Academics

Three Penn State faculty members awarded Evan Pugh Professorships

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Three Penn State faculty members have been named Evan Pugh Professors, joining a list of only 62 recognized since the title's inception in 1960. Even Pugh Professorships are the highest honor the University bestows on its faculty.

The latest honorees are Jainendra K. Jain, Erwin Mueller Professor of Physics, Eberly College of Science; James F. Kasting, Distinguished Professor of Geosciences, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences; and Bruce E. Logan, Kappe Professor of Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering.

The Evan Pugh Professorships, named for Penn State's first president, are awarded to faculty members who are nationally or internationally acknowledged leaders in their fields of research or creative activity; have demonstrated significant leadership in raising the standards of the University with respect to teaching, research or creativity, and service; and demonstrate excellent teaching skills with undergraduate and graduate students who have subsequently achieved distinction in their field.

Jainendra K. Jain joined the Penn State faculty in 1998. As a condensed matter theorist, his research has focused on the area of strongly interacting electronic systems in low dimensions. He is best known for work leading to the discovery of exotic particles called composite fermions and for developing the theoretical basis for the phenomenon knows as the fractional quantum Hall effect.

Jain holds a doctorate from Stony Brook University and completed postdoctoral work at the University of Maryland and Yale University. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. He is a recipient of the Oliver E. Buckley Prize of the American Physical Society.

Visit http://www.phys.psu.edu/people/display/index.html?person_id=38 to learn more about Jainendra K. Jain and his research.

James Kasting joined the Penn State faculty in 1988. He specializes in the evolution of Earth's climate and atmosphere. Another area of interest is the study of habitable zones around other star systems, a field that is critical to the search for extraterrestrial life.

Kasting received his doctorate from the University of Michigan. In addition to being a member of the American Academy of Sciences, he is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life, the American Geophysical Union and the Geochemical Society. He also serves on the editorial boards for Astrobiology and Geobiology. Kasting won the Oparin Medal from the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life in 2008.

Visit http://www3.geosc.psu.edu/~jfk4/PersonalPage/Kasting.htm to learn more about James Kasting and his research.

Bruce E. Logan joined the Penn State faculty in 1997. His research has focused on the sustainability of the water infrastructure and the production of electricity and energy carriers, such as hydrogen, from biomass to help provide energy for the needs of water infrastructure. He specializes in microbial fuel cells, biological hydrogen production and new methods of renewable energy production.

Logan received his doctorate from University of California, Berkeley. He is a Fellow of the Water Environmental Federation and International Water Association. Logan received the Athalie Richardson Irvine Clarke Prize for his research in water science and technologies in 2009, one of the most prestigious water prizes in the world.

Visit http://www.engr.psu.edu/ce/enve/logan/research_interest.htm to learn more about Bruce E. Logan and his research.

An advisory committee of seven distinguished Penn State faculty members, including three Evan Pugh Professors, review nominations for the honor and make recommendations to the University president.

Of the 62 Evan Pugh Professors, 19 are still actively teaching and pursuing research or creative work at Penn State.

Visit http://www.research.psu.edu/about/faculty-staff-resources/faculty-honors-1/evan-pugh-professors for more information about the Evan Pugh Professorships.

Last Updated January 9, 2015

Contact