Hamburger honored by IU

IU professor Michael Hamburger has been chosen as the recipient of the 2012-2013 Distinguished Service Award.

Hamburger is a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences in the Department of Geological Sciences, according to a press release from April 9. 

The Distinguished Service Award is an annual award that the Office of the Provost gives to faculty members who have been involved in unusual service on campus, Hamburger said. 

“Some recipients have taken a role in special academic roles, actively enrolled in state or community activities,” he said.

Some of the most distinguished recipients have been Lynton Caldwell and Herman Hudson, Hamburger said. 

“The most famous was Lynton Caldwell, who set up the first national environmental policy legislation,” he said. “And Hudson was the first professor of African-American studies.”

Hamburger’s most prominent involvement is his contribution to the development of the Office of Sustainability. 

“When it started it was small, but now it’s growing,” he said. 

Other accomplishments include Hamburger’s instrumental role in establishing the IU research and teaching preserve.

“There are plots of land all over southern Indiana, where environmental studies are conducted,” he said.

Hamburger is also heavily involved in science outreach, in which he uses his knowledge of geology and seismology to educate people in classes and the community. 

He has also been working with a program called TEPPs. 

“It’s an earthquake science program,” he said. “It brings hi-tech tools to high schools to teach the excitement of hands-on research.”

Hamburger has been teaching at IU since 1986 and said he is honored to have received the award. 

“I don’t know who exactly nominated me, but they did tell me that they had many recommendations from inside and outside of the University,” he said.

The award consists of a $2,000 prize that is awarded on a one-time basis. Hamburger said he isn’t sure how he’s going to use it. 

“I would say that the jury’s still out on that,” he said. “Maybe I’ll treat friends after the ceremony. But some of it will go towards community service activities.”

Hamburger will be recognized in a reception on Monday in the President’s Room of the University Club in the Indiana Memorial Union.  

— Laura Schulte