Wanda Taylor, an associate professor of geoscience, has been named the October recipient of the Alumni Faculty Award for Excellence in Academics and Student Focus.

A member of the UNLV faculty since 1991, Taylor has authored or co-authored more than 70 scholarly articles, reports, and invited papers.

In addition, she has received numerous grants for her research, including a UNLV Planning Initiative Award for $30,000 in 1998 and a National Science Foundation award in 1995 for $202,000.

Taylor is a member of the Geological Society of America, the American Geophysical Union, the Nevada Petroleum Society, and Sigma Gamma Epsilon, a geology honor society.

She received her doctorate in structural geology and tectonics from the University of Utah, her master's degree from Syracuse University, and her bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota, Duluth.

Taylor was honored at the alumni leadership luncheon recently along with five other recipients of this year's Alumni Faculty Award.