I am very excited to announce that my NSF CAREER proposal has been approved for funding!
See the MUW press release here and our local newspaper, the Commercial Dispatch’s article here.
According to NSF’s website:
“The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.”
Starting this fall my CAREER award will include 5 years of funding (2024-2029), totaling a little over $1 million. The award will include funds for MUW student research, international field research and collaborations, collaborations with engineering and wildlife biology faculty and graduate students at Mississippi State University, and collaborations with local natural history museums. It will also include funds to lighten my teaching load for the next four years. We will also be purchasing (or building) a variety of new equipment for my lab to study gecko toe pads, plus lots more!