Congratulations to CC&E's 2024 University Faculty Award Winners
April 23, 2024
Every year, the LSU Office of Academic Affairs honors LSU faculty whose accomplishments exemplify the university's values of of discovery, education,
engagement and creativity. This year, the College of the Coast & Environment is excited
to have two faculty members who will be receiving awards at the ceremony, to be held
on April 23rd at the Manship Gallery in downtown Baton Rouge.
Aixin Hou, a Shell Professor in Oceanography/Wetland Studies in the Department of
Environmental Sciences, is the winner of the LSU Distinguished Faculty Award.
"I'm honored to receive the LSU Distinguished Faculty Award. This recognition reflects the dedication and collaboration that make our college a remarkable place," said Hou. "I look forward to continuing my work in teaching, research, and service, and I'm grateful for the support of my students and colleagues."
Hou is an environmental scientist who specializes in microbial ecology and biogeochemistry. She has published work on topics ranging from floodwater impacts on water quality to the carbon and nitrogen cycling of various types of wetlands. Her current research, funded by NOAA Sea Grant and the Louisiana Board of Regents, focuses on oysters, specifically an oyster larval infection problem, caused by a pathogenic vibrio.
Hou has twice won the Tiger Athletic Foundation Teaching Award, and was awarded the 2022 LSU Alumni Associate Faculty Excellence Award. She has also been given the Rana Athar Memorial Lectureship at Florida A&M University and the Pearson Sustainable Solutions Award, among others.
Paul Miller, an assistant professor in the Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences,
received the Rising Faculty Research Award.
"Given all the outstanding research conducted at LSU, being selected for the Rising Faculty Research Award is a huge honor. My work is just one of the thrusts helping LSU become an international leader in coastal issues," Miller said.
Miller studies coastal meteorology, hydroclimatology and mesoscale climate science. In February of 2023, he won a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation for his work on the effects of the Saharan Air Layer, the masses of dust that gather in the atmosphere over the Saharan Desert and travel across the Atlantic Ocean, sometimes as far as North America. Miller’s research focuses on the potential connection between the dust and droughts in Puerto Rico.
Miller has been at LSU since 2019. He has a PhD from the University of Georgia and also recently received the Non-Tenured Faculty Award from the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.