Mississippi State University is celebrating a groundbreaking achievement as Associate Professor Amy Dapper becomes the university’s first recipient of the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, or PECASE, the highest U.S. government award for early-career scientists and engineers.

Mississippi State’s Joseph M. Thompson, an assistant professor in the Department of History, has been named a finalist for the 45th annual Los Angeles Times book prize in the history category.

Candace Lukasik, an assistant professor in Mississippi State’s Department of Philosophy and Religion, is joining a highly selective program for emerging scholars poised to shape the future of religious studies.