Panthers are at the helm of groundbreaking research and creative activities.
Whether developing antenna systems for space exploration or leading research to preserve the Everglades or producing acclaimed literary works, FIU scholars are using their expertise to make a difference.
To recognize outstanding faculty achievements, FIU began a new tradition this spring. The university hosted its inaugural “Celebrating Impact: Faculty Excellence” event. The ceremony honored 125 of FIU’s talented researchers and creative scholars for their contributions to society and to FIU’s ecosystem of innovation and impact. Among those honored were faculty members who earned a Guggenheim Fellowship, a National Humanities Medal, a Dan David Prize, National Science Foundation Early CAREER awards and many more national recognitions.
“This evening is about excellence, about the individuals whose ideas and passion are propelling FIU to new heights,” said Interim President Jeanette Nuñez during the event. “Your achievements are not only personal career milestones but also signal to the world that FIU is a place of innovation, creativity, and bold solutions.”
Nuñez added, “Your contributions to your respective disciplines and your commitment to our students’ success have played a critical role in our rise to the Top 50 and will continue to do so as we endeavor to become a Top 30 public university by 2030. Thank you, esteemed colleagues, for giving the very best of yourselves to FIU and to our students.”
Provost, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Elizabeth Béjar expressed her gratitude to the faculty for their commitment to producing top-notch scholarship.
“Daily I am reminded of the incredible work that you do,” Béjar said. “I am reminded of your daily acts of sacrifice, of your tenacity and refusal to take the easy road, of your determination and will to make a lasting mark on our society, be it in the sciences, the humanities or in the creative arts. You represent the very best qualities of our institution and for that we are grateful and for that we celebrate you this evening. You are relentless in your academic rigor, in your steadfast commitment to discovery, innovation and the transformative power of knowledge.”
Get a taste of the celebration with this photo gallery. Click each photo to see it in expanded view. And see the full photo album here.
During a reception, university leaders also conferred the 2025 President Council’s Outstanding Faculty Award to Diana Azzam, a cancer researcher in the Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, for her innovative research redefining personalized cancer treatment.
Administrators also highlighted the key role that faculty play in helping FIU continue its legacy as a public research university.
FIU boasts an annual research expenditure of $326 million. The university is ranked No. 69 in research among public universities, and it also ranks No. 23 among U.S. universities in patent production (and No. 68 globally).
For their part, faculty were happy to celebrate their achievements and to learn about their colleagues' work.
Mark Finlayson, associate professor and graduate program director in the Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences, was recognized for receiving a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), which is bestowed by the U.S. government.
“I was honored to have been recognized by FIU in a special ceremony,” Finlayson said. “The PECASE is a once-in-a-lifetime award that I was very lucky to have received. I was deeply impressed by the caliber of the awards being celebrated at FIU. We had awardees with the National Humanities Medal, a Kennedy Center Gold Medallion, and a Guggenheim fellow, not to mention all the patents and books. This is truly a national level recognition for the spectacular work our faculty are doing.”
Congratulations to all the honorees:
Distinguished Awards, Fellowships and Honors
Remy Dou, Teaching and Learning
Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)
Mark Finlayson, Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences
Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)
Richard Blanco, English
National Humanities Medal
Anthony S. Galaska, Theatre Gold Medallion
Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival
Saheed Aderinto, History
Dan David Prize
Bianca Premo, History
Guggenheim
Diana Azzam, Environmental Health Sciences
President’s Council Outstanding Faculty Award
Nasar U. Ahmed, Epidemiology
Fulbright US Scholar
Ligia Collado-Vides, Biological Sciences
Fulbright US Scholar
Michael Eckroth, Herbert and Nicole Wertheim School of Music & Performing Arts Fulbright
US Scholar
Pouyan Esmaeil Zadeh, Information Systems and Business Analytics
Fulbright US Scholar
Andrea Fanta Castro, Modern Languages
Fulbright US Scholar
Mark J. Macgowan, School of Social Work
Fulbright US Scholar
Allison Matulli, Criminology and Criminal Justice
Fulbright US Scholar
Javier Jose Mendoza, Herbert and Nicole Wertheim School of Music & Performing Arts
Fulbright US Scholar
Abdelhamid Meziani, Mathematics and Statistics
Fulbright US Scholar
Amy R. Paul Ward, Occupational Therapy
Fulbright US Scholar
Minye Tang, School of Accounting
Fulbright US Scholar
Bruk Berhane, School of Universal Computing, Construction and Engineering Education
NSF Career Award
Janki Bhimani, Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences
NSF Career Award
Konstantin Bukhryakov, Chemistry and Biochemistry
NSF Career Award
Wim Cosyn, Physics
NSF Career Award
Darryl A. Dickerson, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
NSF Career Award
Amal Elawady, Civil and Environmental Engineering
NSF Career Award
Ahmed S. Ibrahim, Electrical and Computer Engineering
NSF Career Award
Stephen D. Secules, School of Universal Computing, Construction and Engineering Education
NSF Career Award
Judith M. Mansilla, History
American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Fellow
Catherine Mas, History
American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Fellow National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Fellow
Krishnaswamy Jayachandran, Earth and Environment
Jefferson Science Fellow
Assefa Melesse, Earth and Enviornment
Jefferson Science Fellow
Martha E. Schoolman, English
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Fellow
Jason Chandler, Architecture
American Institute of Architects Fellow
Ebru Ozer, Landscape
Architecture American Society of Landscape Architects Fellow
Transformative Research Impact
