Normally celebrated at the CTAHR Annual Banquet, this year’s Dean’s Award recipients will be honored here, on your laptops and tablets, and with their names carved into the plaques that adorn Gilmore Hall. Prize monies will also be distributed, per the usual means.
2020 Dean’s Award for Outstanding Researcher
Daniel Rubinoff
The Dean’s Award recognizes the exceptional scientific contributions of Daniel Rubinoff, professor of Entomology and director of the University of Hawai‘i Insect Museum.
Dan joined the Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences (PEPS) in 2002, and immediately set to work in developing a highly productive research program that focuses broadly on the evolution, ecology, and conservation of insects. He is an author on more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, 11 of those papers published recently during 2019 and early 2020. Dan’s record of extramural funding has also been outstanding; since 2010 he has garnered $6.0 million in support for his research, including four separate awards from the National Science Foundation.
Widely recognized for his scientific expertise, Dan has developed successful research partnerships with colleagues at UC–Berkeley, University of Florida, Michigan State, Purdue, and USDA. His stewardship of the Insect Museum has been remarkable, as the number of insect specimens during his tenure has grown to over 350,000 samples, allowing the museum to provide both a significant research collection and enjoyable educational experience for college level and elementary school students.
Devoted to teaching, Dan is an effective communicator of science, both in the classroom and outside the university, with the general public. In the past seven months, he has been featured in CTAHR Notes on multiple occasions, and has appeared for interviews on local TV to discuss insect-related issues.
CTAHR’s Dean Nicholas Comerford notes, “Dan Rubinoff exemplifies the creativity and production that is the hallmark of a talented scientist in CTAHR. His research, grantsmanship, and publication record represent a profile of what we strive for as scientists at a Carnegie R-1 research university. So it is fitting that he receive the 2020 Dean’s Award.”
Walter Bowen, Associate Dean and Associate Director for Research