Blazing a trail for science

Two University of Delaware professors have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) - one of the largest scientific societies in the world and publisher of the Science family of journals.

The 2023 class of AAAS Fellows includes 502 scientists, engineers and innovators across 24 disciplines, who are being honored for their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements.

Rodrigo Vargas, professor of ecosystem ecology and environmental change in UD's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, is recognized "for distinguished contributions to carbon dynamics across the terrestrial-aquatic interface, development of environmental networks, novel data analysis tools and his leadership in creating a more diverse scientific workforce."

Deborah Allen, who retired from UD in 2019 as a professor of biological sciences, is cited "for transformational contributions to STEM education nationally and internationally, particularly for developments in problem-based learning and faculty development."

"Being elected an AAAS Fellow is a stellar achievement, underscoring the recipient's considerable impact on the scientific community," said Kelvin Lee, UD's interim vice president for research, scholarship and innovation. "We extend our heartiest congratulations to Rodrigo Vargas and Deborah Allen for receiving this distinguished lifetime honor."

Deborah Allen, science education pioneer

"I'm, of course, very honored to be elected an AAAS fellow, but also very pleased that UD PBL is still receiving awards and recognition," Allen said.

UD has been a pioneer in problem-based learning (PBL) since the early 1990s. This teaching approach challenges students to solve complex, real-world problems: Should we seed the ocean with iron as a "cure" for a warming planet, or how does a community validate a concern that it has a cancer cluster - does it really exist? These are among numerous problems included in the PBL Clearinghouse at UD.

In PBL, students work together in small groups and are motivated to learn in order to solve the problem - classroom spaces in UD's Harker Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Laboratory are purposely equipped with chairs on wheels and shared tables to facilitate brainstorming and discussions. Research has shown that this collaborative approach produces numerous benefits, from fostering long-term retention of knowledge to developing critical thinking and communications skills.