Atorod Azizinamini, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Innovative Bridge Technologies/ Accelerated Bridge Construction (IBT/ABC-UTC)
Stephen Black, Cellular Biology and Pharmacology
Metabolic Reprogramming and Pulmonary Vascular Disease in Congenital Heart Disease
Todd Crowl, Institute of Environment
Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST)
Mario De La Rosa, School of Social Work
Center for Research on U.S. Latino HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse (CRUSADA), NIH National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
Evelyn Gaiser, Biological Sciences
Long Term Ecological Research (LTER), National Science Foundation
Arindam Gan Chowdhury, Civil and Environmental Engineering
NHERI Wall of Wind (WOW) Experimental Facility (EF), National Science Foundation
Stavros Georgakopoulos, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Transforming Antennas Center
Raul Gonzalez Jr., Psychology
Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse
Katie Hart, Psychology
Reading Explorers Program
John Kominoski, Biological Sciences
Long Term Ecological Research (LTER), National Science Foundation
Leonel Lagos, Moss Department of Construction Management
Florida International University’s Continued Research Support for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management
Angela Laird, Physics
Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse
Jeremy Pettit, Psychology
Testing a Mechanistic Model of Attention to Social Media Content and Sleep Disturbance in the Escalation of Social Anxiety in Adolescents
Naphtali Rishe, Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences
MRI: Development of an instrument for student and faculty research on Multimodal Environmental Observations
Arif Sarwat, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Smart Grid Manhole and Vault Monitoring
Eric Wagner, School of Social Work
Research Center in Minority Institutions (RCMI), NIH National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
Prestigious Creative Achievements
Robert Davidovici, Herbert and Nicole Wertheim School of Music & Performing Arts
UNESCO General Assembly Solo Performance
Roberto Rovira, Landscape Architecture + Environmental and Urban Design
Venice Architecture Biennale
Elisa Silva, Architecture
Chicago Architecture Biennale/ Graham Foundation and Venice Architecture Biennale
Thomas Spiegelhalter, Architecture
Venice Architecture Biennale
Innovation and Invention
Malek Adjouadi, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Elias Alwan, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Mohammadhadi Amini, Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences
Amer Awwad, FIU Applied Research Center
Atorod Azizinamini, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Stephen Black, Cellular Biology and Pharmacology
Konstantin Bukhryakov, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Prem Chapagain, Physics
Azmal Chowdhury, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Charles Dimitroff, Translational Medicine
Tyler Dolmetsch, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Zhangqiuzi Fan, Environmental Health Sciences
Kenneth Furton, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Stavros Georgakopoulos, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Anuradha Godavarty, Biomedical Engineering
Asif Hassan, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Denny John, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Abuzar Kabir, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Anastasios Koutinos, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Yanhao Lai, Environmental Health Sciences
Cheng-Yu Lai, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Fenfei Leng, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Jun Li, Biological Sciences
Wenzhi Li, Physics
Arjun Madanayake, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Dwayne Mcdaniel, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Osama Mohammed, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Sohail Mazher Ali Khan Mohammed, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Joongho Moon, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Norman Munroe, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Adel Nefzi, Cellular Biology and Pharmacology
Ambreen Nisar, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Guodong Niu, Biological Sciences
Kevin O’Shea, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Tanaji Paul, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Markondeyaraj Pulugurtha, Biomedical Engineering
Daniela Radu, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Naphtali Rishe, Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences
Barry Rosen, Cellular Biology and Pharmacology
Arif Sarwat, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Kim Tieu, Environmental Health Sciences
Arti Vashist, Cellular Biology and Pharmacology
Konstantinos Zekios, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Publishing and the Arts
Nasar Ahmed, Epidemiology
Thomas Baker, College of Law
Margo Berman, School of Communication
Veronica Cancio De Grandy, School of Communication
Michael Cheng, Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management
Davina Clarke, School of Communication
Jonathan Comer, Psychology
Roxana Corradino, College of Communication Architecture and the Arts
Elizabeth Cramer, Teaching and Learning
Alec Dalton, Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management
Sabine Dantus, Information and Research Service
Denise Duhamel, English
John Erwin, College of Law
Dana Farrell, Criminology and Criminal Justice
Eric Fenkl, Graduate Nursing
Orlando Garcia, Herbert and Nicole Wertheim School of Music & Performing Arts
Bernard Gerstman, Physics
Peter Gorski, Pediatrics
Krishnaswamy Jayachandran, Earth and Environment
Donavon Johnson, Public Policy and Administration
Steven Karl, English
Khokiat Kengskool, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Armin Mehrabi, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Stephen Thomson Moore, Sound and Image Resources
Esperanza Muino, Interior Architecture
Charles Newman, International Business
Jefferson Noel, School of Communication
Aixa Perez-Prado, Teaching and Learning
Terrence Peterson, History
Douglas Robertson, Leadership and Professional Studies
Eugenio Rothe, Psychiatry and Behavioral Health
Angela Salmon, Teaching and Learning
Lana Shehadeh, Politics and International Relations
Thomas Spiegelhalter, Architecture
Dionne Stephens, Psychology
Lisa Stolzenberg, Criminology and Criminal Justice
Hannibal Travis, College of Law
Julie Wade, English