NC State Honors Outstanding Faculty

NC State honored more than 30 faculty members for their outstanding contributions to the university community in teaching, research and engagement during the 2019 Celebration of Faculty Excellence on May 1.

The annual event honors faculty who have won prestigious state, national and international awards and created new knowledge and advancements in their respective disciplines.

Chancellor Randy Woodson presented the Alexander Quarles Holladay Medal for Excellence, NC State’s highest award recognizing faculty achievement.

The 2019 honorees were:

• Donald Bitzer, Distinguished University Professor, Department of Computer Science
• Youngsoo (Richard) Kim, Jimmy D. Clark Distinguished University Professor in Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering

Five NC State Board of Trustees members — Jimmy Clark, Tom Cabaniss, Jim Harrell III, Susan Ward and Emma Carter — assisted in the presentation.

Patrick Rand was recognized for receiving the University of North Carolina Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching, the most prestigious award given to faculty for teaching excellence. Rand, who joined the faculty in 1977, is a professor of architecture in the College of Design. He teaches architectural design studios, a thesis preparation seminar, architectural construction systems, and architectural detailing and innovative materials seminars. In his courses, Rand focuses on the relationship between design and building technologies. He is one of NC State’s first recipients of a Fulbright Distinguished Chair Award. Rand is currently researching and teaching in Finland as a result of his Fulbright award.

Walt Wolfram, William C. Friday Distinguished University Professor in the Department of English, won the 2018 Gov. James E. Holshouser Jr. Award for Excellence in Public Service. The Holshouser Award is given to one UNC System faculty member each year who “exemplifies public service toward improving the quality of life for all North Carolinians.” Wolfram is one of the nation’s foremost scholars on social and ethnic dialects and African American vernacular English.

Provost Arden also recognized the following honored faculty:

• Veronica Augustyn, assistant professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering: Sloan Research Fellowship
• Rodolphe Barrangou, Todd R. Klaenhammer Distinguished Professor in Probiotics Research, Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences: National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Sciences
• Sylvia Blankenship, professor emerita, Department of Horticultural Science, and senior associate dean emerita, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: National Academy of Inventors
• Ashley Brown, assistant professor, UNC/NC State Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering: National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award
• Matthew Bryant, assistant professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, NSF CAREER Award
• Michael Daniele, assistant professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and UNC/NC State Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering: NSF CAREER Award
• Michael Escuti, professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: National Academy of Inventors, Senior Membership
• Frederico Freitas, assistant professor, Department of History: National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship
• Fernando Garcia Menendez, assistant professor, Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering: NSF CAREER Award
• Marsha Gordon, professor, Department of English: National Humanities Center Fellowship
• Xiaogang Hu, assistant professor, UNC/-NC State Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering: NSF CAREER Award
• Ilse Ipsen, professor, Department of Mathematics: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow
• Tim Kelley, Drexel Professor of Mathematics: AAAS Fellow
• James Kiwanuka-Tondo, associate professor, Department of Communication: Fulbright Scholar Award
• Jennifer Kuzma, Goodnight-North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation Distinguished Professor, School of Public and International Affairs: AAAS Fellow
• Louis Martin-Vega, dean, College of Engineering: AAAS Fellow
• Katherine Mellen Charron, associate professor, Department of History: National Humanities Center Fellowship
• Mark Nance, associate professor of political science, School of Public and International Affairs: Fulbright Scholar Award
• David Papp, assistant professor, Department of Mathematics: NSF CAREER Award
• Jason Patrick, assistant professor, Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering: U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Award
• Jean Ristaino, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology: Fulbright Scholar Award
• Teomara (Teya) Rutherford, assistant professor, Department of Teacher Education and Learning Sciences, NSF CAREER Award
• Arvind Saibaba, assistant professor, Department of Mathematics, NSF CAREER Award
• Brent Sirota, associate professor, Department of History: National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship
• Koji Sode, professor, UNC/NC State Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering: National Academy of Inventors
• Anna Stepanova, assistant professor, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology: NSF CAREER Award
• Micah Vandergrift, open knowledge librarian, NC State University Libraries: Fulbright Scholar Award
• Yuan Yao, assistant professor, Department of Forest Biomaterials: NSF CAREER Award

2019 marks the eighth year of the Celebration of Faculty Excellence. In recognition of all honored faculty, the university will light the Memorial Belltower red for the night on May 8.

This post was originally published in Provost's Office News.