UO researchers focusing on topics in biology, chemistry, genetics, history and physics have been chosen as winners of 2016 Research Excellence Awards.

The awards, presented by the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation, celebrate the significant impact of UO faculty members engaged in research and scholarly activity. They will be delivered to the recipients as part of the Outstanding Achievement Awards ceremony, which begins at 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 24, in the Great Room of the Global Scholars Hall.

Also being honored at the event will be the recipients of Distinguished Teaching Awards and Exceptional Mentorship Awards. The ceremony is co-hosted by the Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs, the Graduate School and the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation.

This year six faculty members are being recognized for research excellence in five awards categories.

The Outstanding Career Award will go to John Postlethwait, a professor in the Department of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences. The award is given to tenured faculty members at the associate or full professor rank with a history of distinguished scholarship.

The two winners of the Outstanding Early Career Award are Vera Keller, an assistant professor of history in the Robert D. Clark Honors College, and to Michael Pluth, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (College of Arts and Sciences). The honor recognizes tenure-track faculty members at the assistant professor rank who have a track record of significant scholarship and emergent recognition.

The award for an Outstanding Accomplishment Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Researcher goes to Scott Stewart, a research assistant professor in the Institute of Molecular Biology. This award honors a non-tenure-track faculty member engaged in independent research activities.

The award for Outstanding Accomplishment Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Technical Research Support goes to Ute Hostick, a senior research associate in the Histology and Genetic Modification Core Facility. This recognition is for providing exceptional and innovative technical support to UO researchers.

This year's Impact and Innovation Award goes to Richard Taylor, a professor in the Department of Physics (College of Arts and Sciences). The award recognizes contributions by faculty and staff from any academic discipline for outstanding entrepreneurial activity that has resulted in innovations with a measurable societal or environmental impact.

For more on the awards and their winners, see the story on the Office of Research and Innovation website.