Mike Wyss, Ph.D., professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, has received the 2019 Presidential Excellence Awards in Science, Mathematics and Engineering for Mentoring.
The award recognizes the critical roles mentors play outside of the traditional classroom setting in the academic and professional development of the future STEM workforce. Only 12 mentors, including Wyss, were chosen in the United States for the 2018-19 cycle.
“I am honored to be nominated and selected for such a prestigious award, which reflects so positively on the work of many who have been a part of our Center for Community OutReach Development, which was established in 1998 to advance UAB’s outreach efforts in the Birmingham community,” Wyss said. “We have since expanded our primary focus to advancing K-12 science education throughout the state and the nation with an eye on developing programs to improve the regional, racial and gender disparities in science, math and engineering. The number of people responsible for helping to develop the hands-on, inquiry-based science experiences and advance our efforts to improve STEM are numerous. Their contributions have enriched and changed countless lives — and their work continues today."