The Office of the Vice President for Research will honor four research faculty members with its annual recognition awards for their outstanding scholarly achievements and significant contributions to their academic fields.
Casey Godwin and Stefanie Galban will receive the Research Faculty Recognition Award, while Sarah Clark and Anatoly Maksimchuk will receive the Research Faculty Achievement Award. All four will be recognized at the President’s Faculty Awards event this fall.
“It is because of the talented and innovative research faculty that the University of Michigan is well prepared to meet the challenges we face in a world of rapid change,” said Rebecca Cunningham, vice president for research and the William G. Barsan Collegiate Professor of Emergency Medicine.
“Their ongoing commitment to serving the world through research, scholarship and creative practice is a major reason why the university is able to maintain a global reputation as a leading public research university.”
Godwin, Galban to receive Research Faculty Recognition Award
Casey Godwin 
Stefanie Galban
The Research Faculty Recognition Award is presented to a research assistant professor or assistant research scientist based on exceptional scholarly achievements, as evidenced by publications and other activities in an academic field of study.
Casey Godwin joined the School for Environment and Sustainability as an assistant research scientist in 2018, and his research focuses on the effects of harmful algal blooms in lakes Erie and Huron. Since 2019, Godwin has secured four research grants from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and led two master’s projects that supported nine graduate students.
Stefanie Galban joined U-M in 2007 as a postdoctoral fellow and is now a research assistant professor in Michigan Medicine’s Department of Radiology. Galban uses her expertise in molecular imaging to identify cancer stem cells that can be targeted in the treatment of pediatric brain cancer.
Clark, Maksimchuk to receive Research Faculty Achievement Award
Sarah Clark 
Anatoly Maksimchuk
The Research Faculty Achievement Award recognizes researchers who have made outstanding scholarly achievements, as represented by significant contributions to an academic field of study over time, a specific outstanding discovery, or the development of innovative technology or practice.
Sarah Clark joined Michigan Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases in 1998 as a research investigator and now serves as a research scientist and co-director of the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health. Her research has resulted in more than 200 scholarly publications that cover topics ranging from immunization patterns and beliefs to child health programs and policies.
Clark also works with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, helping the state Medicaid program improve its health care delivery system for low-income children, families and adults statewide.
Anatoly Maksimchuk joined U-M nearly 30 years ago and is a research scientist in the Gérard Mourou Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, which is based in the College of Engineering’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. His work focuses on the development and research of high-power lasers and high-intensity laser-matter interactions.
Maksimchuk has played a key role in the design and conceptualization of the Zettawatt-Equivalent Ultrashort pulse laser System (ZEUS) facility, which upon completion will be the highest power laser in the United States and will operate as an international user facility.
This year’s award recipients were selected by the Research Faculty Awards Advisory Committee and confirmed by Cunningham.
