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Five new Regents Professors named by University of Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL ( 6/13/2007 ) -- Five University of Minnesota professors have been named Regents Professors by the university's Board of Regents. The designation is the highest level of recognition given to faculty by the university. They are chemical engineering and materials sciences professor Frank Bates, cultural studies and comparative literature professor Richard Leppert, American studies and history professor Elaine Tyler May, psychology professor Matt McGue and forest resources professor Peter Reich. "This year's Regents Professors have exhibited outstanding academic distinction throughout the university and across the globe in their many fields of study," said University President Robert Bruininks. "Their bold and diverse discoveries and commitment to excellence embody the core mission of this university and the drive to become one of the top three public research universities in the world." The addition of the five new Regents Professors increases the total number of Regents Professorships from 20 to 25 and is part of the university's strategic positioning effort, said Bruininks. "Our new elite group of Regents Professors proves the academic excellence that continues to thrive at the University of Minnesota," said Provost Thomas Sullivan. "Throughout their careers, professors Bates, Leppert, May, McGue and Reich have excelled in the quality of their academic contributions, engaged their students in the classroom and enhanced the reputation of the University of Minnesota." More about the Regents Professors and their research: Frank Bates (Institute of Technology) Frank Bates, a Distinguished McKnight professor in the department of chemical engineering and materials science, has achieved an outstanding international reputation for his pioneering achievements as a polymer scientist. He discovered the deuterium isotope effect in polymer blends, which has had lasting results on numerous phase behavior studies using neutron scattering. This groundbreaking work set him apart from his peers at an early stage in his career. Bates is among a very small number of polymer scientists who have shaped the current field of polymer physical science and is considered the leading expert on the use of neutron scattering as a tool in organic materials science. As an engineer he has invented useful products and processes for society including the manufacture and use of materials in drug delivery and other applications. Richard Leppert (College of Liberal Arts) Richard Leppert, a Morse Alumni Distinguished Teacher and professor in the department of cultural studies and comparative literature, is involved in interdisciplinary teaching and research on the history of modernity in Europe and North America with a focus on the study of music, visual culture and aesthetics. He is considered to be among the most significant intellectuals working at the intersections of disciplinary knowledge in the humanities today. Leppert is the author of nine books, with a tenth book in press, which have been reviewed by over fifty academic journals in the fields of musicology, art history, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, critical theory, literary studies and history, as well as in the national and international press. He is also credited with the co-creation of the Comparative Studies in Discourse & Society program, which is considered among the best of its kind in the nation and subsequently gives Minnesota the recognition of being a national leader in interdisciplinary humanities inquiry. This success is one of many the department achieved under his fifteen-year tenure as department chair. His awards and recognitions include the Samuel Russel Distinguished Chair in the Humanities, the Fesler-Lambert Chair, the Guggenheim Fellowship, the American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship and multiple awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Elaine Tyler May (College of Liberal Arts) Elaine Tyler May, a professor in the American studies and history departments, is an internationally renowned scholar of 20th century United States history and American studies. A colleagues wrote, "Her scholarship has transformed American history by linking the family to the public world of politics and work and has made private life a central field of historical inquiry." She has written four books and is working on her fifth about the history and culture of the modern American family. Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era was so influential that it continues to be on the reading lists for both graduate and undergraduate courses in American history and American studies, both here and abroad. May is the recipient of numerous awards and recognition including the Distinguished Woman Scholar Award in the Humanities and Social Science, the Fesler-Lampert Chair in the Humanities, the College of Liberal Arts Dean's Medal for Excellence in Scholarship and Creativity, and the College of Liberal Arts Scholar of the College Award. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment of the Humanities, the American Philosophical Society and the American Council of Learned Societies, to name a few. Matt McGue (College of Liberal Arts) Matt McGue, a professor in the department of psychology, is internationally renowned in the fields of behavioral and epidemiological genetics and is considered to be the world leader in the application of sophisticated behavior genetic methods to address critical questions about why humans differ in significant psychological characteristics such as personality, intelligence and psychopathology. His earlier work demonstrated the link between schizophrenia and multiple genes and recently he has used innovative research designs and landmark longitudinal studies to understand human behavioral development. These studies were the basis for a very influential model that shows how individual risk and family rearing practices lead to addiction, how genetic and experiential factors contribute to longevity and mental health in old age and how inherited factors influence the development of differences in many adult behaviors. He has provided leadership at the departmental, university, national and international level and has served on many committees within the institution. He served as the director of the Behavior Genetics and Individual Differences Program for ten years, and as associate department chair and then department chair. McGue is the recipient of several awards, including the Research Scientist Development Award from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), Scholar of the College (CLA) and the James Shields Award (Behavior Genetics Association), to name a few. Peter Reich (College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences) Peter Reich, a Distinguished McKnight Professor in the department of forest resources, is described by his nominators "as an international leader in the ecological, environmental and plant sciences, and among the most frequently cited researchers in his field in the world, and is a truly exceptional teacher and mentor." An exceptionally stellar member of the faculty, professor Reich has an exemplary reputation internationally for his work in plant biology, ecosystem ecology and global biology. As a result of his studies, there has been a dramatic increase in the understanding of the biology of higher plants. He discovered a universal size-based scaling law regarding metabolism in plants. Reich's lab also identified the general equation that describes the instantaneous temperature response function of plant respiration as well as how plant respiration varies with seasonal temperature changes, and he discovered universal rules governing leaf design. His studies and research regarding global environmental change have contributed to a much better understanding of plant productivity and ecosystem sustainability, plant species diversity, elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide and nitrogen pollution The Regents Professor position was established in 1965 by the Board of Regents to recognize the national and international prominence of faculty members. It serves as the highest recognition for faculty who have made unique contributions to the quality of the University of Minnesota through exceptional accomplishments in teaching, research and scholarship or creative work, and contributions to the public good. ---------- |
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