Purdue honors researchers with Seed for Success Acorn Awards

At a ceremony on Nov. 13, Purdue honored 275 researchers with the university’s prestigious Seed for Success Acorn Awards.

The Seed for Success Acorn Awards event is an annual recognition of Purdue principal investigators and co-investigators who obtain external research funding of $1 million or more for a single proposal. This year’s award recipients are involved in 116 research projects and include 97 first-time winners of the Seed for Success Acorn Award.

“Being awarded $1 million in research funding is an important achievement in a researcher’s career,” said Karen Plaut, executive vice president for research. “It recognizes a researcher’s accomplishments and innovative ideas but also draws attention to their aspirations for the future and the impact that they will have on the world.”

“Research excellence at scale is truly reflected in many ways, and sponsored research awards are one of the important reflections of your research excellence,” Purdue President Mung Chiang said. “As we celebrate your success today, we also want to thank you for setting your sights so high. Your work is changing lives and society for the better.”

Last year, Purdue received more than $647 million in research funding, a 6% increase over fiscal year 2023 and a 102% increase from fiscal year 2013. The university has an overall sponsored program portfolio of $3.1 billion and manages thousands of research projects annually focused on creating innovative solutions that help to provide a safe and secure nation and livelihood for all.

“Being honored with the Seed for Success Acorn Award means a great deal and is very humbling,” said Shankar Thangamani, assistant professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine. “I am driven each day to conduct research to improve the health of others and greatly value that Purdue and our leadership recognize the vital importance of our work. I thank everyone who has been part of this success and congratulate other winners!”

A full list of award recipients is available at the Seed for Success Acorn Awards webpage.

Writer: Peter Shelby, pwshelby@purdue.edu