The Distinguished Scientist Award is SURA’s highest award that recognizes exceptional scientific leadership, given to scientists conducting exceptional research in disciplines related to SURA’s programs. SURA will honor Dr. Zhou and Dr. Kouveliotou at its upcoming Annual Meeting in Washington D.C., this July.

Dr. Jizhong Zhou, an international leader in microbial ecology, is a Chaired Professor at the University of Oklahoma’s School of Biological Sciences. Dr. Zhou is most well-known for his groundbreaking discoveries in understanding the feedbacks, mechanisms, and principles for microbial systems in response to climate change and environmental contaminations, and pioneering advances in developing ecological theories, and innovative experimental and computational technologies for resolving the complex microbial world. His foundational work has been instrumental in the revolution of contemporary microbial ecology. Dr. Zhou is globally recognized for his outstanding accomplishments with over 600 peer-reviewed papers that have been cited >80,000 times. He is a top 0.1% global highly cited researcher and is the only microbiologist among the 2021 Reuters List of World’s Top 1000 Climate Scientists.  He is highly ranked in both fields of Ecology & Evolution (ranks top #30 worldwide, and #14 across US), and in Microbiology (top #38 worldwide, and #20 across US) by Research.com.  

Another noteworthy feat, Dr. Zhou’s innovative spirit led him to develop various high throughput metagenomic technologies such as GeoChip for linking community structure to functions, nucleic acid extraction methods from complex environmental samples, and sequencing approaches for improving reproducibility, and quantitation, which he has used to address fundamental questions in ecology, climate change, and environmental managements. Over the last decade, Zhou’s most noted work has been on understanding the mechanisms of biospheric feedback to climate change which is critical for projecting future climate warming. Dr. Zhou is also among the global leaders in microbiome research, and has been awarded various prestigious awards, including Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from the President of the United States (2001), the 2009 R&D 100 Award for the GeoChip, the 2015 Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award from Department of Energy,  the 2019 American Society of Microbiology Award for Environmental Research, the Soil Science Society of America’s 2022 Soil Science Research Award, and the International Society for Microbial Ecology and International Water Association’s 2022 grand prize BioCluster Award for internationally recognized water research.  He was elected to Academia Europaea (2024), and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2023), demonstrating his innovation, leadership, and impact on the science community.

Dr. Zhou is not only a world-renowned scientist, but he is also a strong leader who mentors a myriad of students and has provided resources to aspiring young scientists, including establishing a Fellowship, the Cindy and Jizhong Zhou Graduate Student/Post-doctorate Travel Award in Environmental Science and Technology at University of Oklahoma.

“Dr. Zhou’s recognition by SURA with the Distinguished Scientist Award underscores the profound impact of his transformative research,” said OU Vice President for Research and Partnerships Dr. Tomás Díaz de la Rubia. “Whether genomics, microbial ecology or bioinformatics, the results produced by Dr. Zhou’s research exemplify the excellence and innovation being pursued at the University of Oklahoma.”

Dr. Chryssa Kouveliotou, a world leader in the field of astrophysics, is a Professor of Physics at The George Washington University.  Dr. Kouveliotou has made transformational contributions to the X-ray and gamma ray Universe, particularly our understanding of magnetars, a class of extremely dense neutron stars with extremely high magnetic fields. She discovered two physically distinct classes of gamma ray burst sources. Her discoveries opened a new area of study, which she has led for three decades; she mentored many young scientists who have made awesome contributions to that field. Furthermore, Dr. Kouveliotou is a global leader in the study of gamma-ray bursts, the most energetic explosions in the Universe, and has expanded our understanding of this cosmic phenomenon.

Dr. Kouveliotou supports SURA’s mission of “scientific collaboration,” through her collaboration and leadership roles within high-energy Astrophysics. Dr. Kouveliotou has been chair of the US INTEGRAL Users group, the spokesperson for US guest investigators in the BeppoSAX satellite, Councilor of American Astronomical Society, Chair of the High Energy Astrophysics Division of the American Astronomical Society, and Deputy Director of the Institute for Space Physics, Astronomy, and Education in Huntsville AL. She has also been an active member of many scientific teams, including those analyzing data from NASA’s Swift and Fermi missions.

Dr. Kouveliotou’s awe-inspiring accomplishments and life’s work also align with SURA’s mission of “advancing scientific capabilities,” as is evidenced by the numerous awards recognizing her contributions, including the Shaw prize in 2021. She was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences (2013), a foreign member of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences (2015), the US Academy of Arts and Sciences (2016), and a corresponding member in the Athens Academy, Greece (2016). She has also served on various committees at NASA, the Academies, and international organizations, providing advice and input to national and international priorities in science.

“This honor recognizes Dr. Kouveliotou for groundbreaking scientific discoveries, forging numerous national and international scientific collaborations, mentoring early-career scientists, and overall leadership in the field of astrophysics.” said Vice Provost for Research Pamela M. Norris. “She has been a tremendous colleague, has grown and strengthened GW’s Astrophysics Group, and continues to advance research that demystifies cosmic phenomena.”

SURA will honor Dr. Zhou and Dr. Kouveliotou at its Annual Meeting on July 24^th, 2024.  

SURA is a consortium of fifty-seven member universities that fosters collaborations which enhance members’ capabilities of undertaking significant, transformative scientific research projects that no single institution can handle independently. The Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility is managed by Jefferson Science Associates, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of SURA, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

Contact: Victoria Aikens, Events and Office Coordinator at SURA: vaikens@sura.org