Thirty-two members of the University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty have been awarded faculty fellowships for 2020-21. The awardees span the four divisions on campus: arts and humanities, physical sciences, social sciences and biological sciences.
“During these difficult times, it is a pleasure to be able to recognize our outstanding faculty who every day support the research, teaching, outreach and public service missions of the university,” says Steve Ackerman, vice chancellor for research and graduate education.
The awards are made possible because of the research efforts of UW–Madison faculty and staff. Technology that arises from these efforts is licensed by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and the income from successful licenses is returned to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education. It’s used to fund research activities throughout the divisions on campus, including these awards.
Eleven faculty are appointed to WARF Named Professorships. The awards, which come with $100,000, honor faculty who have made major contributions to the advancement of knowledge, primarily through their research endeavors, but also as a result of their teaching and service activities. Award recipients choose the names associated with their professorships.
Eleven faculty have received H.I. Romnes Faculty Fellowships, recognizing faculty within their first six years from promotion to a tenured position. The award is named in recognition of the late WARF trustees president H.I. Romnes and comes with $60,000 that may be spent over five years.
Ten faculty have been honored with Kellett Mid-Career Awards to support those who are seven to 20 years past their first promotion to a tenured position. The award was created to provide support and encouragement to faculty at a critical stage of their careers. The honor, named for the late William R. Kellett, a former president of the WARF board of trustees and president of Kimberly-Clark Corporation, comes with $75,000 that may be spent over five years.
Anna Huttenlocher, Anna Ruth Brummett Professor of Pediatrics and Medical Microbiology and Immunology, conducts research at the interface of cell biology and immunology. Her recent work centers on understanding innate immune inflammation, how cell migration is regulated during tissue damage and repair, and how it’s altered in human disease. Her lab has pioneered approaches to see cells in motion within live organisms and discovered previously unknown mechanisms underlying inflammation. Huttenlocher is a physician scientist who sees patients with autoimmune diseases and is director of UW–Madison’s Medical Scientist Training Program.