Rutgers President William F. Tate IV and Debashish Bhattacharya, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, who received the 2026 Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Research.
Debashish Bhattacharya, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, was recognized with the Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Research, which honors tenured faculty members who have made distinguished research contributions to their discipline and/or society at large.
Bhattacharya was recognized on May 6 as part of the 2025-26 University-wide Faculty Year-End Excellence Awards for members of the community who have made outstanding contributions through teaching, research, and service.
A total of 33 awardees from across the university were recognized in nine categories during the event led by President William F. Tate IV and Executive Vice President Keena Arbuthnot.
Distinguished Professor Debashish Bhattacharya pictured with Distinguished Professor Max Häggblom, chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology.
President Tate told the group of scholars that their work in the areas of education, discovery, and service fulfilled the model of higher education in the United States established by the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890, which enabled states to establish public colleges across the nation.
“You all, the ones who are going to be recognized today, represent the very best of the Morrill Act tradition,’’ Tate said. “This is one of the best groups of scholars and teachers I have ever seen, and I could not be more proud to be Rutgers’ president.’’
The Bhattacharya lab pursues several areas of evolutionary genomics and applied research with a focus on marine species such as corals, seaweeds, and shellfish.
His group generates knowledge about these often-threatened species and then develops tools to diagnose their health and assess their resilience, with the goal of aiding local stakeholders.
“I have loved the ocean since childhood and am thrilled to be at Rutgers in a time when the needed, sophisticated tools are available to better understand and protect marine ecosystems for future generations.”
Read more about Debashish Bhattacharya’s research and impact.
Honored alongside Bhattacharya with the 2025-26 Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Research were:
Stephen Crystal, Distinguished Research Professor and Board of Governors Professor at the Rutgers School of Social Work and Director of the Rutgers Center for Health Services Research at the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research.
Michael D. Anestis, Professor, Department of Urban-Global Public Health, School of Public Health, Rutgers Health.
Ashutosh Goel, Professor, Department of Materials Science & Engineering, School of Engineering, Rutgers University–New Brunswick.
Christian S. Hinrichs, Professor, Department of Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Co-Director of the Duncan and Nancy MacMillan Cancer Immunology and Metabolism Center of Excellence and Chief of the Section of Cancer Immunotherapy, Rutgers Cancer Institute, Rutgers Health.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH winners: (left to right) Debashish Bhattacharya, Biochemistry and Microbiology, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences; Michael D. Anestis, Urban-Global Public Health, School of Public Health; Ashutosh Goel, Materials Science and Engineering, School of Engineering;, Stephen Crystal, School of Social Work; and Christian S. Hinrichs, Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers Cancer Institute.
