Texas A&M University Institute for Advanced Study introduces its Faculty Fellows for 2016-17

Image: Texas A&M University Institute for Advanced Study

In a public ceremony held Sept. 20 inside the Great Hall of the Jack K. Williams Administration Building, the Texas A&M University Institute for Advanced Study (TIAS) revealed its class of Faculty Fellows for the 2016-17 academic year. TIAS welcomed 10 new Faculty Fellows, each of whom is renowned for conducting groundbreaking research in chemistry, mathematics, engineering, medicine, astronomy, atmospheric science, marketing or law.

The latest class of Faculty Fellows includes members of the nation’s National Academies as well as representatives from major scientific or professional organizations in the United States, the United Kingdom,  Canada and Germany.

Each Faculty Fellow will partner with one or more of the departments offering graduate degrees housed in Texas A&M’s 16 colleges or schools or at Texas A&M’s branch campus in Galveston. The Institute provides fellowships for graduate students to work with Faculty Fellows, as well as funding to support visiting graduate students and post-doctoral researchers affiliated with the Faculty Fellows.

A long-time champion of the Institute, Chancellor John Sharp of The Texas A&M University System provided the funds that launched TIAS in 2010. “The talent that the TIAS program brings to Texas A&M is causing everyone else in higher education to take notice,” Chancellor Sharp said. “It was money well spent to enrich the academic experience with such world-class scholars and researchers.”

President Michael K. Young of Texas A&M University said, “This fifth class of TIAS Faculty Fellows offers truly outstanding credentials. In collaboration with our exemplary faculty, these Fellows will sustain the extraordinary trajectory of TIAS, inspire truly transformative intellectual experiences among our students, and advance the international reputation of the Texas A&M research enterprise.”

Provost and Executive Vice President Karan Watson said, “Each of these remarkable individuals offers a strong portfolio of world-class accomplishments in their fields. As we have seen with the previous four classes of Faculty Fellows, the research that will emerge from their collaborations with our own outstanding faculty and students will be exciting and extraordinary.”

Each year, the Institute selects its Faculty Fellows from among top scholars who have distinguished themselves through outstanding professional accomplishments or significant recognition. Former classes have included two Nobel laureates, a Wolf Prize recipient, a recipient of the Hubble Medal in Literature for Lifetime Achievement, a recipient of the National Medal of Science, an awardee of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, a recipient of the highest award in Architecture and a two-time recipient of the State Prize of Russia.

TIAS Founding Director John L. Junkins said, “This fifth class of ten outstanding scholars have intellectual strengths centered in six colleges, however their scholarship impacts many disciplines.   These Fellows being in residence afford our faculty and students extraordinary opportunities to collaborate one-on-one with top people in their fields. We expect game-changing and life-changing outcomes as a consequence.”

The Institute will induct the Faculty Fellows Class of 2016-17 at its annual gala in early 2017:

Christopher C. Cummins, Henry Dreyfus Professor of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Among the most innovative synthetic chemists of his generation, known for his impact on small molecule activation, Cummins is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a corresponding member of Germany’s Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Cummins will collaborate with faculty-researchers from the College of Science and the Dwight Look College of Engineering.

Ingrid Daubechies, James B. Duke Professor of Mathematics and Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University – One of the world’s most cited mathematicians recognized for her study of the mathematical methods that enhance image-compression technology, Daubechies is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Daubechies will collaborate with faculty-researchers from the College of Science and the Dwight Look College of Engineering.

Gerald Galloway, Glenn L. Martin Institute Professor of Engineering, University of Maryland – Regarded as the leading flood-management expert in the United States, he is known for his work on the Galloway Report, a federal study that focused on the Great Flood of 1993 along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Galloway is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Public Administration. He will collaborate with faculty-researchers at Texas A&M University at Galveston.

Huajian Gao, Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Engineering, Brown University – Known for his research into micromechanics, the basic principles that control mechanical properties and behaviors of materials in both engineering and biology, Gao is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He will collaborate with faculty-researchers in the Dwight Look College of Engineering.

Maryellen Giger, A.N. Pritzker Professor of Radiology and College Vice-Chair for Basic Science Research, The University of Chicago – An expert in computer-aided diagnosis as well as digital signal and image processing, Giger is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. She will collaborate with faculty-researchers in the Dwight Look College of Engineering as well as with scientists and clinicians in the Texas A&M Health Science Center, the Houston Medical Center and local hospitals.

Robert Kennicutt Jr., Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy, University of Cambridge – Best known for his work on the Kennicutt-Schmidt law, which relates gas density to star-formation rates, Kennicutt is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Fellow of the Royal Society in the United Kingdom. Kennicutt will collaborate with faculty-researchers in the College of Science.

Charles E. Kolb, President and Chief Executive Officer, Aerodyne Research Inc. – A leader of one of the world’s most prominent research institutions specializing in atmospheric chemistry, air quality and climate, Kolb is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a recipient of the Alexander von Humboldt Research Award. Kolb will collaborate with faculty-researchers in the College of Geosciences.

V. Kumar, Regents’ Professor and the Richard and Susan Lenny Distinguished Chair Professor of Marketing, Georgia State University – An acknowledged expert on marketing research methods and customer relationship management strategy, Kumar has been recognized with eight lifetime achievement awards. Kumar will collaborate with faculty-researchers in the Mays Business School.

William M. Sage, James R. Dougherty Chair for Faculty Excellence in Law and Vice Provost for Health Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin – Nationally known as an expert in national health care reform including market principles driving access to health care, Sage is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. Sage will collaborate with faculty-researchers in the School of Public Health, the College of Medicine, the Bush School of Government and Public Service and the School of Law.

Thomas S. Ulen, Swanlund Chair Emeritus at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Professor Emeritus of Law at the University of Illinois College of Law – Author of pioneering textbooks and journal articles that examine a variety of issues related to economics, legal scholarship and legal education. Ulen serves on the Board of Directors and is a founding member of the American Law and Economics Association. He will collaborate with faculty-researchers in the School of Law and the College of Liberal Arts.

News coverage: Texas A&M faculty fellows program ends startup phase with fifth class, The Eagle (Bryan-College Station), Sept. 21, 2016