The Office of the Vice President for Research is proud to congratulate Marine Sciences Distinguished Professor Claudia Benitez-Nelson who was recently recognized by the Southeastern Conference with a 2016 Faculty Achievement Award. These annual awards recognize faculty members from every SEC university who have outstanding records in teaching, research and scholarship. Faculty who are selected for the achievement award automatically become their university’s nominee for SEC Professor of the Year.

Dr. Benitez-Nelson’s research focuses on the biogeochemical cycling of phosphorus and carbon and how these elements are influenced by both natural and anthropogenic processes. She has authored or co-authored more than 90 papers, including lead author publications in the journals Science and Nature. Dr. Benitez-Nelson has continuously been supported by substantial, multi-year research and education grants from the National Science Foundation and NASA, among others. Her many research honors include the Early Career Award in Oceanography from the American Geophysical Union in 1996, Fulbright and Marie Curie Fellowships in 2008, and she was named a National Academy of Sciences/Humboldt Foundation Kavli Fellow in 2012.

Vice President for Research, Prakash Nagarkatti, congratulated Dr. Benitez-Nelson on her SEC Faculty Achievement Award, saying, “Dr. Benitez-Nelson is an outstanding educator and researcher. She is an asset not only to our university, but to our state, and to the oceanographic research community to which she devotes so much time and energy. She could not be more deserving of this award.”

Read more about the 2016 SEC Faculty Achievement Award, conferred each year as part of SECU, the academic initiative of the Southeastern Conference, which sponsors, supports and promotes collaborative higher education activities at its 14 member universities.

6 April 2016