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Honoring Outstanding Faculty

The Memorial Belltower at NC State lit in red to celebrate faculty excellence.

NC State recognized 33 outstanding faculty members at the 2016 Celebration of Faculty Excellence on May 3.

The annual event honors faculty who have won prestigious state, national and international awards and accolades throughout the academic year.

During the event, Chancellor Randy Woodson presented five professors with the Alexander Quarles Holladay Medal for Excellence, NC State’s highest honor in recognition of faculty achievement.

This year’s honorees were:

  • Steven G. Allen, associate dean for graduate programs and research, Poole College of Management
  • Robert R.H. Anholt, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of biological sciences
  • Donald W. Brenner, Kobe Steel Distinguished Professor of materials sciences and engineering
  • Rupert W. Nacoste, Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor of psychology
  • Paul Williams, professor of accounting

Four NC State Board of Trustees members — Tom Cabaniss, Jimmy Clark, Susan Ward and Dewayne Washington — assisted in the presentation. The board of trustees established the Holladay Medal in 1992 in honor of the university’s first president. Each recipient has made outstanding contributions to the university in research, teaching, or extension and engagement.

Jeffrey A. Joines received the University of North Carolina Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching, the most prestigious teaching honor given to faculty at UNC System campuses. Joines, an Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor and associate department head in the Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science, will be honored at NC State’s spring commencement on May 7.

Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Warwick A. Arden presented Joines with his award, and recognized the following honored faculty:

Rodolphe Barrangou receives a Gairdner International Award. Photo by Bill Baverstock.
Rodolphe Barrangou, winner of the Alpert Prize and the Canada Gairdner International Award
  • Rodolphe Barrangou, Todd R. Klaenhammer Distinguished Scholar in Probiotics Research and associate professor of food science: Warren Alpert Foundation Prize, Canada Gairdner International Award
  • Lorena Bociu, assistant professor of mathematics: National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Award
  • Matthew Booker, associate professor of history: National Humanities Center Fellow
  • Philip Bradford, assistant professor of textile engineering, chemistry and science: U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Award
  • David Buchwalter, associate professor of biological sciences: Fulbright Scholars fellowship
  • Chih-Hao Chang, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering: NSF Faculty Early Career Development Award
  • Joseph DeSimone, William R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering: National Medal of Technology and Innovation
  • E. Allen Foegeding, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of food, bioprocessing and nutrition sciences: Nicholas Appert Award
  • Stefan Franzen, professor of chemistry – Fulbright Scholars fellowship
  • Chris Gould, Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor of physics: Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics
  • Christine Grant, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Mentor Award
  • Zhen Gu, assistant professor of biomedical engineering: Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship
  • Hsiao-Ying Shadow Huang, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering: NSF Faculty Early Career Development Award
  • Elena Jakubikova, assistant professor of chemistry: NSF Faculty Early Career Development Award
  • Lisa Guion Jones, Assistant Dean for Diversity, Outreach and Engagement in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences:  American Council on Education Fellow
  • Robert C. Kochersberger, associate professor of English – Fulbright Scholars fellowship
  • Eric Laber, assistant professor of statistics: NSF Faculty Early Career Development Award
  • Trudy Mackay, William Neal Reynolds and University Distinguished Professor of biological sciences: Wolf Prize in Agriculture

    PAMS (COS) professor Rui Song. She's in bioinformatics.
    Rui Song, winner of an NSF Early Career Award
  • Brina Montoya, assistant professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering: NSF Faculty Early Career Development Award
  • James Mulholland, associate professor of English: American Council of Learned Societies Frederick Burkhardt Fellowship
  • Brendan O’Connor, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering: NSF Faculty Early Career Development Award
  • Srikanth Patala, assistant professor of materials science and engineering: NSF Faculty Early Career Development Award
  • Rui Song, assistant professor of statistics: NSF Faculty Early Career Development Award
  • Ross Sozzani, assistant professor of plant and microbial biology: NSF Faculty Early Career Development Award
  • Kenneth Swartzel, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor Emeritus of food science: National Academy of Engineering Member
  • Steven Vincent, professor of history: Institute for Advanced Study Fellow
  • Alyson Wilson, professor of statistics: AAAS Fellow
  • Albert Young, professor of physics: Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

2016 marks the fifth year of the Celebration of Faculty Excellence. In recognition of all honored faculty, the university lit the Memorial Belltower red for the night.