In recognition of her research and mentorship of undergraduate students, Seattle Pacific University Professor of Biology Cara Wall-Scheffler received the 2022 Lynwood W. Swanson Scientific Research Award from M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust at a special ceremony on November 11.
Wall-Scheffler received the award for “her internationally recognized work uncoupling and re-coupling human locomotor evolution with reproductive fitness, and her unparalleled mentorship of undergraduate student researchers from diverse backgrounds.”
For more than 15 years, Wall-Scheffler has researched human locomotion, studying differences in how men and women walk, run, and carry loads. Her work has been published in numerous papers and covered in the media. Her latest article, "Walking Women Evolve," examines how women’s “endurance mobility has shaped the evolution of our entire human species.” She was recently awarded a Fulbright Fellowship and will continue her research in the Anthropology Department at Charles University in Prague.
Wall-Scheffler, an alumna of Seattle Pacific, has been a faculty member since 2007. She received a master of philosophy and doctorate from the University of Cambridge in England. She will give a public lecture about her recent work on Tuesday, January 17, 2023, at 6 p.m. in Upper Gwinn Commons on campus.
Each year, the Swanson Award recognizes senior faculty member with an established, productive, and nationally recognized research program. A panel of national experts evaluates the nominations, and the criteria for these awards are focused on research accomplishments.
The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, based in Vancouver, Washington, is a private foundation that provide grants to nonprofits serving the Pacific Northwest in the areas of scientific research, educations, arts and culture, and health and human services.
Ranked a “Best National University” by U.S. News & World Report, Seattle Pacific University is a Christian university where more than 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students are equipped to anticipate and shape the future in a thriving, world-class city.
Posted: Saturday, November 12, 2022