Lauren Buck, assistant professor in the Division of Games, has been selected as a recipient of the University of Utah Faculty Fellow Award (FFA) from the Office of the Vice President for Research (VPR). The highly competitive award provides one semester of full release time at full salary to support significant scholarly or creative work, enabling faculty to focus intensively on projects that advance their field and contribute to the university’s research mission.

The Faculty Fellow Award supports peer-reviewed scholarly activity and original creative work that demonstrates the discovery or integration of new knowledge, technologies, methods, or materials.

“This award is a strong recognition of Lauren’s creative and scholarly trajectory and of the importance of her work to the Division of Games and the broader university,” said R. Michael Young, Chair of the Division of Games. “The Faculty Fellow Award gives faculty the rare and valuable opportunity to focus deeply on ambitious projects, and I’m excited to see what Lauren accomplishes during her fellowship semester.”

Buck emphasized the importance of sustained time for scholarly inquiry. “Being able to dedicate a full semester to my work will allow me to bolster my career as an Assistant Professor in many ways, from establishing new collaborations to creating novel impact in my field that will set the foundation for my career. This wouldn’t be possible alongside a full teaching and administrative load, and I am deeply grateful to the VPR’s office for this opportunity.” she said.

The Division of Games congratulates Lauren Buck on this achievement and looks forward to the scholarly and creative contributions that will emerge from her Faculty Fellow Award.