Contact: Phil Hearn
A nationally recognized authority in rural sociology is the 2004 winner of Mississippi State's Ralph E. Powe Research Excellence Award.
Domenico Parisi was among 24 faculty and staff members and graduate students honored Tuesday night [May 4] during the university's annual research awards banquet at the Hunter Henry Center. He is an assistant professor in the department of sociology, anthropology and social work.
A memorial to MSU's vice president for research who died in 1996, the Powe Award is given to a faculty member whose investigations have made significant contributions to the economic welfare or cultural growth of the university, state and nation.
"He is an outstanding researcher who has developed an important program of research in the areas of community issues, economic development and environmental justice," MSU President Charles Lee said of Parisi, whose travel to Italy prevented attendance at the ceremony.
"He has been responsible for securing the resources to develop a research infrastructure that enables him, his colleagues and his students to carry out state-of-the-art community research," Lee added.
Lee specifically cited Parisi's leadership as co-principal investigator on more than two dozen grants totaling nearly $3 million within his academic discipline. He said the MSU researcher takes a "hands-on approach" in teaching students and is "definitely becoming one of the most respected and recognized rural sociologists in the nation."
Parisi's primary researching and teaching responsibilities involve sustainable community development, natural resource management and social change. His work has been incorporated into the classroom curricula through two major courses: "Community and Social Organization" and "Social Organization and Change."
Most recently, Parisi has focused on a methodology for generating a statewide database that integrates community-level demographic, economic and natural resource data on local responses to economic and political restructuring since 1990. In 2001, he won the Rural Early Career Award from the national Rural Sociological Society.
MSU interim research vice president Jonathon Pote and Vance Watson--vice president for agriculture, forestry and veterinary medicine--joined Lee in presenting 23 other awards. They include (by academic or research unit):
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES
AND MISSISSIPPI AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY EXPERIMENT STATION
Faculty Research Award--Assistant professor Scott T. Willard of the animal and dairy science department.
Research Support Staff Award--Research associate Herbert W. Philley of the plant and soil sciences department.
Graduate Student Research Award--Kori V. Brabham of McComb, a master's degree student in agricultural and biological engineering.
COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
Faculty Research Award--Professor Michael W. Fazio.
Research Support Staff Award--David J. Pressgrove, a May 2003 graduate now working as an intern at the Carl Small Town Center.
Undergraduate Student Research Award--Senior Jenna K. Lingsch of Long Beach.
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Faculty Research Award--Assistant professor Justin C. Courcelle of the biological sciences department.
Research Support Staff Award--Staff assistant Gloria B. Blankenship of the biological sciences department.
Graduate Student Research Award--Mario A. Alpuche-Aviles, a doctoral student in chemistry from Mexico.
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY
Faculty Research Award--Professor Kirk P. Arnett of the department of management and information systems.
Graduate Student Research Award--Teko Ernst J. Bekkering of Eupora, a doctoral student in business administration.
BAGLEY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Faculty Research Award--Mark E. Zappi, Texas Olefins Professor of Chemical Engineering.
Research Support Staff Award--Laboratory operations supervisor Carl Brown of the industrial engineering department.
Graduate Student Research Award--Abhinav Mathur, a doctoral student in electrical engineering from India.
COLLEGE OF FOREST RESOURCES
Faculty Research Award--Professor Wes Burger Jr. of the wildlife and fisheries department.
Research Support Staff Award--Research associate Janet C. Dewey of the forestry department.
Graduate Student Research Award--Maruthi S. B. Bhaskar, a doctoral student in forest resources from India.
COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE
Faculty Research Award--Assistant professor Mark L. Lawrence of the basic science department.
Research Support Staff Award--Postdoctoral associate Dongyou Liu of the basic science department.
Graduate Student Research Award--Gavin W. Glenney of Starkville, a doctoral student in veterinary medical science.
CENTERS AND INSTITUTES
Faculty Research Award--Associate professor Giselle Thibaudeau Munn of the Center for Science, Mathematics and Technology.
Research Support Staff Award--Research associate Lori H. Kerley of the Center for Science, Mathematics and Technology.
OFFICE OF RESEARCH/SPONSORED PROGRAMS ADMINISTRATION
Research Support Staff Award--Research associate Tan H. Tsai of the Janos Radvanyi Chair in International Securities Studies