Congrats! to Nhu Nguyen, who was recently awarded the Constantine J. Alexopoulos Prize from the Mycological Society of America.
According to the International Center for the Study of Research, Nhu was ranked in the top 1% of all scientists, and the top 1% in the field of “Mycology & Parasitology" out of nearly 26,000 researchers world-wide for the year 2023. For this award, Nhu was recognized as outstanding early-career mycologist who has demonstrated quality, originality, and quantity of his published work. His nomination was supported by five+ recommendations.
“Mycologists keep up with their academic lineage,” says Nhu, of the Dept. of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences. “In my case, I was introduced to the study of fungi, and got hooked on it as an undergraduate at Louisiana State University, through Dr. Meredith Blackwell. Dr. Blackwell was a student of Dr. Alexopoulos, for whom the award is named. So you can say he's my academic grandfather.
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He adds, “It is an incredible honor to be recognized for my contributions to the study of fungi. This award brings positive impact at all levels, from the individual researcher to the department to the college. It adds to the accolades and honor of CTAHR as a college. These awards are figured into calculations of university rankings. It attracts excellent students to the lab and thus to CTAHR.”