Renshaw Receives NSM Junior Faculty Award for Excellence in Research
Andrew Renshaw in the Department of Physics is the 2021 recipient of NSM’s Junior Faculty Award for Excellence in Research. The award recognizes faculty at the rank of assistant professor who have demonstrated great potential in research and/or scholarship by virtue of the exceptional quality of their contributions.
Each NSM department nominates an eligible faculty member for the honor. The award, given each year, comes with a monetary award, plaque, and a nameplate placed on a plaque in the Dean’s Office. The award recipient is also recognized during NSM Commencement.
Renshaw’s research focuses on the direct detection of dark matter and astrophysical neutrinos using liquid noble gas detectors that are constructed in underground laboratories around the world.
He and his group also use the advanced technology they develop to find applications within the medical field, produce rare gases for societal benefit, and search for extremophile microbes in the upper atmosphere.
At UH, he has amassed a small army of more than 20 interdisciplinary undergraduate students to carry out interesting missions aboard high-altitude balloons, as well as become an advisor or mentor to more than 10 graduate students within the physics department.
During the initial time of the COVID-19 pandemic, Renshaw worked with his dark matter detection collaboration to design and produce a novel mechanical ventilator which was awarded FDA Emergency Use Authorization. This ventilator is now being mass produced around the world, providing an affordable and effective means for providing therapy for the fight against the COVID-19 virus.
Renshaw was also recognized in May as a recipient of the UH Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarship, and Creativity.
The Junior Faculty Award for Excellence in Research review process relies on the hard work of an ad hoc committee comprised of one faculty member from each NSM department selected by the respective department chairs. The committee makes a recommendation for award to the Dean, who makes the final decision.
A list of previous winners of the Junior Faculty Award for Excellence in Research is on the NSM Recognition and Awards webpage.