Main navigation | Main content
The Office of the Vice President for Research is pleased to announce the new recipients of the Distinguished McKnight University Professorships. The goal of this program is to recognize and reward the University of Minnesota's most outstanding mid-career faculty. Recipients are honored with the title Distinguished McKnight University Professor, which they hold for as long as they remain at the university. The grant associated with the professorship consists of $100,000 to be expended over five years.
The recipients are selected based on the level of distinction their scholarly work brings to the university; the merit of their achievements and the potential for greater attainment in the field; the dimension of their national or international reputation; the extent to which their intellectual work and reputation are identified with Minnesota; the quality of their teaching and advising; and their contributions to the broader community.
Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Materials and Process Design for Flexible, Next Generation Electronics
Frisbie is an international leader in the development of new semiconductor materials and processes for creating flexible electronic circuits. These circuits have applications in biomedical technology, energy conversion, robotics and displays. His work ranges from the investigation of basic structure-property relationships in new electronic materials to the design of high-throughput manufacturing approaches for printing electronics.
Computer Science and Engineering
Recommender Systems for the Social Web
Riedl is a leading expert in the field of recommender systems, which help people find the products and information, as well as other people, they value most. He has broadened his research into the social web, seeking ways that intelligent technologies can help groups of people work together more effectively online. He collaborates with social scientists, drawing upon relevant theories to inform the invention of new technologies for the social web.
Political Science
Sources of Good Government: Why New Democracies Are Established and How They Represent Voters' Concerns
Samuels' research has been instrumental in shifting the debate surrounding democratic representation around the world, offering new ways for scholars and policymakers to understand the potential for effective governance. His work has been published by top university presses and journals; republished in Spanish, French, Portuguese and Chinese; and cited more than 2,600 times.
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics
Designer Microorganisms for Drug Discovery and Biotechnology
Schmidt-Dannert is a global leader in the field of metabolic pathways and natural product biosynthesis. Her research has shown how the metabolic machineries of microbial cells can be manipulated and supplemented with new functions for the production of drugs and biofuels. Her research has been cited nearly 2,000 times and has resulted in numerous patent applications.
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Magnetic Materials and Spintronic Devices for Information Storage and Computing and Molecular Diagnostics
Wang is an international leader in magnetic recording materials and spintronic devices. His inventions are used in the production of hard disk drives. He discovered the origin of giant saturation magnetization in the iron nitride compound. He also pioneered the interdisciplinary research of high-moment magnetic nanoparticles and spintronic nanosensors for the early detection of disease.
Click here to learn about Distinguished McKnight Professors named in previous years. Note: For all McKnight awards prior to 2011, only current U of M faculty appear in the listing.
David Andow, Entomology — Ecological and evolutionary principles in environmental sciences
Lydia Artymiw, Music — Piano performance
Gary J. Balas, Aerospace Engineering & Mechanics — Control theory
George Barany, Chemistry — Peptide synthesis
Frank S. Bates, Chemical Engineering & Materials Science — Synthesized molecular polymer structures
Saif Benjafaar, Mechanical Engineering — Science and engineering of supply chain operations
Judith Berman, Genetics, Cell Biology & Development — Model and pathogenic yeasts
David Bernlohr, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics — Lipid metabolism
John C. Bischof, Mechanical Engineering — Biomaterial cryopreservation and thermal therapies
Graham V. Candler, Aerospace Engineering & Mechanics — Computational hypersonic fluid dynamics
Bernardo Cockburn, Mathematics — Computational mathematics
Bianca M. Conti-Fine, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics — Molecular immunology
