J. Jordan Price, St. Mary’s College professor of biology, has been named Steven Muller Distinguished Professor in the Sciences. Price was honored during the college’s 2015 Awards Convocation held April 24.
The Steven Muller Distinguished Professorship in the Sciences honors faculty at St. Mary’s College whose accomplishments in the sciences have established their expertise in a field of research relevant to our understanding of the world we inhabit. The recipient contributes to a vital dialogue among scientists which is enhanced by the research contributions of St. Mary’s students. Through laboratory and field exploration, the scientific principles of inquiry and analysis are applied to develop the systematic and technical skills of our young students whose lives are enriched by the excitement of discovery.
Jordan Price is the author of 30 peer-reviewed scientific papers, nearly half of which include undergraduate student co-authors. His research integrates two disparate fields of biology—animal behavior and molecular evolution—to investigate the evolution of animal communication signals including the songs and color patterns of birds. Jordan’s studies have been featured on the covers of four widely read scientific journals and in a number of recent textbooks. His current research focuses on the evolutionary mechanisms underlying male-female differences in songbirds.
Jordan received a B.Sc.H. from Queen’s University in Canada and his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Minnesota before joining St. Mary’s College in 2002. Grant support for his work has included five Research Opportunity Awards from the National Science Foundation. Jordan was named the Centennial Scholar in Residence at the University of Michigan Biological Station in 2008-2009, and he was awarded the Norton T. Dodge Award for Creative and Scholarly Achievement by a Junior Faculty Member in 2007.
The Steven Muller Distinguished Professorship in the Sciences award, established in honor of former St. Mary’s College Board Chair, was established in 2000, along with a companion one in the arts.