AMES, IA, June 29, 2021 /24-7PressRelease/ — Marquis Who’s Who, the world’s premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Lee Anne Mordy Willson with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Dr. Willson celebrates many years’ experience in her professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes she has accrued in her field. As in all Marquis Who’s Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Dr. Willson taught at Iowa State University for 41 years, while carrying out an internationally recognized research program on stars like the Sun when they get old. She was originally recruited by the aforementioned university after earning a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Michigan in 1973. Dr. Willson was the first woman to achieve tenure in her department, and also in the first group of Iowa State University faculty to be named to the rank of University Professor in 1993.
In addition to her remarkable teaching career, Dr. Willson served as a board member for the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy from 1989 until 2002. She was selected for the Wayne G. Basler Chair of Excellence for the Integration of the Arts, Rhetoric and Science at East Tennessee State University in recognition of her success as a scientist and an artist. Thanks to her dedication to research and renowned expertise in astronomical physics, Dr. Willson has served on a number of advisory boards and panels for the National Science Foundation, as well as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
From 1999 until 2001, Dr. Willson was elected the president of the American Association of Variable Star Observers. 10 years later, she served three years as a vice president of the American Astronomical Society (AAS). The AAS had previously awarded her with the Annie Jump Cannon prize, which celebrates outstanding research by a female postdoctoral researcher. She was also named a Legacy Fellow of the American Astronomical Society in recognition for her contributions to the field of astronomy.
As an artist, Dr. Willson has combined photography, paperfolding, and fabric in unique ways, and has exhibited and sold her work. She has also been involved in providing opportunities for artists, including as co-founder of Creative Artists’ Studios of Ames and as President of the Board of Trustees for the Octagon Center for the Arts.
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