Awards & Accolades

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"A Dancing Scientist," a short documentary produced by the CALS Landmark Stories team, was one of several University projects that won regional Emmy Awards.

"A Dancing Scientist," a short documentary produced by the CALS Landmark Stories team, was one of several University projects that won regional Emmy Awards.

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Bruce Tabashnik

Bruce Tabashnik

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Kory Floyd

Kory Floyd

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Chris Kopach

Chris Kopach

Bruce Tabashnik given a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Entomological Society of America

Bruce Tabashnik, Regents Professor, head of the Department of Entomology and BIO5 Institute member, has won the Plant-Insect Ecosystems Lifetime Achievement Award in Entomology from the Entomological Society of America.

The award "recognizes the career of an entomologist who has greatly contributed to the advancement or promotion of entomology, and has been an inspiration to others," according to the organization's website.

Tabashnik's research has provided fundamental knowledge about insects for enhancing agricultural sustainability and reducing the use of harmful insecticides. His discoveries have advanced understanding of insect resistance to genetically engineered crops and helped to eradicate the invasive pink bollworm from Arizona.

The Entomological Society of America bills itself as "the largest organization in the world serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and individuals in related disciplines."

Tabashnik, who has led the Department of Entomology for 24 years, will be honored Nov. 17 at a virtual ceremony during the society's annual meeting.

Kory Floyd wins National Communication Association award

Kory Floyd, professor in the Department of Communication, has won the 2020 Mark L. Knapp Award in Interpersonal Communication from the National Communication Association. The award recognizes career contributions and scholarly work in the study of interpersonal communication.

Floyd's research focuses on the communication of affection in close relationships and its effects on stress and physiological functioning. The NCA selection committee cited Floyd's "high-quality scholarship and groundbreaking methods" in research on affectionate communication and called him "a generous collaborator and mentor to students and faculty alike, and a role model for public intellectualism."

According to the NCA website, the association "promotes the widespread appreciation of the importance of communication in public and private life, the application of competent communication to improve the quality of human life and relationships, and the use of knowledge about communication to solve human problems."

Floyd will receive the award during a virtual ceremony at the NCA's 106th annual convention on Nov. 21.

Read more about Floyd's award on the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences website.

AZPM, CALS and RII win regional Emmys

Arizona Public Media, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences documentary team and the Research, Innovation & Impact office have won Emmy Awards from the Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

"A Dancing Scientist," a short documentary produced by the CALS Landmark Stories team, won in the photographer program category. The piece, which was photographed by Sandra Westdahl, is about a University of Arizona student navigating his life as an immigrant, first-generation college student, LGBTQ community member, writer, dancer and scientist.

"UArizona Partners with Tucson Police to Tell Opioid Users, 'You Matter,'" produced as part of a three-year partnership involving the University, the Tucson Police Department, CODAC Health, Recovery & Wellness, and Pima County called Unified Medication Assisted Treatment Targeted Engagement Response, or U-MATTER, won in the director/non-live category. The effort is designed to address opioid use and prevent drug-related deaths. The director for the piece was Mari Cleven, senior videographer with Research, Innovation & Impact.

Arizona Public Media earned Emmy Awards in four categories:

The awards were announced during a virtual ceremony on Sept. 19. The full list of winners (PDF) can be found on the Rocky Mountain Emmys website. The Rocky Mountain region includes Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and El Centro, California.

University wins Go Green Award

The University of Arizona has won the Big Picture Partner Award as part of Tucson Electric Power's 2020 Go Green Awards. The University earned the honor for its plan to offset all of its Scope 2 emissions, which are greenhouse gases that result from the generation of electricity, heat or steam purchased from a utility provider.

In 2019, the University announced a partnership with TEP to provide campus with enough emission-free power from solar, storage and wind systems to serve all of its purchased power needs. The Arizona Corporation Commission approved the agreement in December, making the University of Arizona the largest research university in the country to have a plan in place to offset the entirety of its Scope 2 emissions.

Chris Kopach, assistant vice president for facilities management, accepted the award during a virtual ceremony on Sept. 17. The full list of winners is available on the TEP website.


We want to know about your good news. If you, your team or a colleague has won any major awards, been honored nationally or internationally, or accomplished some other major feat that deserves recognition, let us know about it.

To submit your news, please send us an email with the following information:

  • Name of the person, team or unit receiving the honor with full University titles.
  • Information about the award/honor and the organization that granted it. Please include a link to the official announcement of the award/honor.
  • When the honor was announced and when it will be presented (or was presented).
  • A photo of the honoree. If others appear in the photo, please provide their names and identifying information, such as their University title or other affiliation.

Questions? Contact Lo Que Pasa at uaatwork@email.arizona.edu.

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