Early Career Awards
Several early career faculty have been recognized with prestigious awards for their research, teaching and service. Below is a list of faculty who have received these awards. This list is sorted by the year the award was received. Click here to download a sortable and searchable list in Excel.
| Award Name | Governing Society | Recipient | Received | Department | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Karthik Nayani | 2025 | Chemical Engineering | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Khoa Luu | 2025 | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Martin A Edwards | 2025 | Chemistry and Biochemistry | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Ngan H. Le | 2025 | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | College of Engineering |
| Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) | President of the United States of America | Margaret Worthington | 2025 | Horticulture | Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences |
| Cell and Molecular Physiology Section Awards/New Investigator Award | American Physiological Society | Kevin Murach | 2024 | Health, Human Performance and Recreation | College of Education and Health Professions |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Shields, Grant | 2024 | Psychological Science | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Alexander Nelson | 2023 | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Jin Hu | 2023 | Physics | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Maria Carreon | 2023 | Chemical Engineering | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Westerman, Erica | 2023 | Biological Sciences | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Lu Zhang | 2022 | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Martin Egan | 2022 | Entomology and Plant Pathology | Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Nagayasu Nakanishi | 2021 | Biological Sciences | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Sarah Hernandez | 2021 | Civil Engineering | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Yarui Peng | 2021 | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Clinton M. Wood | 2020 | Civil Engineering | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Mahmoud Moradi | 2020 | Chemistry and Biochemistry | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Sarah Durant | 2020 | Biological Sciences | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Hugh Churchill | 2019 | Physics | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Jeffrey A. Lewis | 2019 | Biological Sciences | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Kyle P. Quinn | 2019 | Biomedical Engineering | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Narasimhan Rajaram | 2019 | Biomedical Engineering | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Adam Siepielski | 2018 | Biological Sciences | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Benjamin R. Runkle | 2018 | Biological and Agricultural Engineering | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Gary S. Prinz | 2018 | Civil Engineering | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Kelly M. Sullivan | 2018 | Industrial Engineering | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Michelle L Bernhardt | 2018 | Civil Engineering | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Qinghua Li | 2018 | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Timothy J. Muldoon | 2018 | Biomedical Engineering | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Yue Zhao | 2018 | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Andrew J Alverson | 2017 | Biological Sciences | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Stefan M, Kilyanek | 2017 | Chemistry and Biochemistry | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Ashlea B. Milburn | 2016 | Industrial Engineering | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Matthew Patitz | 2016 | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | College of Engineering |
| Spencer Fellow | National Academy of Education | Michael Hevel | 2016 | Counseling, Leadership and Research Methods | College of Education and Health Professions |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Kartik Balachandran | 2015 | Biomedical Engineering | College of Engineering |
| Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) | President of the United States of America | Hugh Churchill | 2015 | Physics | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Burton Bluhm | 2013 | Entomology and Plant Pathology | Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Colin D. Heyes | 2013 | Chemistry and Biochemistry | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Gregory Dumond | 2013 | Geosciences | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Julian L. Fairey | 2013 | Civil Engineering | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Nan Zheng | 2013 | Chemistry and Biochemistry | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Shui-Qing Yu | 2012 | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Sandra D. Eksioglu | 2011 | Industrial Engineering | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Xianghong Qian | 2011 | Biomedical Engineering | College of Engineering |
| Environmental and Exercise Section Awards/Gravitational Beginning Investigator Award | American Physiological Society | Matthew Ganio | 2010 | Health, Human Performance and Recreation | College of Education and Health Professions |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Haitao Liao | 2010 | Industrial Engineering | College of Engineering |
| Outstanding Early Career Weed Scientist Award | Weed Science Society of America | J. Norsworthy | 2010 | Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences | Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences |
| Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) | President of the United States of America | Michael L. Looper | 2009 | Animal Science | Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Feng Wang | 2008 | Chemistry and Biochemistry | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Raj R. Rao | 2008 | Biomedical Engineering | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Susanne Striegler | 2008 | Chemistry and Biochemistry | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
| Outstanding Early Career Weed Scientist Award | Weed Science Society of America | N.R. Burgos | 2008 | Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences | Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Dibbon K. Walters | 2007 | Mechanical Engineering | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Min Zou | 2007 | Mechanical Engineering | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Xintao Wu | 2006 | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Julie Stenken | 2000 | Chemistry and Biochemistry | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Laurent Bellaiche | 2000 | Physics | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Ranil Wickramasinghe | 2000 | Chemical Engineering | College of Engineering |
| Cottrell Scholar Awards | Research Corporation for Science Advancement | Matt McIntosh | 1999 | Chemistry and Biochemistry | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Paul Thibado | 1998 | Physics | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Susan Gauch | 1997 | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | College of Engineering |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Ingrid Fritsch | 1996 | Chemistry and Biochemistry | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
| Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program | National Science Foundation (NSF) | William Oliver | 1996 | Physics | Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences |
Featured 2025 Award Winners
Ngan Le
Ngan Le, an associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, recently received the prestigious National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development award for AI research. Read more.
Khoa Luu
Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Khoa Luu has been awarded the prestigious National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development award to support his research into the growing challenge of artificial intelligence models producing "hallucinations." Learn more.
Karthik Nayani
Karthik Nayani, an assistant professor of chemical engineering, received a five-year, $500,000 National Science Foundation CAREER award to unravel how rod-shaped strands of DNA move particles within cells. View more about his research on news.uark.edu.