideas and have supported my academic career,鈥 said Axster. 鈥淩eceiving the award was a wonderful way of finding out they appreciate me as much as I appreciate them.鈥
Sogin also found the award to signify that the work he is doing is meaningful.
鈥淲hen I鈥檓 鈥榠n the weeds鈥 and working far away, it鈥檚 easy to overlook the impact of my work. Receiving the Postdoc Achievement Award for Excellence in Mentoring has provided me with an opportunity to reflect and some assurance that I鈥檓 doing something right,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 am grateful to my colleagues for nominating me for this award, and I hope my mentoring abilities continue to improve and become more effective.鈥
For Easley, the Postdoc Achievement Award is a recognition of her efforts to pay it forward.
鈥淚 have been so fortunate to have mentors that have acted as role models, cheerleaders, and advocates throughout my academic journey. My success, development, and growth as a researcher, academic, and person are because of the mentors I have had along the way,鈥 she said. 鈥淎s a postdoc, I have tried to do my best to do the same for the students I work with. I am so honored to receive this award for my mentorship, and I am even more awestruck that my mentees were part of the nomination process.鈥 Easley is a Klarman Fellow in the 麻豆视频 and 麻豆视频.
Award recipients were recognized during a Postdoc Appreciation and Awards Reception, held on Sept. 17.
鈥淧ostdocs do excellent work across the university and the community,鈥 said Christine Holmes, director of postdoctoral studies. 鈥淭he Postdoc Appreciation Awards are one way we like to recognize and celebrate the impact of our postdocs.鈥
The Postdoc Achievement Awards were established in 2018 and are awarded annually to postdoctoral scholars at Cornell.
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