UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Asia Murphy, a doctoral student in ecology, is the 2019 recipient of the Intercollege Graduate Student Outreach Achievement Award. This award was established in 2004, with a generous donation from alumni Steven E. and Alice R. Linberg, and a matching commitment from University Outreach.
The Intercollege Graduate Student Outreach Achievement Award recognizes outstanding outreach achievements of degree candidates in any of the Intercollege Graduate Degree Programs that relate to bringing graduate student scholarship to the community, in order to benefit society in some manner. This award endeavors to encourage future academicians to embrace outreach and promote a commitment to advancing the welfare of and quality of life for the public through their scholarly pursuits.
Murphy's research focuses on carnivore distributions in Pennsylvania forests and their influence on the distribution and survival of white-tailed deer fawns.
Murphy said she strongly believes that science is meant to be shared, and prioritizes communicating her research. She has given 15 poster presentations at five different symposiums and conferences since 2010, and has been first author on five scientific papers and a co-author on six more. In addition, she writes up the findings from her research in short, easily understandable summaries that are included on her website, for the general public.
According to one nominator, "In my time here and at other institutions, I have met no other grad student who has been as dedicated and effective in their outreach as Asia."
Murphy was honored during the annual Graduate Student Awards Luncheon held on April 11 at the Nittany Lion Inn.