Six academic professionals honored with CAPE awards

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Six academic professionals will be honored with 2018 Chancellor’s Academic Professional Excellence awards at a reception April 5.

The CAPE award was established to recognize academic professionals for their work, personal and professional contributions. Individuals are nominated, reviewed by a committee and approved by Chancellor Robert Jones.

Each of the honorees receives a $2,000 cash award, plus $1,000 in their departmental budgets to be used at their discretion to benefit their workplace and a $1,000 increase in their base salaries.

This year’s honorees are:  

Irfan Ahmad, the associate director of interdisciplinary initiatives in the College of Engineering, worked in several roles at the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology during its 15-year existence, ultimately as executive director.  Under Ahmad’s leadership, CNST helped create and manage several federally funded multidisciplinary centers and projects. Other initiatives have included advanced robotic surgery, 3-D stereolithography for tissue engineering, community engagement in addressing health care disparities and international engagement.

Ahmad also has been a campus leader in cancer, advanced manufacturing and bionanotechnology-related grant activities that have generated more than $100 million in federal and industry funds. He helped create nanoManufacturing Node, UILABS and subsequently Digital Manufacturing Design Innovation Institute, by organizing campus partners and interacting with corporations and government leaders at the state and local levels.

Ahmad helped establish several industry-university partnerships such as the National Science Foundation-funded Center for Agricultural, Biomedical, and Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology; the Center for Advanced Research in Drying; and a partnership with the Department of Energy-funded multi-institution Rapid Advancement in Process Intensification Deployment Manufacturing Institute.

Bryan Dunne, a professor and the assistant chair of astronomy, oversees all of the introductory astronomy courses and ensures good general education experiences for students across campus. He is consistently ranked among the department’s best teachers by his students.

Dunne also is the director of the Illinois Observatory. He runs the night-observing sessions that attract more than 1,000 students each semester. He also trains and organizes teaching assistants for the department.

Dunne helped lead astronomy’s 2017 solar eclipse event in Goreville, Illinois, which drew more than 2,000 viewers, including more than 500 alumni and friends of the department. At the eclipse, he acted as emcee, giving the audience live insight from an astronomer. He has given astronomy presentations to hundreds of K-12 students in the Urbana-Champaign community, and he has been an astronomy event coordinator for the Illinois Science Olympiad since 2002.

Lowell Gentry is a principal research specialist in agriculture in the department of natural resources and environmental sciences. Much of his work centers on investigative nutrient cycling in agricultural systems, with the aim of maximizing crop yields and minimizing nutrient loss.

His research evaluates promising in-field and edge-of-field techniques that reduce nutrient loss from fields to streams. His work is helping to shape best management practices in tile-drained watersheds for the agricultural industry as well as the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

To document real problems and solutions, most of Gentry’s research is conducted on farms. This puts him in direct contact with farmers and private landowners to assess their needs. Gentry has built trust and goodwill with farmers and landowners by understanding their motivations and concerns, to the benefit of the department’s research program.

As director of La Casa Cultural Latina, Gioconda Guerra Perez is an advocate for ensuring the campus is an inclusive environment for all students, as well as increasing the appreciation for diversity and cross-cultural engagement. She works to increase the number of underrepresented students attending and graduating from Illinois, to narrow the graduation-rate gap.

Guerra Perez has taught courses on current issues in education and immigration, developed training for faculty members and staff to work with vulnerable students, and conducts research on Latinx students in higher education and undocumented students. She has been a supporter of and advocate for undocumented students on campus. Her passion for access to education for those typically on the margins is seen through her passion and energy for inclusivity.

Allyson Purpura is the senior curator and a curator of global African art at Krannert Art Museum. Since 2009, she has curated 11 exhibitions at the museum and presided over a major reinstallation of Encounters, the museum’s African art gallery. Purpura also is the co-curator of “World on the Horizon: Swahili Arts Across the Indian Ocean,” a project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the first major traveling exhibition dedicated to the arts of the Swahili coast and its connection to the Indian Ocean. She also is co-editor of the exhibition’s companion publication.

Under her leadership, the curatorial team at Krannert Art Museum has implemented a program of exhibitions, publications and public events that continues to establish the museum as a leader among academic art museums. Purpura has been proactive in engaging the university and the community with her work. She supports the curatorial team’s dedication to research, critical inquiry and faculty outreach, which has facilitated partnerships and academic engagement across the university.

Dr. Jonathan Thomas-Stagg is a clinical psychologist with the Division of Disability Resources and Educational Services. He supports students with nonvisible disabilities including anxiety and mood disorders, ADHD, autism, traumatic brain injury and other psychiatric diagnoses. He works collaboratively with students to identify the academic accommodations needed, ensuring equal access to educational experiences. Thomas-Stagg also works closely with faculty and student affairs units on campus, educating them, solving problems and encouraging them to work effectively with students with disabilities.

He has started several initiatives at DRES including a social-skills group for students with autism and an Academic Lab where students can receive timely academic support, and he provides direct services including mental health counseling and academic coaching. He also supervises and mentors pre-professionals ranging from undergraduates through pre-doctoral interns.

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