Honoring Our Previous Fall Award Recipients
This page highlights a distinguished group of faculty whose work has made a lasting impact on research, scholarship, and service at Vanderbilt. These award recipients represent a tradition of excellence and leadership across the university community.
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Chancellor’s Award for Research
Call for Nominations: Late Spring
Submission Deadline: SummerSummary
The Chancellor’s Award for Research recognizes up to 10 faculty annually for excellence in published research, scholarship or creative expression. The award celebrates Vanderbilt faculty whose outstanding scholarly achievements, groundbreaking research, or innovative creative works have elevated both their field and the University through transformative contributions to knowledge, culture, or society. The award is presented annually during the Fall Faculty Assembly by Chancellor Daniel Diermeier and consists of a cash prize and an engraved pewter julep cup.
Previous Winners
2025
- David Cortez (Biochemistry) and Rahul Bhowmick (Biochemistry)
- Marcelo Disconzi (Mathematics)
- Lisa Fazio (Psychology and Human Development)
- David Michelson (Divinity)
- Ruth Rogaski (History)
- Ganesh Sitaraman (Law)
- Stephen Taylor (Physics and Astronomy)
- Jamey Young (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)
2024
- Jason Grissom (Leadership, Policy, & Organizations)
- Maria Hadjifrangiskou (Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology)
- Ari Joskowicz (Jewish Studies)
- Akshya Saxena (English)
- Alissa Weaver (Cell and Developmental Biology)
- Tara McKay (Medicine, Health, and Society)
- Jonathan Mosley (Medicine) and Scott Borinstein (Pediatrics)
2023
- Jonathan Brown (Medicine)
- Jefferson Cowie (History)
- Kathryn Humphreys (Psychology & Human Development)
- Douglas Ruderfer (Medicine)
- Allison Schachter (Jewish Studies)
2022
- Mariana Byndloss (Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology)
- Joshua Caldwell (Mechanical Engineering)
- Bennett Landman (Electrical Engineering)
- Emily Greble (German, Russian & East European Studies
- John McLean (Chemistry)
- Yesha Yadav (Law)
2021
- Brandon Byrd (History)
- Andrew Coe (Political Science)
- Sara Mayeux (Law)
- Justus Ndukaife (Electrical Engineering)
- John Wilson (Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering)
- Manuel Ascano (Biochemistry)
- Mark Kelley (Surgery)
- Douglas Johnson (Medicine)
- Justin Balko (Medicine)
2020
- Jessica Clarke (Law)
- Nicole Creanza (Biological Sciences)
- Jennifer Fay (English)
- Jonathan Metzl (Sociology, Psychiatry, and Medicine, Health & Society)
- Cynthia Reinhart-King (Biomedical Engineering)
2019
- Sarah Igo (History)
- Mark Jarman (English)
- Todd Rice (Medicine), Wesley Self (Emergency Medicine), and Mathew Semler (Medicine)
- Sharon Weiss (Electrical Engineering)
- Kimberly Welch (History)
2018
- Clare McCabe (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)
- Douglas Shadle (Musicology)
- Steven Townsend (Chemistry)
- Michael Vandenbergh (Law) and Jonathan Gilligan (Earth and Environmental Sciences)
- Colin Walsh (Biomedical Informatics)
2017
- Tony Capra (Biological Sciences)
- René Gifford (Hearing & Speech Sciences)
- Morgan Ricks (Law)
- Ganesh Sitaraman (Law)
- Jason Valentine (Mechanical Engineering)
2016
- Christopher M.S. Johns (History of Art)
- Sohee Park (Psychology) & Geoffrey Woodman (Psychology)
- Marybeth Shinn (Human and Organizational Development)
- Julia Velkovska (Physics)
- Alan Wiseman (Political Science)
2015
- Julia Cohen (Jewish Studies)
- Lisa Guenther (Philosophy)
- Sachin Patel (Psychiatry)
- Joseph Rife (Classical Studies)
- Kevin Stack (Law)
2014
- Seth R. Bordenstein (Biological Sciences)
- Joshua C. Denny (Biomedical Informatics)
- Isabel Gauthier (Psychology)
- Joel F. Harrington (History)
- Holly J. McCammon (Sociology)
2013
- Randy D. Blakely (Pharmacology)
Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele (Psychiatry) - Vivien Casagrande (Cell & Developmental Biology)
- Deyu LI (Mechanical Engineering)
- Betsey Robinson (History of Art)
- Daniel J. Sharfstein (Law)
2012
- Darryl J. Bornhop (Chemistry)
- William O. Cooper (Pediatrics)
- Colin Dayan (English)
- Kelly Oliver (Philosophy)
- Holly A. Tucker (French & Italian)
2011
- Brandt F. Eichman (Biological Sciences)
- Larry W. Isaac (Sociology)
- Jeffrey N. Johnston (Chemistry)
- Robert M. Kessler (Radiology & Radiological Sciences; Psychiatry)
David H. Zald (Psychology; Psychiatry) - Antonis Rokas (Biological Sciences)
2010
- Tony Lee Earley (English)
- Judy Garber (Psychology, Peabody College)
- Todd R. Graham (Biological Sciences)
- Björn C. Knollmann (Pharmacology)
- Charles R. Sanders II (Biochemistry)
2009
- Yanqin Fan (Economics)
- Irina N. Kaverina (Cell & Development Biology)
- Gordon Dennis Logan (Psychology, A&S)
Thomas J. Palmeri (Psychology, A&S)
Jeffery D. Schall (Psychology, A&S) - James G. Patton (Biological Sciences)
- Eric Patrick Skaar (Microbiology & Immunology)
