Provost's Award for Undergraduate Research/Creativity Mentoring

Philip Stewart, deputy director of the MSU Center for Biofilm Engineering and professor of engineering, has been awarded the inaugural Provost's Award for Undergraduate Research/Creativity Mentoring. He will receive a $2,000 honorarium.

Since coming to MSU in 1991, Stewart has mentored 25 undergraduate students in substantial research projects all centered on bacteria that grow in communities called biofilms. The MSU Biofilm Center is recognized internationally for its research, and Stewart has eagerly drawn undergraduates into the center's world-class studies as early as their sophomore years. By getting them started early, Stewart helps them develop their skills over time. Students say they have loved working with Stewart. These students have produced published works, with some listed as the lead authors. Two undergraduates have been recognized with national awards--a Goldwater Scholarship and a Whitaker Graduate Research Fellowship. Eight are pursuing their research in graduate school.