An educator at Mississippi State University has earned a historic honor from the White House.
Associate Professor Amy Dapper earned the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, making her the university’s first-ever recipient of the award since its inception in 1996. Dapper was one of nearly 400 scientists and engineers recognized by outgoing President Joe Biden.
The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers was kickstarted by former President Bill Clinton and serves to highlight individuals who show exceptional promise in leadership and research.
Dapper’s work in MSU’s Department of Biological Sciences placed her among some of the brightest minds among scientists representing multiple federal agencies and top research institutions nationally. Her efforts in Starkville have been supported by the National Science Foundation.
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“I am incredibly honored to receive this award. It is amazing as an early career scientist to receive this type of recognition and affirmation that the research program I am building here is important and exciting,” Dapper said. “I am extremely grateful to the Department of Biological Sciences, the College of Arts and Sciences, and MSU for giving me a platform to build my independent research program. Science is not done in a vacuum and nothing in my lab would be possible without the super-talented trainees that I am so lucky to mentor.”
Recipients of the honors are selected from previous National Science Foundation CAREER award winners, recognizing outstanding scientists and engineers whose work is shaping the future through innovative research and its significant societal impact.
In 2022, Dapper, a native of Blacksburg, Va., received a five-year, $740,645 grant to research how traits associated with reproduction can shape patterns of genetic diversity within and between species.