2008
- Michael Goldfarb (Mechanical Engineering)
- Douglas G. McMahon (Biological Sciences)
- Tracy G. Miller (History of Art)
- Frank Tong (Psychology A&S)
- Mark A. Wollaeger (English)
2007
- Bruce Hans Appel (Biological Sciences)
- James E. Crowe, Jr. (Pediatrics)
- Peter T. Cummings (Chemical Engineering)
- Richard Douglas Lloyd (Sociology)
- Daphne Manoussaki (Mathematics)
- Keivan Guadalupe Stassun (Physics & Astronomy)
2006
- Kenneth C. Catania (Biological Sciences)
G. Kane Jennings (Chemical Engineering) - Walter J. Chazin (Biochemistry)
Ellen H. Fanning (Biological Sciences) - Daniela Drummond-Barbosa (Cell and Developmental Biology)
- E. Duco Jansen (Biomedical Engineering)
Changqing Kao (Neurological Surgery)
Peter E. Konrad (Neurological Surgery)
Anita Mahadevan-Jansen (Biomedical Engineering) - Hassane S. Mchaourab (Molecular Physiology and Biophysics)
2005
- A.B. Bonds (Electrical Engineering & Computer Science)
- Martin Egli (Biochemistry)
Carl H. Johnson (Biological Sciences) - Douglas P. Hardin (Mathematics)
Edward B. Saff (Mathematics) - Nancy J. King (Law)
- René Marois (Psychology)
- David A.Weintraub (Physics & Astronomy)
2004
- Randolph Blake (Psychology)
Joseph S. Lappin (Psychology) - Gabor Karsai (Electrical Engineering & Computer Science)
Janos Sztipanovits (Electrical Engineering & Computer Science) - Robert A. Knop, Jr. (Physics & Astronomy)
- Marilyn L. Murphy (Art)
2003
- Jeffrey R. Balser (Anesthesiology)
- Rebecca L. Brown (Law)
- Daniel M. Fleetwood (Electrical Engineering & Computer Science)
Sokrates Theodore Pantelides (Physics & Astronomy)
Ronald D. Schrimpf (Electrical Engineering & Computer Science) - Alfred L. George, Jr. (Medicine)
- Nilanjan Sarkar (Mechanical Engineering)
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Earl Sutherland Prize for Achievement in Research
Call for Nominations: Late Spring
Submission Deadline: SummerSummary
The Earl Sutherland Prize for Achievement in Research is awarded annually to one member of Vanderbilt’s faculty for their outstanding achievements in research, scholarship or creative expression. Named in honor Earl Sutherland, Jr., MD, a former Vanderbilt professor of anatomy and winner of the 1971 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the award recognizes a faculty member who is nationally or internationally acclaimed in their field with a cash prize and engraved pewter julep cup. Their name is also added to a silver bowl, cast from Paul Revere’s famous design, which they can keep for a year.
Previous Winners
- 2025 Dan Roden (Medicine)
- 2024 Lorrie Moore (English)
- 2023 Christopher Slobogin (Law)
- 2022 Elizabeth Zechmeister (Political Science)
- 2021 Gordon Logan (Psychology)
- 2020 James Crowe (Pediatrics & Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology)
- 2019 W. Kip Viscusi (Law, Economics and Management)
- 2018 Kathleen Gould (Cell and Developmental Biology)
- 2017 Larry Bartels (Political Science)
- 2016 David Kosson (Engineering)
- 2015 Billy G. Hudson (Medicine)
- 2014 Jane Gilmer Landers (History)
- 2013 John C. Gore (Radiology & Radiological Sciences)
- 2012 Peter I. Buerhaus (Nursing)
- 2011 Mark W. Lipsey (Human and Organizational Development)
- 2010 John A. Oates (Medicine)
- 2009 Harold L. Moses (Cancer Biology)
- 2008 Lenn E. Goodman (Philosophy)
- 2007 David Robertson (Medicine)
- 2006 L. Jackson Roberts II (Pharmacology)
- 2005 Douglas Fuchs and Lynn S. Fuchs (Special Education)
- 2004 Herbert Y. Meltzer (Psychiatry)
- 2003 Leonard Bickman (Psychology)
- 2002 David M. Hercules (Chemistry)
- 2001 F. Peter Guengerich (Biochemistry)
- 2000 Randolph Blake (Psychology)
- 1999 Travis I. Thompson (Psychology)
- 1998 Alice Carmichael Harris (Germanic & Slavic Languages)
- 1997 John D. Bransford (Psychology)
- 1996 Hans Stoll (Management)
- 1995 Gisela Mosig (Molecular Biology)
- 1994 John H. Exton (Molecular Physiology & Biophysics)
- 1993 Thomas M. Harris (Chemistry)
- 1992 James F. Blumstein (Law)
- 1991 Edward Farley (Divinity)
- 1990 Tadashi Inagami (Biochemistry)
- 1989 Paul K. Conkin (History)
- 1988 Joseph H. Hamilton (Physics & Astronomy)
- 1987 Hans H. Strupp (Psychology)
- 1986 Lubomir Hnilica (Biochemistry & Pathology)
- 1985 Jon H. Kaas (Psychology)
- 1984 Charles R. Park (Molecular Physiology & Biophysics)
- 1983 Donald Davie (English)
- 1982 Bjarni Jónsson (Mathematics)
- 1981 Sidney Fleischer (Molecular Biology)
- 1980 John W. Wade (Law)
- 1979 Grant W. Liddle (Medicine)
- 1978 Claude Pichois (French & Italian)
- 1977 Stanley Cohen (Biochemistry)
- 1976 Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen (Economics)
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Thomas Jefferson Award
Call for Nominations: Late Spring
Submission Deadline: SummerSummary
The Thomas Jefferson Award recognizes one faculty member annually “for distinguished service to Vanderbilt through extraordinary contributions as a member of the faculty in the councils and government of the University.”
