Three named university distinguished professors

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K-Statement

Three named university distinguished professors

A chemist, a biochemist and a political scientist are K-State's three newest university distinguished professors, a lifetime title that represents the highest honor K-State can bestow on its faculty.

Newly named university distinguished professors are Dale Herspring, political science; Duy Hua, chemistry; and Subbaratnam Muthukrishnan, biochemistry. Each recipient will receive a $10,000 salary supplement and will be honored at fall commencement ceremonies in December.

"I am extremely impressed with the accomplishments of these internationally recognized professors," said K-State Provost M. Duane Nellis. "Such faculty contribute significantly to our efforts to be among the premier land grant institutions nationally."

Herspring, university distinguished professor of political science, has an international reputation as one of America's leading experts on Russia, Germany and Eastern Europe. He spent more than 20 years in the U.S. State Department's Foreign Service and32 years in the U.S. Navy, both in active and reserve duty. He is author of 12 books, with two more in preparation. and dozens of articles. He is a permanent member of the Council on Foreign Relations. The council, established in 1921, is the most prestigious foreign policy organization in the United States. A nonpartisan group, the council meets with key foreign policy-makers and experts. Membership on the panel includes some of the nation's top individuals in business, academic, media and government. Herspring joined K-State in 1993, and has been a visiting professor in the Center for Russia and East European Studies at the University of Kansas since 1996. At K-State, he was recognized with a Commerce Bank Distinguished Graduate Faculty award in 2004 and recognized as outstanding adviser by Mortar Board in 1997. He also is a member of the editorial boards of both the Communist and Post-Communist Studies and the Russian-American Journal of Advanced Law and Policy. He is a member of the scientific board in France of The Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies. Herspring graduated with a bachelor's degree from Stanford University in 1965. He received his master's degree from Georgetown University in 1967 and his doctoral degree from the University of Southern California in 1972.

Hua, university distinguished professor of chemistry, has been active as a researcher, teacher and mentor to undergraduates and graduate students. He has trained abut 30 graduate students and a similar number of undergraduate researchers, postdoctoral fellows and research assistants. Hua's research interests include natural product synthesis; the development of new methodology for chiral induction; studies of bio-based polymers; and the synthesis of bioactive molecules, including anti-cancer, anti-malarial and anti-Alzheimer's agents. He has been the lead investigator or co-leader on extramural research grants exceeding $5 million. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 scientific articles and he and his colleagues have been awarded five U.S. patents. He also has lectured on his work across the world and has served as a visiting professor at the University of Kyoto and Tokushima University, both in Japan, and at the University of Strasbourg in France.

His honors include receiving the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship in 1989; a Research Opportunity Award in 1995 from the Research Corporation, a private foundation that supports advancement of research in the physical sciences; and the Segebrecht Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award from K-State's department of chemistry in 2000. He received the 2004-2005 Commerce Bank Distinguished Graduate Faculty Award. He also received the 2004 Alumni Achievement Award from Southern Illinois University. He was selected to present lectures at two prestigious international symposiums, one in 2001 in Taiwan, and another in 2002 in Mexico. Hua joined K-State in 1982 and was promoted to full professor in 1991. He received a bachelor's degree from Kyoto University and his Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He also conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard University for two years.

Muthukrishnan, university distinguished professor of biochemistry, is known internationally for his contributions to insect and plant molecular sciences. In the 27 years he has been at K-State, Muthukrishnan and his associates have cloned several genes involved in plant defenses against fungal pathogens and insect pests, scoring several "firsts" in plant and insect gene cloning. Muthukrishnan holds a patent on the use of a biopesticide, and he and his collaborators have developed varieties of crop plants and other plants more resistant to pests and disease. His laboratories examine characteristics of genes in the red flour beetle, and his research has been supported by more than $5 million in extramural funding.

Muthukrishnan, recipient of the William L. Stamey Award for Excellence in Teaching from K-State's College of Arts and Sciences, has trained 12 doctoral students, 18 master's degree students and 15 post doctoral researchers at K-State. Muthukrishnan has more than 140 refereed publications, is editor of the book, "Plant PR-Proteins," has served on various review panels for the National Science Foundation and has organized conference workshops. He has been an invited speaker at scientific conferences all over the world. He is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology. He earned his doctorate in his native India from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. He did his postdoctoral work at several other institutions in the United States before coming to K-State in 1980.

University distinguished professors are appointed following a university-wide competition held by the provost.

April 19, 2007 / Vol. 29, No. 19