May 7, 2021

The university, college and physiology community is celebrating Scott Powers, Ed.D. Ph.D., UAA Endowed Professor, distinguished professor, in the Department of Applied Physiology & Kinesiology.

Dr. Powers, who retires this month, received the Bodil M. Schmidt-Nielsen Distinguished Mentor and Scientist Award from the American Physiological Society (APS). He is the 18th recipient of the award which recognizes those who have made outstanding contributions to physiological research and demonstrated dedication and commitment to excellence in training of young physiologists.

As Dr. Powers explained, this award was different – he did not know he was nominated. One of his nominators, Erin Talbert, PhD ’13, assistant professor in human physiology at University of Iowa, said that all of Dr. Powers nominators, all busy academic researchers, responded with their full support in less than 10-minutes when emailed if they’d be willing to write a letter to support Powers for the honor.

Dr. Powers explained that the award was also meaningful because he worked at UF with Bodil M. Schmidt-Nielsen, the award’s namesake. Dr. Schmidt-Nielsen, a physiologist who became the first woman president of APS, spent her winters in Florida and earned emeritus professor status at UF.

Dr. Powers is the first person from UF to receive the award named after Schmidt-Nielsen. As winner of the prestigious APS award, Dr. Powers was asked to deliver a speech – his 10 tips for mentoring trainees.

Dr. Powers delivered the following 11 tips for mentoring research trainees
(The award presentation and Dr. Powers’ lecture is available through May 31 on the APS conference website at the 4:56 mark.)

1. Lead by example
2. Don’t provide all the answers
3. Stress the importance of work-life integration
4. Provide emotional support and encouragement (especially during a pandemic)
5. Quality of data is the most important element in science
6. Becoming a good scientist requires mastering the science of critical thinking
7. Want to be a successful scientist? Learn to write!
8. Teach that failure will occur and is required for future success
9. Stress the importance of goal setting and developing an action plan to achieve goals
10. Underscore that a career in teaching/research is NOT a sprint, but rather, it is an endurance event!
11. The key to becoming an outstanding mentor is simple: Becoming a great mentor is to attract great talent to your laboratory. Quality in = Quality out

Powers research has profoundly altered the understanding of exercise physiology. His work has revealed the mechanisms responsible for the protective effects of exercise on cardiac and skeletal muscles. His findings have shaped new techniques designed to improve outcomes for patients, including those on ventilators. He has had more than 30 years of continuous research funding, serves on numerous editorial boards for scholarly journals and as senior editor for the Journal of Physiology.

Powers began his career as a public educator in Atlanta after earning a B.S. in physical education and health from Carson Newman University in Tennessee and an M.Ed. in exercise physiology from University of Georgia. He earned two doctorates, an Ed.D. from University of Tennessee and a Ph.D. from Louisiana State University.

After earning tenure at Louisiana State University, Powers moved to Gainesville in 1988 to join the faculty in what was then known as the Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences in the College of Health & Human Performance (HHP). His leadership included serving as director of the Center for Exercise Science and chair of the department. In 1991, he was named professor and became the UAA Endowed Professor and Distinguished Professor in 2004. Powers received the university-wide 2016-2017 UF Teacher Scholar of the Year Award.

Powers has authored more than 250 manuscripts and served as the primary mentor for more than 40 graduate students, 14 postdoctoral students and 9 international fellows. His trainees have gone on to positions at Duke, Yale, Emory and numerous other universities across the world. He is the coauthor on four textbooks including one that has been translated into eight languages.

In 2019, Dr. Powers addressed doctoral graduates and guests at the university-wide Doctoral Commencement. Watch the address.

“I'd like to wish Dr. Powers a wonderful retirement,” said Michael Reid, dean. “Dr. Powers is leaving an incredible legacy – his work on muscle function is well known around the world. Because of all the work he has done, we mustn’t forget the role he has played as an educator. He has helped establish the academic rigor and collegiality around our college.”

When asked about his career at HHP, Dr. Powers shared that his best memories came from working with the many talented post-doc, graduate, and undergraduate trainees.

Powers said that the university provided an outstanding opportunity for being part of a great team. He said the aspirations to become a top public university laid the foundation for recruiting top notch faculty.

In celebration of Dr. Powers’ retirement, Art Mowery, BSESS '91 DMD '96, and Kim Mowery, BSESS '96 DMD '01, and their family, have endowed a fund in the college in Dr. Powers name.

Dr. Powers is taking his first summer off since 1965. He and his wife will move to St. Augustine. He plans to continue teaching and mentoring junior faculty at Stetson University.

Congratulations, Dr. Powers! We wish you all the best in your retirement!
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Correction: A previous version of this article referenced the American Physiological Association. Please note that the award is provided by the American Physiological Society, not association.