University Park, Pa. -- In recognition of their outstanding contributions to the University, six faculty members have been given the title of distinguished professor. This special academic title is intended to recognize a limited number of outstanding professors.
Candidates for appointment as distinguished professors are nominated by their peers, departments or programs. They must be current, full-time active members of the faculty holding the rank of professor, not currently holding an endowed chair, professorship or faculty fellowship.
More information about the appointment of distinguished professors is available on the Web at http://guru.psu.edu/policies/OHR/hr10.html
The newly named distinguished professors are:
— Melissa A. Hardy, distinguished professor of human development and family studies in the College of Health and Human Development. Hardy joined the Penn State faculty as director of the Penn State Gerontology Center in August. Before that, she was the Bellamy distinguished professor of sociology at Florida State University and director of the Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy. She is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and recently was named chair-elect-elect of the organization's Behavioral and Social Sciences Section. Hardy graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in sociology from Albright College and received both her master's degree in sociology and her doctorate in sociology with a minor in economics from Indiana University.
— Akhlesh Lakhtakia, distinguished professor of engineering science and mechanics in the College of Engineering. Lakhatakia has been a Penn State faculty member since 1983. He received his bachelor of technology degree in electronics engineering from Banaras Hindu University in India and his master's degree and doctorate from the University of Utah.
— Gary Perdew, professor of veterinary science in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Perdew teaches courses in biochemical and molecular toxicology. His research focuses on dioxin and related compounds and how they cause toxicity in human cells. Before joining Penn State in 1995, he was a faculty member in the foods and nutrition department at Purdue University. Previously, he was a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellow in the oncology department at the University of Wisconsin. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in food science from the University of Maryland and his doctorate in food science from Oregon State University, where he received a Chiles Foundation Graduate Fellowship. In 2002, he was awarded Penn State's Faculty Scholar Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Life and Health Sciences.
— Jack Schultz, professor of entomology in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Schultz, a leader in the emerging field of chemical ecology, studies chemically mediated interactions among plants, insects, microbes and vertebrate predators. His research is aimed at understanding the importance of dynamic plant responses to environmental stimuli. Schultz came to Penn State in 1983. He previously held various teaching and research positions with the University of Chicago, the University of Washington, the Organization for Tropical Studies, Vermont Law School and Dartmouth College. He earned his bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Chicago and his doctorate in zoology from the University of Washington. He was awarded the 1997 Alex and Jessie C. Black Award for Excellence in Research.
— James Shortle, professor of agricultural and environmental policy in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Shortle's teaching and research focus on environmental and natural resource economics. His interests include the integration of economic and environmental information for environmental decision making; economic incentives for environmental management; decision-making under uncertainty; and impacts of climate change on natural hazards, agriculture, human health and water resources. Shortle has been a faculty member at Penn State since 1981. From 1976 to 1981, he held research assistant and research associate positions in the economics departments at Iowa State University and the University of New Mexico. He received a bachelor's degree in economics and political science and a master's degree in economics from the University of New Mexico, and his doctorate in economics from Iowa State University. He was a Fulbright Scholar in 1990 and 1991 and won the Penn State Chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta Research Award of Distinction in 1999.
— Vijay Varadan, distinguished professor of engineering science and mechanics in the College of Engineering. Varadan has been a Penn State faculty member for 20 years. He received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Madras in India, his master's degree in engineering mechanics from Penn State and his doctorate from Northwestern University. Varadan also holds a joint appointment as a professor of neurosurgery in the College of Medicine.