A Mississippi State University sociologist and research scientist is being honored by a professional organization for his studies of regional issues.
Frank M. Howell has received the Southern Rural Sociological Association's 2000 Excellence in Research Award for outstanding achievements in the study of social and environmental impacts on the region.
SRSA is a professional body representing sociologists, anthropologists, agricultural and resource economists, extension specialists, natural resource and environmental specialists, home economists, and others in the field. The excellence award is its top honor.
"The high quality of research conducted by Dr. Howell and the impact it has had on policies and activities in the rural South is deserving of recognition," said Bo Beaulieu, director of the MSU-based Southern Rural Development Center.
Howell, who holds master's and doctoral degrees from Mississippi State, is a research scientist at the university's Social Science Research Center. He also is a former president of the Alabama-Mississippi Sociological Association.
Howell's primary areas of investigation include education and youth policy, business dynamics and local community development and off-target agricultural chemical movement.
An early user of geographic information software in his classes, he is the university's coordinator of the Mississippi Space Commerce Initiative that focuses on commercial applications of GIS technology. In 1999, a leading developer of GIS software recognized the university's leadership in establishing remote sensing technology in Mississippi, specifically citing Howell's role in aiding its development.
He previously won the MSU Alumni Association's Graduate Level Teaching Award.
