Top Honors

Written by: 
Heather Noel

Faculty have earned some top recognitions in their fields and prestigious awards to further their research.

illustration of crystals

DOE Early Career: Omar Valsson, assistant professor of chemistry, was the first UNT faculty member to receive an Early Career Award from the U.S. Department of Energy. He'll use it in developing a new method to better predict the behavior and properties of polymorphic molecular crystals.

DARPA Young Faculty: Assistant professor of physics Yuzhe Xiao received the 2023 Young Faculty Award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to boost his study on the thermal properties of nanoscale wide bandgap semiconductors like gallium nitride and silicon carbide.

National Academy of Inventors medallion

National Academy of Inventors: Wonbong Choi, professor of materials science and engineering, was inducted as a fellow in the National Academy of Inventors. Choi holds numerous patents in nanomaterials, especially their applications in rechargeable batteries, nanoelectronics and bioelectronics.

Edith and Peter O'Donnell Award: Professor Shengqian Ma, a global leader in nanoporous materials research, earned the 2024 Edith and Peter O'Donnell Award in Physical Sciences from the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology (TAMEST) for his innovative work in the field of decontamination.