The National Science Foundation has honored UC Santa Barbara Assistant Professor Kristin Morell as one of its 2021 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award winners. The CAREER award is the foundation’s most prestigious honor in support of early career faculty, recognizing young faculty who have the potential to become exemplars in research and education. “I’m tremendously honored to have received this award, and I’m really looking forward to encouraging more students to become excited about the geosciences and enjoying fieldwork,” Morell said. She plans to leverage the distinction and funding to support her research on plate tectonics and provide opportunities for underrepresented students to get involved in geoscience.