The O'Neill School is honored to present the following prestigious awards and events. The Ron Hites Prize in Environmental Science recognizes impactful work addressing environmental challenges, and the Bonser Distinguished Lecture Series features prominent speakers who examine the vital connections between business and public policy.
The Ron Hites Prize in Environmental Science
The Ron Hites Prize in Environmental Science was created in 2021 to honor a person whose work, like the late Distinguished Professor Emeritus Ron Hites’s work, has had a transformative impact on environmental science, broadly defined, and who has contributed to solving complex environmental challenges. The Hites Prize recipient will accept the prize and deliver a lecture at the Indiana University Bloomington campus.
Eligibility
The Hites Prize is open to scientists, educators, public servants, and environmental activists. Emphasis on selection is given to those who have made either sustained contributions or a single, critical contribution toward solving a complex environmental problem. Current and retired employees of Indiana University are not eligible for the Hites Prize.
The next Hites Prize will be awarded in 2026.
Nominations
Nominations are valid for two years. The nomination period will open on November 1, 2025.
Hites Prize recipients
2024: Sujay S. Kaushal
Sujay S. Kaushal, a professor in the Department of Geology at the University of Maryland, received the Ron Hites Prize in Environmental Science for his influential work on the impacts of land use and climate change on water resources. His research explores the salinization and alkalinization of freshwater, urban watershed evolution, and the use of geochemical tracers to inform watershed restoration and ecological studies.
2022: Alessandra Cincinelli
Alessandra Cincinelli, a renowned researcher in analytic chemistry at the University of Florence in Italy, was named the inaugural winner of the Ron Hites Prize in Environmental Science. Cincinelli’s field of expertise is environmental organic chemistry, where she focuses on state-of-the-art methodologies for measuring trace organic contaminants in the environment. Her research centers on the occurrence, fate, and impact of emerging organic contaminants and microplastics, particularly in marine and atmospheric systems.
About Ronald A. Hites
Ron Hites graduated from Oakland University in 1964 and from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1968. He joined the faculty of MIT as an assistant professor of chemical engineering in 1972, and he moved to Indiana University in 1979. He was promoted to the rank of Distinguished Professor in 1989. He retired in 2020 and is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus.
Hites pioneered a new method of measuring trace levels of potentially toxic persistent organic pollutants in the environment using gas chromatographic mass spectrometry. His research focused on the sources, fates, and effects of trace levels of potentially toxic persistent organic pollutants in the environment. He authored hundreds of papers and several books. He has trained dozens of doctoral students and post-doctoral associates. He was an associate editor of Environmental Science & Technology from 1990-2019. He was a Charter Fellow of the American Chemical Society, a Charter Fellow of the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
With profound sadness, we report that Ron Hites passed away on January 5, 2024.
Bonser Distinguished Lecture Series
Enhancing knowledge of economic issues and stimulating discussion of public policy
The Bonser Distinguished Lecture Series attracts prominent and influential leaders in academia, business, and politics to the Kelley School of Business and the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs to speak about the interactions between public policy and business. Discussions with prominent speakers enhance students’ and faculty members’ knowledge of economic issues and stimulates discussion of public policy. The lecture series is co-administered each year by the Department of Business Economics and Public Policy (Kelley) and the Institute for Development Strategies (O'Neill).
About Charles F. Bonser
Charles "Chuck" Bonser first joined Indiana University in 1960 as assistant director of the Business School's Bureau of Business and Economic Research. During his 37-year career with IU, he held several important positions in both the School of Business and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. These included professor and associate dean of the School of Business (1969-71) and professor and founding dean of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (1971-1988). Upon leaving the deanship of SPEA, he was appointed to the Ameritech Endowed Chair in Economic Development and director of the Institute for Development Strategies. He retired from active faculty service in 1997.
With profound sadness, we share that Dean Emeritus Charles "Chuck" Bonser passed away on August 14, 2024.