Congratulations to University of Florida School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences faculty, staff and students who were recognized for their research accomplishments during the 2026 UF/IFAS Research Awards dinner on May 21.

Every year, the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station hosts the event to recognize the impactful research efforts.

Graduate Research

The Research Awards Committee conducts a comprehensive review of the best thesis and dissertation nominations from each major in CALS.

Of the 32 outstanding submissions this year, the committee identified the top thesis and dissertation in each of three categories: Agricultural Systems, Natural Resources, and Human Systems, reflecting the breadth of the IFAS mission.

They also selected the best thesis and dissertation overall.

The Award of Excellence for Graduate Research, Best Thesis in Natural Resources, was presented to SFFGS’ Noah Weidig and his committee chair Dr. Victoria Donovan.

As large wildfires become more common in the eastern U.S., this work looks at the growing risk to people and communities, especially in the wildland-urban interface, where homes and natural landscapes meet. These areas make up only a small portion of the region but account for a disproportionate share of large fires and burned land. Weidig’s study shows that factors like vegetation, dry conditions, and limited firefighting resources increase risk. It also highlights the need for better planning and vegetation management to reduce wildfire impacts near communities.

The Award of Excellence for Graduate Research, Best Dissertation in Natural Resources, went to Dr. Cheyenne Stratton whose committee chair was SFFGS Assistant Professor of Freshwater Ecology Dr. Lindsey Reisinger.

Dr. Stratton’s dissertation examined how parasitism and infection influence the invasion success of exotic species. Using the rusty crayfish in Wisconsin lakes as a model, she found that invasive crayfish often host fewer parasites, which may contribute to their spread. However, a newly identified pathogen reduced their activity and reproduction, mitigating the impact of the invasive crayfish through increases in native plants and other aquatic organisms.

Overall, the study highlights pathogens as an often-overlooked factor influencing invasive species dynamics and ecosystem recovery. It clarifies how diseases can shape crayfish invasions and underscores their broader cascading effects on natural systems.

New Faculty Research

The Richard L. Jones Outstanding New Faculty Research Award is one of the most prestigious awards offered by the research office. This award is presented to untenured faculty who have begun to develop a distinguished record of research and have had significant programmatic impacts in their first three years.

These awardees are determined by the quality of their third-year packet submissions, and receiving this award is an indication that they are rising stars in their respective disciplines.

Dr. Richard Jones served as UF/IFAS Dean for Research from 1995 to 2004. Dr. Jones led with an even-keel, balanced approach to administrative decision-making. Words like stability, equilibrium, and steadiness describe his style.

The 2026 UF/IFAS Richard L. Jones Outstanding New Faculty Research awardees were Dr. Victoria Donovan, assistant professor in the School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences located at the West Florida REC, and Dr. Boce (BOK) Zhang, assistant professor in the department of Food Science and Human Nutrition.

Dr. Donovan is a landscape ecologist who uses empirical research approaches to understand how fundamental ecological processes, like fire, shape social-ecological system dynamics and how these processes and their outcomes can be used to manage for ecosystem resilience.

In the short time Dr. Donovan has been at UF, she has acquired nearly $1M in grant funding and published 36 peer-reviewed journal articles with 75 percent of them in top quartile, or Q1, journals. She has a steeply rising annual citation frequency, and her h-index stands at 16. Several of Dr. Donovan’s articles have received awards, including the UF/IFAS High Impact Publication Award in 2025. Her research has also caught the attention of the mainstream media, including the Miami Herald, the Washington Post, and National Geographic.

High Impact Publications

Research papers reflect balance by managing trade‑offs rather than seeking absolutes. They weigh evidence against uncertainty, theory against data, and claims against constraints (like availability of funding or time to complete a student thesis). Progress comes from coordinating resources and addressing limits in a careful, deliberate way.

Every year, each IFAS department and Research and Education Center is asked to submit up to two papers from the past two years that they consider “high impact.”

These are papers that are advancing the frontiers of their disciplinary science and having particularly significant impacts that can be defined in myriad ways. Of all the papers nominated by the units, only a select few are highlighted for special recognition during this ceremony.

One of the High Impact publication Awards went to co-authors from the School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences, and includes faculty located on main campus and at West Florida and Ft. Lauderdale Research and Education Centers.

