UMaine College Honors Faculty Members
Contact: Joe Carr at (207) 581-3571 or joecarr@maine.edu
ORONO — The University of Maine College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture has recognized three faculty members with annual awards. Dean Edward Ashworth announced the 2009 award winners for research, teaching and public service at the college’s April 15 awards event. Prof. Paul Mayewski received the research award, Prof. Mary Tyler the teaching award and Prof. John Daigle the public service award.
NSFA Outstanding Research Award—2009
Paul Mayewski, Professor & Chair of Climate Change Institute, Department of Earth Sciences
Paul Mayewski is director of the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine and a professor of earth sciences. An internationally acclaimed scientist and explorer, he has led more than 50 expeditions to some of the remotest reaches of the planet. He was one of the first environmental scientists to document the massive retreat of mountain glaciers throughout the Himalayas and in coastal Antarctica, and his research related these changes to change in climate. Using ice cores as archives of past environmental change, Mayewski has been instrumental in discovering major advances in environmental change and in bringing these findings to the attention of the scientific community. He is the author of numerous scientific publications and of a climate change book written for the public, The Ice Chronicles. He has received many honors including the first-ever internationally awarded Medal for Excellence in Antarctic Research and the Explorers Club Lowell Thomas Medal.
NSFA Outstanding TeachingAward—2009
Mary Tyler, Professor of Zoology, School of Biology and Ecology
As an educator, Mary Tyler continually explores new ways to make learning interesting and effective for her students. Tyler teaches courses in developmental biology and histology along with honors thesis and directed study classes. In addition to her classes, she has taken leadership roles in new programmatic initiatives in the School of Biology and Ecology. She has led a team of instructors and graduate students in an effort to redesign andimplement new inquiry-based labs classes. She has been part of efforts to develop the Bio Media Laboratory and SYNAPSE, a course-management platform. Mary has also rewritten the lab manual for BIO100 and worked with others to better train graduate student teaching assistants.
NSFA Outstanding Public ServiceAward—2009
John Daigle, Associate Professor of Forest Recreation Management, School of Forest Resources
As associate professor of forest recreation management, John Daigle focuses on recreation planning and management and the human dimensions of natural resources management. In a state such as Maine, with its strong nature-based tourism industry, Daigle’s expertise is called upon often. In addition to his teaching and research on these topics, John has been actively engaged with several nonprofit organizations. He was the volunteer director of the Orono Bog Boardwalk for two years and is currently the university liaison to that group. He has been part of the Maine Envirothon, an environmental education program for high school students, and serves on the boards of the Maine Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and the Maine Forest and Logging Museum. Combining his role as a teacher with his own volunteering, Johnhas helped to develop service-learning projects for UMaine students at the Orono Bog Boardwalk and Leonard’s Mill in Bradley.