Award: $5000 ($3000 professional development fund and $2000 salary supplement, distributed over two years)
Eligibility: Full-time pre-tenure faculty, 2027 tenure notification date
The Harold & Esther Edgerton Junior Faculty Award is presented each year to honor an outstanding junior faculty member who has demonstrated creative research, extraordinary teaching abilities, and academic promise. Awardees are recognized at The Laurels annual award reception.
Nomination Instructions
Before submitting the nomination form, compile the documents listed below in the order shown and save as one PDF file.
- Nomination letter from the nominee's chair: Please address the faculty member's academic promise, citing examples of the nominee's accomplishments in research/creative activity and in teaching. This letter should include a summary of the candidate's annual evaluations and student course evaluations. It is especially helpful to include how the faculty member's research or creative activity has contributed to superior classroom instruction for undergraduate and graduate students (maximum 3 pages).
- An endorsement from the nominee's college dean, in support of the individual's nomination.
- Abbreviated curriculum vitae: Please include a listing of all courses taught in the last three years and highlight published works which took place while at the university. For multi-author materials, please specify your contributions (maximum 5 pages).
- Statement of the candidate's research/creative activity contributions and teaching philosophy and goals (maximum 3 pages).
About the Award
The Harold and Esther Edgerton Junior Faculty Award was established to commemorate the legacies of Harold and Esther Edgerton.
Harold Edgerton, a Nebraska native, received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1925. He then became a professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he was credited with advancing research and development in sonar and deep-sea photography.
Esther Edgerton, also a Nebraska native, received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics, music, and education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. A skilled pianist and singer, she attended the New England Conservatory of Music and would go on to teach in public schools in Nebraska and Boston.
Past Awardees
| Year | Recipient | Department |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Katherine Frels | Agronomy and Horticulture |
| 2023 | Eloísa Grifo | Mathematics |
| 2023 | Robert Twomey | Theatre and Film |
| 2022 | Anthony Justin McMechan | Entomology |
| 2021 | Marc Garcia | Sociology and Ethnic Studies |
| 2020 | Kathryn Holland | Psychology |
| 2020 | Christine Wittich | Civil and Environmental Engineering |
| 2019 | Shudipto Dishari | Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering |
| 2019 | Hope Wabuke | English |
| 2018 | Alexandra Seceleanu | Mathematics |
| 2017 | Maital Neta | Psychology |
| 2016 | Joe Louis | Entomology |
| Yvonne Lai | Mathematics | |
| 2015 | Katrina Jagodinsky | History |
| Amanda Ramer-Trait | Food Science and Technology | |
| 2014 | Alexander Sinitskii | Chemistry |
| 2013 | Daniel Toundykov | Mathematics |
| 2012 | John B Gates | Earth and Atmospheric Sciences |
| 2011 | Wei Qiao | Electrical Engineering |
| 2010 | Christine Kelley | Mathematics |
| 2010 | Sabrina Russo | School of Biological Sciences |
| 2009 | Marie S. Mitchell | Management |
| 2008 | Eileen Hebets | School of Biological Sciences |
| 2007 | Aaron Holz | Art & Art History |
| 2006 | Amit Saini | Marketing |
| 2005 | Victoria A O Smith | History & Ethnic Studies |
| 2004 | Leen-Kiat Soh | Computer Science & Engineering |
| 2003 | Walter Rucker | History & Ethnic Studies |
| 2002 | Sebastian G Elbaum | Computer Science & Engineering |
| 2001 | Chris Gallagher | English |
| 2001 | Stephen Scott | Computer Science & Engineering |