Christopher J. Cramer, Chemistry — Computational chemistry
Nicki R. Crick, Child Development — Aggression and gender in children’s mental health and development
Jeffrey J. Derby, Chemical Engineering & Materials Science — Computational models of crystal growth
Mark Distefano, Chemistry — Protein chemistry for biotechnology and health applications
R. Lawrence Edwards, Geology & Geophysics — Climate change in the earth’s recent past
Ann M. Fallon, Entomology — Insect molecular biology
James H. Fetzer, Philosophy-UMD — Philosophy of science
Efi Foufoula-Georgiou, Civil Engineering — Hydrologic science
Patricia A. Frazier, Psychology — Coping with traumatic life events
John Freeman, Political Science — Economic growth and redistribution of wealth
Megan Gunnar, Child Development — Stress hormones and human development
Patricia Hampl, English — Writings of fiction, memoirs, essays, and poetry
Bin He, Biomedical Engineering — Biomedical imaging and neuroengineering
Marc A. Hillmyer, Chemistry — Nanostructured polymers for the environment
Marc Hirschmann, Geology & Geophysics — High-pressure experimental studies of partial melting of the mantle and deep-earth volatile cycles
Wei-Shou Hu, Chemical Engineering & Materials Science — Cell culture engineering
William G. Iacono, Psychology — Biological markers for schizophrenia
Richard D. James, Aerospace Engineering & Mechanics — Mechanical behavior of solid phase matter
Marc K. Jenkins, Microbiology — Immunology
Timothy J. Kehoe, Economics — General economic equilibrium analysis
Joseph A. Konstan, Computer Science & Engineering — Human-computer interaction
Uwe R. Kortshagen, Mechanical Engineering — Plasma research
Gordon E. Legge, Psychology — Psychology of vision, perception, and reading
Timothy P. Lodge, Chemistry — Experimental physical chemistry/polymer science
Ann S. Masten, Child Development — Resilience in children at risk
Claudia Neuhauser, Ecology, Evolution & Behavior — Research at the interface of mathematics and biology
Eric A. Newman, Neuroscience — Functions of glial cells in the brain
Keith A. Olive, Physics & Astronomy — Cosmological astrophysics and the nature of the universe
S. Douglas Olson, Classical & Near Eastern Studies — Ancient Greek literature
Deniz Ones, Psychology — Measuring psychological characteristics for employment
Craig Packer, Ecology, Evolution & Behavior — Behavior of African lions
Nikos P. Papanikolopoulos, Computer Science & Engineering — Robotics and automation
Keshab K. Parhi, Electrical & Computer Engineering — Very Large Scale Integration design
David Y. H. Pui, Mechanical Engineering — Aerosol science
Peter B. Reich, Forest Resources — Forest and grassland ecology
Victor Reiner, Mathematics — Algebraic combinatorics
Steven Ruggles, History — Historical family demography
C. Ford Runge, Applied Economics — Agricultural policy analysis and the economics of trade
Michael J. Sadowsky, Soil, Water & Climate — Environmental microbiology
Sachin S. Sapatnekar, Electrical & Computer Engineering — Computer-aided design of integrated circuits
Guillermo Sapiro, Electrical & Computer Engineering — Image processing and computer vision
Shashi Shekhar, Computer Science & Engineering — Computational structure of large spatial databases
J. Ilja Siepmann, Chemistry — Molecular simulation of complex chemical systems and processes
Kathryn A. Sikkink, Political Science — International relations and comparative politics
Marla Spivak, Entomology — Honeybee behavior
Andreas Stein, Chemistry — Synthesis of porous materials and nanostructures
Vladimír Sverák, Mathematics — Pure and applied mathematics
G. David Tilman, Ecology, Evolution & Behavior — Biodiversity and the well-being of ecosystems
William B. Tolman, Chemistry — Bioinorganic chemistry
Robert T. Tranquillo, Chemical Engineering & Materials Science — Biomedical engineering
Christopher Uggen, Sociology — The effect of life course transitions on crime and deviance
Lawrence P. Wackett, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics — Biocatalysis and biodegradation
John Watkins, English — Early mordern literature and the transformation of monarchy
Li-Na Wei, Pharmacology — Vitamin A and Gene Regulation
Eric Weitz, History — German history
Donna L. Whitney, Geology & Geophysics — Geo-materials research and applications to continental tectonics
Nevin Dale Young, Plant Pathology — Legume genetics and genomics/bioinformatics
Learn more about the McKnight recipients, past and present.
Distinguished McKnight Recipients
McKnight Land-Grant Recipients
Distinguished McKnight Instructions
McKnight Land-Grant Instructions
C. Daniel Frisbie
John Riedl
David Samuels
Claudia Schmidt-Dannert
Jian-Ping Wang