The Henry Russel Lectureship is the university’s highest honor for senior active faculty members. It is awarded annually to a faculty member with exceptional achievements in research, scholarship or creative endeavors, as well as an outstanding record of distinguished teaching, mentoring and service to U-M and the wider community.
Also at the meeting, it was announced that four faculty members will receive Henry Russel Awards, the university’s highest honor for faculty members at their early to mid-career stages.
Those recipients are:
- Robin Brewer, assistant professor of information, School of Information.
- Roya Ensafi, Morris Wellman Faculty Development Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering and associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science, College of Engineering.
- Marc Hannaford, assistant professor of music, School of Music, Theatre & Dance.
- Wenjing Wang, William R. Roush Assistant Professor, assistant professor of chemistry, LSA; and research assistant professor, Life Sciences Institute.
Wang’s research in chemical biology focuses on designing molecular tools to study complex brain signaling and neurological disorders. She has developed tools to study how neurons use chemicals to modulate other neurons, and facilitate the understanding of neurological disorders. Wang is a faculty affiliate member of the Opioid Research Institute.
Funded by her NSF CAREER award, she is collaborating with the U-M Museum of Natural History to perform science outreach and communication with middle schools and the public and through the Science Communication Fellows Program to promote research opportunities for high school and college students.
She joined U-M as research assistant professor in the Life Sciences Institute and as William R. Roush Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry in 2018 and was promoted to associate professor in 2024.