ECU Professors Honored With Early Career Award | Eastern NC Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post, Joy Holster, is a contributor to ECU News Services.

    Two East Carolina University professors are the first to receive the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences Dean's Early Career Award recognizing exceptional performance by tenure track professors.

    Dr. Marcelo Ardon-Sayao, assistant professor of biology, and Dr. Matthew Whited, assistant professor of psychology, were recognized May 15 as this year's award recipients.

    "I am truly honored by this award. I am lucky to work with great colleagues and students both within and outside ECU," said Ardon-Sayao. "I thank my colleagues and the THCAS Advancement Council for this recognition of my work."

    Ardon-Sayao is an ecosystem ecologist interested in understanding how aquatic ecosystems process water and nutrients; how that capacity is being altered by local land use and global climate change; and whether, and to what extent, current and emerging management can reverse or restore lost functions.

    He received a $635,000 National Science Foundation CAREER grant this spring for his research involving coastal wetlands. Ardon-Sayao was honored in April with the Mercer Award from the Ecological Society of America, recognizing a 2013 paper published in the journal, Global Change Biology.

    Ardon-Sayao received a Ph.D. in ecology from the University of Georgia in 2006 and a bachelor of science in biology and environmental studies from Gettysburg College in 2000.

    Whited leads the Depression Specialty Service in the ECU Department of Psychology's PASS Clinic. He specializes in behavioral activation and has trained other clinicians in this treatment approach. He earned a Ph.D. and master of science in clinical psychology from West Virginia University in 2009 and 2007, and completed a bachelor of science in psychology and biology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2003.

    "I feel honored to be one of the recipients of the inaugural Early Career Award," Whited said. "I appreciate being recognized as someone who is off to a good start in my career, and I look forward to taking advantage of all the advantages and opportunities that ECU has to offer."

    "ECU is a wonderful place to grow and mature as a researcher and educator, as faculty and administrators here understand the synergy that takes place between research productivity and student (especially graduate) training," he added.

    Ardon-Sayao and Whited will be recognized at Harriot College's fall convocation in August.

    In succeeding years, Harriot College will designate up to three recipients for the award, which focuses on faculty productivity in research and creative discovery, said Harriot College Dean Dr. William M. Downs. That productivity "must be judged to be of such high quality and impact that it exceeds expectations. Outstanding performance in professional development must be complemented by demonstrated excellence in instructional effectiveness and service," he said.

    "I am extremely pleased to say this year's recipients exceeded these qualifications," Downs said.

    For additional information, contact Ardon-Sayao at 328-6307 or ardonsayaom@ecu.edu, and Whited at 328-6308 or whitedm@ecu.edu.