Each year, the Office of Graduate Studies awards the Outstanding Postdoc Award and Outstanding Postdoc Mentor Award to exceptional members of the postdoctoral community on campus.
The winners for 2022 join a line of outstanding scholars and mentors who both meet the criteria for each award and were nominated by faculty, staff, and other post-doctoral community members.
Dr. William Gearty received the 2022 Outstanding Postdoc Award. Dr. Gearty was a postdoctoral research fellow from 2019-2022 in the Lyons Paleoecology Lab in the School of Biological Sciences. Dr. Gearty’s research focus encompasses both macroevolution and macroeology and involves a combination of computational analyses of existing databases, compiling information from the literature to create novel databases, working with specimens, modeling of energetics, and phylogenetics. While at UNL, Dr. Gearty published six peer-reviewed publications, and he delivered eight research talks and four seminars. Dr. S. Kathleen Lyons submitted the nomination for Dr. Gearty. This award includes a $1,500 honorarium in recognition of Dr. Gearty’s comprehensive efforts in research, teaching, mentoring, innovation, and university and community service.
Dr. Zhigang Shen, associate professor at the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction and director of the BiiM (Building and Infrastructure Informational Management) lab, earned the 2022 Outstanding Postdoc Mentor Award. Dr. Shen’s current research is focused on NDE of civil infrastructure (optical, infrared, and/or hyperspectral), and high-performance building envelopes. He and his postdocs have co-authored more than twenty peer-reviewed research papers, co-filed one patent application, and one copyrighted software application. Dr. Lily M. Wang submitted the nomination for Dr. Shen. This award includes a $2,000 honorarium in recognition of Dr. Shen’s sustained commitment and exceptional ability in mentoring postdoctoral scholars' professional and career development.