PULLMAN, Wash.–Steven D. Aust, professor and researcher at Utah State University, has received Washington State University’s Alumni Achievement Award. He was recognized for “a distinguished career in research, education and the preservation of the environment in the science of toxicology.”
A member of the Utah State faculty since 1987, Aust is professor of chemistry and biochemistry, as well as nutrition and food science. From 1987-1991, he was director of the Center of Excellence in Biotechnology at USU.
His career activities have ranged from advising high school science projects to serving on the Michigan Toxic Substances Control Commission, including four years as chairman.
He began his career in science in the Department of Biochemistry at Michigan State University in 1967. At MSU, he rose through the ranks to become associate director of the Environmental Toxicology Center, 1980-84, and director of the Center for the Study of Active Oxygen in Biology and Medicine, 1987-91.
In 1992, Aust was named a Fellow in The Academy of Toxicology.
His goal has been to bring science to the subject of environmental pollution for the general public. He has served as a member of the Governor’s Cabinet on Hazardous Substances and as a member of the Regulatory Affairs and Legislative Assistance Committee for the Society of Toxicology, both in Michigan.
The South Bend native holds two degrees from WSU — a bachelor’s in agriculture (1960) and a master’s degree in nutrition (1962). He completed a doctorate in dairy science at the University of Illinois (1965), and was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Toxicology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
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