March 17, 2010

Valeria Souza, visiting scholar in the laboratory of Brandon Gaut, ecology & evolutionary biology chair, will receive Mexico’s highest environmental honor: the Love of the Planet Award. The $50,000 award is given to researchers who have championed causes in basic research and conservation in Mexico. Souza won the award for her work in the Cuatro Cienegas Basin, where she does basic research on microbial ecology and evolution with extensive outreach. Souza studied at UCI as a postdoc from 1990 to 1992; she’s at UCI on her second sabbatical visit for 2009-10. Souza will receive her award in Mexico City March 25.