Two K-State faculty receive $7,500 Iman Awards for teaching and research
Two Kansas State University faculty members, one from the College of Agriculture and one from the Carl R. Ice College of Engineering, will each receive a $7,500 award in recognition of their outstanding teaching and research during a ceremony at the K-State Alumni Center. The ceremony will take place Sept. 14 at 4 p.m.
Introduced in 2007, the annual Dr. Ron and Rae Iman Outstanding Faculty Awards are sponsored by the K-State Alumni Association and are made possible through the generosity of Ron and Rae Iman.
Jessica L. Heier Stamm, associate professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering, will receive the Iman Outstanding Faculty Award for Teaching. The recipient of the Iman Outstanding Faculty Award for Research is Eduard Akhunov, university distinguished professor of plant pathology.
Heier Stamm earned her Ph.D. in industrial systems engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2010 and a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from K-State in 2004.
Heier Stamm joined the department of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering at K-State as an assistant professor in 2010 and was promoted to associate professor in 2018. Her research and teaching collaborations span numerous public and private sector organizations, including Heart to Heart International, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Pan American Health Organization, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Kansas Department of Agriculture, FedEx Express and BNSF Railway.
Heier Stamm’s approach to research is student-focused. Student feedback indicates that she delivers complex content clearly, helps students make connections between the material and professional practice, and challenges students to achieve ambitious goals.
“Dr. Heier Stamm is also among the fairest and most student-centered educators I have worked with,” said K-State student Audrey Steinert, in support of her nomination. “In addition to taking several of her courses, I had the opportunity to serve as a teaching assistant for one of her classes, which allowed me to observe her approach from a different perspective. In all aspects of teaching, she demonstrates professionalism, fairness, and an unwavering commitment to helping students succeed. An incredibly impressive quality about her is her dedication to students even during times of significant professional responsibility.”
Of the 24 journal articles she has published since joining K-State, 18 have student co-authors, and a student is the lead author on 14 of those articles. She has served as (co-) major professor for 7 Ph.D. students and 13 master’s thesis students. She has supervised 11 undergraduate students in research. Additionally, she has been a supervisory committee member for 13 Ph.D. students and 7 master’s thesis students in degree programs including agricultural economics, animal science, civil engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, mathematics, operations research, and pathobiology.
“Dr. Jessica Heier Stamm represents the very best of Kansas State University faculty,” said her nominator, Shing I. Chang, professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering and previous interim department head. “She is an outstanding teacher whose instructional excellence inspires students to achieve their highest potential. She is a dedicated mentor who invests deeply in student success and development. She is a respected scholar whose work advances both engineering practices and engineering education.”
Akhunov received a Ph.D. in plant molecular biology from the Institute of Genetics in Russia in 1999 and a master’s degree in biochemistry from Novosibirsk State University in 1992.
He began his career in genetics and diversity of wheat and its wild relatives during his postdoctoral research at the University of California, Davis. In 2007, he joined K-State as a professor of wheat genetics and pathology. His research team works on developing resources and tools for improving bread wheat. Akhunov and his team combine genomics, molecular biology, genetics, gene editing and phenomics to identify genes that improve resistance to pests and pathogens and allow wheat producers to grow high-yielding crops with high grain quality and nutritional value, and drought and heat tolerance.
In just the last six years, Akhunov’s research group has received more than $8 million in external funding. In the past 10 years, he has published more than 70 papers and three book chapters, and presented nearly 80 scientific talks. Akhunov’s work has been cited 20,618 times according to Google Scholar.
“Dr. Akhunov is a nationally and internationally renowned scholar in wheat genetics and genomics,” said his nominator, Megan Kennelly, professor and head of the Department of Plant Pathology. “Dr. Akhunov is a leader in conducting cutting-edge genetic and genomics studies to understand and improve wheat varieties. He has made important discoveries while also developing community resources for wheat researchers to use worldwide. His work aligns closely with three areas of the K-State Opportunity Agenda: Sustainability, Global Food Security and Biosecurity, and Enabling Technology.”
In support of his nomination, Dan Moser, Eldon Gideon Dean of the College of Agriculture, said, “Dr. Akhunov’s work in the field of wheat genetics has been nothing short of groundbreaking. Since joining Kansas State University in 2007, Dr. Akhunov has continued to make significant strides in developing resources and tools for improving bread wheat. His interdisciplinary approach, combining genomics, molecular biology, genetics, and gene editing, has propelled our understanding of wheat’s genetic makeup and its potential for enhancing global food security.”
“Dr. Akhunov and Dr. Heier Stamm are helping K-State shine as a next-generation land-grant institution through their work as outstanding professors and researchers,” said Adam Walker, president and CEO of the K-State Alumni Association. “They are excellent examples of how our faculty have tremendous influence on not only our university community, but those communities outside of K-State. We are pleased to present them with this year’s distinguished Iman Awards. This award helps us reach, connect and serve K-State. Thank you to the Imans for their generous support of our university and the Alumni Association.”
The Imans live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Ron and Rae are life members of the K-State Alumni Association and served as Kansas State University Foundation trustees. Ron Iman earned three degrees from K-State: a bachelor’s degree in math education in 1962, a master’s degree in 1970 and a doctorate in statistics in 1973. He is a past member of the Association’s board of directors, served as the Association’s representative to the KSU Research Foundation board and is a past chair of the Arts and Sciences Advisory Council. He received the university’s Arts and Sciences Distinguished Service Award in 1996 and, in 1994, served as national president of the American Statistical Association. Ron Iman was named a Highly Cited Researcher by the Institute for Scientific Information in 2004.
For more information on the Iman Awards, visit k-state.com/Iman.