They include Drs. Inacio Bueno, Carlos Silva, Victoria Donovan, Jiangxiao Qiu (Zhang-shao Chu), Denis Valle, Jason Vogel, and Carine (Ka-ree-nee) Klauberg. Along with Jinyi Xia (Jin-yee See-ah), Kody Brock, and Monique Schlickmann.

Their article “Aboveground biomass density maps for post-hurricane Ian forest monitoring in Florida” was published in Scientific Data, a Q1 outlet.

Hurricanes are among the most damaging natural disturbances affecting forests. Unfortunately, their impacts on ecosystem recovery are very hard to measure quickly or over a large enough area to inform a timely policy response. The paper presents a new online tool that combines AI with advanced satellite technologies to quickly and effectively measure large scale disturbances.

Using Hurricane Ian as an example, the UF-led team created detailed maps showing how much forest biomass was lost across Florida. The easy-to-use tool allows users to explore damage, analyze specific areas, and download data without needing advanced technical skills. This makes it useful for a wide audience of scientists, land managers, and policymakers to track forest damage and recovery after major events, and supports better decision-making for forest management and restoration after large wildfires like we’ve experienced recently.

International Research

One of UF’s strategic goals is to internationalize the campus across all mission areas. IFAS has several awards that help recognize and celebrate the outstanding international efforts of our faculty and staff. Two of these awards focus on research.

The following faculty awards were previously announced by IFAS’s Global Food Systems Institute, also known as GFSI.

Dr. Donald Behringer, Professor in the School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences, received the UF/IFAS International Research Fellow distinction and Dr. Esteban Rios, Associate Professor in Agronomy, received the Early Career International Research Fellow distinction.

Dr. Behringer is internationally recognized for his work on fisheries health and marine disease ecology, including extensive collaborations across the Caribbean and Latin America on crustacean pathogens and aquaculture sustainability. His global engagement includes leading multinational research initiatives, contributing to international advisory groups, and earning recognition for advancing aquatic animal health and biosecurity worldwide.

His efforts have helped strengthen coastal resilience, support communities that depend on marine resources, and foster a spirit of cooperation that is critical to addressing shared environmental challenges.

Andrew D. Hanson Culture of Nomination Award  

The Culture of Nomination Award is now known as the Andrew D. Hanson Culture of Nomination Award.

Dr. Hanson was an eminent scholar and professor in the Department of Horticultural Sciences at UF until his passing in August 2025.

He was instrumental in sparking an essential culture shift in our organization several years ago — encouraging faculty to seek opportunities to elevate their colleagues by writing strong nomination support letters. Andrew galvanized our UF/IFAS AAAS Fellows and rallied them around our yearly nomination campaign.

Just last month, the team wrapped up its 2026 campaign with 15 nominations of UF/IFAS faculty distributed across five different AAAS Sections. Andrew’s legacy lives on and our honoree this year has nominated a colleague in each nomination cycle since he was elected AAAS Fellow in 2021.

This year’s Andrew D. Hanson Culture of Nomination Award was presented to SFFGS Professor of Quantitative Genetics Dr. Matias Kirst.

Not only has Kirst built an extraordinary research program, but he has elevated the programs of colleagues by nominating them for honorific awards. In so doing, Kirst elevated the entire UF/IFAS Research enterprise.

Kirst’s service to UF/IFAS faculty, postdocs and students as an Entrepreneurs-In-Residence member, is a testament to the commitment to pay it forward.

In addition to the other awards, Large Grant Leaders were also acknowledged at the ceremony. Recipient received their Golden Gator awards at check in.

Among them was the team of Dr. Debra Murie and Alex Tays from SFFGS. The award celebrates collaborative excellence: the shared work between faculty and staff, specifically pre-award research administrators. The Golden Gator award was created several years ago to recognize the enormous amount of time, effort, and attention to detail required to submit and steward large and complex grants over $1 million.

“SFFGS faculty, staff, and students do important and award-winning work every day,” said SFFGS Director Terrell T. “Red” Baker. “We are very proud of those who were recognized by the UF/IFAS Research Office this year for their special accomplishments in 2025. Congratulations!”

Learn more about the UF/IFAS Office of the Dean for Research here.

(blog information is excerpted from the script used at the awards ceremony that was developed by UF Communications Specialist Stella Harbilas.)