The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs announced two new faculty members have joined Illinois State University’s Million Dollar Club.
Associate Professor of Biology Bill Perry and Associate Professor of Geography-Geology Catherine O’Reilly are now part of the club that honors faculty and staff who have secured at least $1 million in grants for research and other projects.
O’Reilly is currently an associate professor and hydrogeology graduate program coordinator for the Department of Geography-Geology. She remains actively involved with GLEON (Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network) and GLTC (Global Lake Temperature Collaboration), and has been a recipient of several National Science Foundation awards. O’Reilly was a member of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and wrote the section on the climate impacts on freshwater in the 2007 IPCC Report. The IPCC, along with Al Gore, won the Nobel Peace Prize based on the work. She has received over $1 million from Danida (Danish International Development Agency) and also more than $1 million from NASA for research that focuses on climate change.
Perry is an associate professor in the School of Biological Sciences and committee chair for the Development of the Center for Environmental Analysis. Throughout his time at Illinois State, he has received awards including the College of Arts and Sciences Teaching Initiative Award, University Teaching Initiative Award, University Research Award, and Outstanding College Teacher. Over the past 15 years, Perry’s work has been published in journals such as the Journal of Great Lakes Research and Environment Earth Sciences. Today, he is working on two major projects focusing on ecology and biogeochemistry of agricultural streams and invasive species ecology. Perry’s work has garnered funding and support from agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and The Nature Conservancy.
During the past decade, Illinois State University has received nearly $223.25 million in external grant funding. First given in the early 1990s, the Million Dollar Club honor was reinstituted in 2009.
The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs offers a number of services to help faculty and staff members identify and secure external grant funding. That funding, which supports a wide array of research, teaching, and service initiatives, is the result of university-wide efforts by faculty and staff to secure external funding.
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