By Kenneth A. Stewart

The 2014 recipients of the Menneken Faculty Award for Excellence in Scientific Research are pictured outside Herrmann Hall, Jan. 16. For the first time, the NPS Foundation broke with tradition to honor one faculty member from each of NPS' four graduate schools.

"It's not only humbling and gratifying that the foundation makes this kind of recognition, it's also important to the culture of this school," said Associate Professor David Alderson with the Graduate School of Operational and Information Sciences. "You cannot have graduate education without research and a vibrant, healthy research program on campus."

Assistant Professor Erik Dahl with the School of International Graduate Studies also weighed in on the importance of research at NPS. Dahl is the author of, "Intelligence and Surprise Attack: Failure and Success from Pearl Harbor to 9/11."

"We are glad to see that the writing and research that we do not only benefits ourselves, but benefits our students as well," he said. "We are able to take the work that we do and bring it into the classroom."

The NPS Foundation and a committee of experienced university faculty manage the selection process for the Menneken Award, with each of the four award recipients receiving an honorarium of $5,000.

The Carl E. and Jessie W. Menneken Faculty Award for Excellence in Scientific Research is named in honor of NPS' first dean of research, Carl E. Menneken. It is conferred upon faculty members for outstanding effort and achievement in research that makes a significant impact on the Navy and the Department of Defense. The award is open to all NPS professors.

The four winners, pictured from left to right, are Assistant Professor Erik Dahl, Associate Professor Yu-Chu Shen with the Graduate School of Business and Public Policy, Associate Professor David Alderson, and Associate Professor Claudia Luhrs with the Graduate School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.