Texas A&M Institute for Advanced Study Attracts Nobel Laureate, Eight Other Eminent Scholars

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Sept. 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Texas A&M University Institute for Advanced Study (TIAS), which has a mission of bringing nationally and internationally renowned scholars to campus for extended visits to interact with current faculty and students, has attracted its second class of such notables. The nine TIAS Faculty Fellows for the 2013-14 academic year include a Nobel Laureate and members of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and comparable European academies.

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Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp, who made possible a $5 million endowment for TIAS through the Academic Scholars Enhancement Program after The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents authorized establishment of the institute in 2010.  The Chancellor cited the "stellar credentials" of the 2013-14 TIAS Faculty Fellows and underscored the premise on which the institute was founded.

"TIAS represents an important and highly successful investment in the future of Texas A&M. It is the result of over a decade of effort by many people, beginning with a white paper authored by Dr. John Junkins (TIAS founding director) and other Distinguished Professors.  The quest to establish the institute has brought together the faculty and administration to pursue a most exciting initiative that is destined to greatly enhance excellence of Texas A&M," Sharp said.  "TIAS distinguishes Texas A&M in a uniquely positive way relative to all public universities. Continuing to attract scholars to the institute and Texas A&M over several years will result in a dramatic enhancement of both the quality and reputation of the University."

They will serve as in-residence TIAS Faculty Fellows for two to nine months, joining the six 2012-13 Faculty Fellows, all of whom are continuing collaboration with numerous Texas A&M faculty and students, university officials note. The expectation is that by 2018 the university will be attracting 20 new world-class scholars each year for even greater opportunities for interaction, the officials added.

Texas A&M President R. Bowen Loftin, noting that TIAS is an outgrowth of the university's academic master plan, joined in welcoming the new TIAS Faculty Fellows and noted how they will interact with current faculty and students.  "Each of these Fellows will team with one or more 'rising star' young faculty at Texas A&M to work on collaborative research projects and activities that engage Texas A&M graduate and undergraduate students," Loftin explained. "These scholars will join our already-distinguished faculty to help enrich our academic, research and learning environment. The Fellows in the 2013-14 class are the type of world-renowned scholars we sought to attract to the university through the creation of the institute, which I consider to play an essential role in our Vision 2020 goal to become a consensus top-10 public research university by the year 2020.  This new class represents substantial progress toward realizing the vision of 20 Fellows per year by 2018."

TIAS Founding Director John L. Junkins praised the selection of this second class of Fellows. "The positive impact on the University as a consequence of attracting these extraordinarily accomplished individuals cannot be over-emphasized," said Junkins. "These exceptional scholars, together with our current top-flight faculty, will help foster an even more vibrant environment for research and teaching, and will pay tremendous future dividends through enhanced collaborations and faculty recruitment." Representing disciplines across the university's colleges and schools, the 2013-14 TIAS Faculty Fellows are:

• Leif Andersson, Professor of Functional Genomics, Uppsala University, National Academy of Sciences (Foreign Associate Member); Royal Swedish Academy of Science (Member)
• Satya N. Atluri, Distinguished Professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, The University of California-Irvine, National Academy of Engineering (Member)
• Claude A. Bouchard, Professor of Genetics and Nutrition, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Albert Creff Prize, French National Academy of Engineering; Belgium Royal Academy of Medicine (Foreign Member)
• Christodoulos A. Floudas, Professor of Engineering and Applied Science, Princeton University, National Academy of Engineering
• Roy G. Glauber, Professor of Physics, Harvard University, Nobel Prize in Physics; National Academy of Sciences (Member)
• Roger E. Howe, Professor of Mathematics, Yale University, National Academy of Science (Member); American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Member)
• Robert S. Levine, Professor of English and Distinguished Scholar, University of Maryland, National Endowment for the Humanities (Senior Fellowship); Outstanding Book Award (Choice Magazine)
• Wolfgang Schleich, Professor of Theoretical Physics, University Ulm, Academia Europaea (Member); Austrian Academy of Sciences (Member); Danish Royal Academy (Member)
• Peter J. Stang, Professor of Chemistry, University of Utah, National Academy of Sciences (Member); American Academy of Arts & Sciences (Member); President Barack Obama, National Medal of Science

They will join with the six members of the 2012-13 class:

• Jay Dunlap, Nathan Smith Professor and Chair of the Department of Genetics at Dartmouth Medical School;
• Peter Liss, Professorial Fellow in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, England;
• Alan Needleman, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering in the College of Engineering, University of North Texas;
• Aleda Roth, Burlington Industries Distinguished Professor in Supply Chain Management, College of Business and Behavioral Science, Clemson University;
• K.R. Sreenivasan, University Professor, Department of Physics and the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University; and
• Vernon Smith, Professor of Economics and Law, George L. Argyros Endowed Chair in Finance and Economics, Economic Science Institute, Chapman University, Nobel Prize in Economics.

Faculty Fellows are annually selected through a process led by an electorate of acclaimed current faculty at Texas A&M, consisting of Nobel Laureates, Wolf Medal recipients, National Academies members and distinguished professors, among others.

About the Texas A&M University Institute for Advanced Study: The Texas A&M University Institute for Advanced Study (TIAS) provides a catalyst to enrich the intellectual climate and educational experiences at Texas A&M. The Institute was established in December 2010 by The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents to build on the growing academic reputation of Texas A&M and to provide a framework to attract top scholars from throughout the nation and abroad for appointments of up to a year. The Institute is an outgrowth of the University's Academic Master Plan and is a permanent structural mechanism for attracting world-class talent to the University.  The selection of Fellows initiates with faculty nominations of National Academy and Nobel-prize caliber scholars that align with existing strengths and ambitions of the University. The wide-ranging areas of advanced studies in the Institute include, but are not limited to, architecture; arts, humanities, and social sciences; business; education; engineering; physical, geophysical, agricultural, and life sciences; public and foreign policy; and multiple disciplines. To learn more, visit http://tias.tamu.edu.

About research at Texas A&M University:  As one of the world's leading research institutions, Texas A&M is in the vanguard in making significant contributions to the storehouse of knowledge, including that of science and technology. Research conducted at Texas A&M attracts more than $770 million in externally funded grants and contracts. That research creates new knowledge that provides basic, fundamental and applied contributions resulting in many cases in economic benefits to the state, nation and world. To learn more, visit http://vpr.tamu.edu.  

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SOURCE Texas A&M University