Endowed at several universities by the Robert Earl McConnell Foundation, the Thomas Jefferson Award was first established at the University of Virginia in honor of the institution’s founder, and honors one faculty member annually “who best exemplifies those attributes of mind and heart which produced the distinguished statesman and architect of American Freedom, Thomas Jefferson.” It has been presented at Vanderbilt since 1967.
The award is presented by the Chancellor at the beginning of each academic year during the Fall Faculty Assembly. The award includes a cash prize and an engraved pewter goblet.
Previous Winners
- 2025 Joel Harrington (History)
- 2024 Joyce Johnson (Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology)
- 2023 Catherine McTamaney (Teaching & Learning)
- 2022 Senta Victoria Greene (Physics & Astronomy)
- 2021 John McLean (Chemistry)
- 2020 Geoffrey Fleming (Pediatrics)
- 2019 Timothy McNamara (Psychology)
- 2018 Brian Heuser (Leadership, Policy & Organizations)
- 2017 Richard Willis (Owen)
- 2016 Malcom Getz (Economics)
- 2015 Ron Emeson (Pharmacology)
- 2014 D. Catherine Fuchs (Psychiatry)
- 2013 Gordon R. Bernard (Medicine)
- 2012 Vanessa Beasley (Communication Studies)
- 2011 Kassian Kovalcheck (Communication Studies)
- 2010 Virginia M. Scott (French & Italian)
- 2009 David A. Weintraub (Physics & Astronomy)
- 2008 Randolph Blake (Psychology)
- 2007 Virginia L. Shepherd (Pathology) and Matthew Ramsey (History)
- 2006 K. Arthur Overholser (Biomedical Engineering)
- 2005 Douglas A. Knight (Divinity)
- 2004 Lee E. Limbird (Pharmacology)
- 2003 Howard M. Sandler (Psychology)
- 2002 Thomas R. McCoy (Law)
- 2001 Gary F. Jensen (Sociology)
- 2000 Jimmie L. Franklin (History)
- 1999 James V. Staros (Molecular Biology)
- 1998 David F. Partlett (Law)
- 1997 John Wikswo (Physics & Astronomy)
- 1996 Eugene TeSelle (Divinity)
- 1995 Joseph H. Hamilton (Physics & Astronomy)
- 1994 Molly Fritz Miller (Geology)
- 1993 H. Jackson Forstman (Divinity)
- 1992 Robert N. Covington (Law)
- 1991 Kathleen Hoover-Dempsey (Psychology)
- 1990 Paul K. Conkin (History)
- 1989 C. Elton Hinshaw (Economics)
- 1988 Elizabeth Spencer Goldman (Teaching & Learning)
- 1987 Fred Gorstein (Pathology)
- 1986 Billy F. Bryant (Mathematics)
- 1985 Walter Harrelson (Divinity)
- 1984 Charles F. Delzell (History)
- 1983 Robert H. Birkby (Political Science)
- 1982 Susan Ford Wiltshire (Classical Studies)
- 1981 James R. Wesson (Mathematics)
- 1980 Mildred Stahlman (Pediatrics)
- 1979 Lou Silberman (Divinity)
- 1978 John G. Coniglio (Biochemistry)
- 1977 Oscar Touster (Molecular Biology)
- 1976 Ingram Bloch (Physics & Astronomy)
- 1975 Virgil S. LeQuire (Pathology)
- 1974 Lamar Field (Chemistry)
- 1973 Herbert Weaver (History)
- 1972 Robert Lagemann (Physics & Astronomy)
- 1971 Paul H. Hardacre (History)
- 1970 Alex Dragnich (Political Science)
- 1969 William J. Darby (Medicine)
- 1968 Paul J. Hartman (Law)
- 1967 Wendell G. Holladay (Physics & Astronomy)