Kristi S. Anseth, an associate professor of chemical engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder, has been named one of 18 faculty members nationwide to receive a prestigious 2000 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award.
Each $60,000 award is designed to support an outstanding young faculty member in the early stages of his or her academic career. "This award will assist these outstanding scientists to continue their high level of accomplishment in education and research, " according to the New York-based Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation.
The award brings the total amount the Foundation has awarded to the University of Colorado to $829,595, including $365,000 for the Teacher-Scholar Awards Program. One unique feature of each award is a $5,000 allocation to the winners department in this case chemical engineering --for undergraduate educational and research purposes.
She and her research team have developed new techniques and materials that show promise for faster healing of severe bone fractures and regeneration of cartilage in ailing joints through the use of ultraviolet light. Although similar processes have been used in other technical fields such as fiber optics, this is the first application of the technique for use in the field of orthopedics.
Anseth, who recently was named a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator, has won a number of prestigious awards in the past several years as a result of her groundbreaking research. They include a David and Lucille Packard Fellowship for $500,000 over five years, a National Institutes of Health FIRST Award for $500,000 over five years and a $210,000 Career Award from the National Science Foundation.