PULLMAN, Wash. — The Washington State University College of Sciences will present its annual faculty, student and alumni achievement awards at the college commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 10.
Two graduating seniors, Jennifer Parish from Benton City, Wash., and Julia Plummer from Spokane will receive Distinguished Student Awards.
Parish has a double major in microbiology and biochemistry. She served on the College of Sciences Student Advisory Committee and was a member of Golden Key Honorary, Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Eta Sigma.
Plummer earned a bachelor’s degree in physics with minors in math, astronomy and philosophy. Her research was supported by competitive grants she won from the Faculty Association for Scholarship and Research and Sigma Xi.
James A. Wells, the recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award for Alumni, is senior staff scientist at Genentech, one of the world’s foremost developers of new pharmaceuticals, and adjunct professor at the University of California, San Francisco. He earned a doctorate in biochemistry at WSU in 1979. Wells received the Pfizer Award from the American Chemical Society in 1990 and a WSU Alumni Achievement Award in 1992.
The Distinguished Achievement Award for Faculty will be presented to Ralph Yount, professor of biochemistry/biophysics. Yount is internationally recognized for his study of the molecular mechanism of muscle contraction and plays a prominent national role in promoting scientific research. He is an Edward R. Meyer Distinguished Professor and, in July, becomes president of the 50,000 member Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology.
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