Honorary professorships

Regents Professors

Established in 1965, the Regents Professorship is the University of Minnesota's highest recognition for faculty excellence. The award honors faculty whose especially distinguished accomplishments in teaching and scholarship or creative work have contributed uniquely to the University and to the public good.

Recipient Department Awarded
R. Lawrence Edwards Earth sciences 2016
Vipin Kumar Computer science and engineering 2016
Timothy Lodge Chemistry; Chemical engineering and materials science 2013
Lawrence Que Jr. Chemistry 2009
Allen Goldman Physics and astronomy 2008
Frank Bates Chemical engineering and materials science 2007
Donald Truhlar Chemistry 2006
Richard Goldstein Mechanical engineering 1990

Regents Professors Emeriti and Former Regents Professors

Recipient Department Awarded
H. Ted Davis † Chemical engineering and materials science 1997
Avner Friedman ** Mathematics 1996
Daniel Joseph † Aerospace engineering and mechanics 1994
Benjamin Y.H. Liu * Mechanical engineering 1993
L.E. “Skip” Scriven † Chemical engineering and materials science 1989
Paul Gassman † Chemistry 1988
Bryce Crawford † Chemistry 1983
Lawrence Markus Mathematics 1980
Rutherford Aris † Chemical engineering and materials science 1978
Edward Ney † Physics and astronomy 1974
Herbert Wright † Earth sciences 1974
Lanny Schmidt * Chemical engineering and materials science 2002
James Serrin † Mathematics 1968
Neal Amundson † Chemical engineering and materials science 1967
Ernst Eckert † Mechanical engineering 1966
Alfred O.C. Nier † Physics and astronomy 1966

* retired ** no longer at the University of Minnesota † deceased

McKnight Presidential Endowed Chairs and Professorships

Established in 1999, the McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair and the McKnight Presidential Endowed Professorship are among the highest honors for faculty at the University. Recipients are recommended by their college dean and chosen at the discretion of the president based, in part, on their academic and research accomplishments and their contributions to advancing the University.

McKnight Presidential Endowed Chairs

Recipient Department Awarded
Laura Gagliardi Chemistry 2019
Graham Candler Aerospace engineering and mechanics 2018
Michael Tsapatsis Chemical engineering and materials science 2017
Georgios Giannakis Electrical and computer engineering 2016
Marc Hillmyer Chemistry 2015
Leonid Glazman Physics and astronomy 2000

 

McKnight Presidential Endowed Professors

Recipient Department Awarded
Rhonda Franklin Electrical and computer engineering 2022
Saif Benjaafar Industrial and systems engineering 2021
Svitlana Mayboroda Mathematics 2020
Nikolaos Papanikolopoulos Computer science and engineering 2016
Graham Candler Aerospace engineering and mechanics 2009
Douglas N. Arnold Mathematics 2008

Distinguished McKnight University Professors

The Distinguished McKnight University Professorship honors the University of Minnesota's most distinguished mid-career faculty.

Recipient Department Awarded
Lee Penn Chemistry 2022
Claudia Scarlata Physics and astronomy 2022
Russell Holmes Chemical engineering and materials science 2021
Kevin Dorfman Chemical engineering and materials science 2020
Christy Haynes Chemistry 2019
Susan Jones History of Science and Technology 2019
Vuk Mandic Physics and Astronomy 2019
Sang-Hyun Oh Electrical and Computer Engineering 2019
Martin Greven Physics and astronomy 2018
Satish Kumar Chemical engineering and materials science 2018
Theresa Reineke Chemistry 2017
Tianhong Cui Mechanical engineering 2017
Loreen Terveen Computer science and engineering 2017
George Karypis Computer science and engineering 2016
William Arnold Civil, environmental, and geo- engineering 2016
Laura Gagliardi Chemistry 2014
Chris Leighton Chemical engineering and materials science 2014
Zhi-Li Zhang Computer science and engineering 2013
C. Daniel Frisbie Chemical engineering and materials science 2012
John Riedl † Computer science and engineering 2012
Jian-Ping Wang Electrical and computer engineering 2012
Saif Benjaafar Industrial and systems engineering 2011
Mark D. Distefano Chemistry 2011
Marc M. Hirschmann Earth sciences 2011
Marc Hillmyer Chemistry 2010
Donna Whitney Earth sciences 2010
Graham Candler Aerospace engineering and mechanics 2009
Bin He Biomedical engineering 2009
Joseph Konstan Computer science and engineering 2009
Andreas Stein Chemistry 2008
Sachin Sapatnekar Electrical and computer engineering 2008
Jeffrey Derby Chemical engineering and materials science 2008
Gary Balas † Aerospace engineering and mechanics 2007
Bernardo Cockburn Mathematics 2007
Uwe Kortshagen Mechanical engineering 2007
Nikos Papanikolopoulos Computer science and engineering 2007
John Bischof Mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering 2006
Karin Musier-Forsyth** Chemistry 2006
J. Ilja Siepmann Chemistry 2006
Jeffrey Roberts ** Chemistry 2005
Shashi Shekhar Computer science and engineering 2005
Graham Candler Aerospace engineering and mechanics 2004
Guillermo Sapiro ** Electrical and computer engineering 2004
Christopher Cramer Chemistry 2003
Victor Reiner Mathematics 2003
Efi Foufoula-Georgiou* Civil, environmental, and geo- engineering 2002
Robert Tranquillo Biomedical engineering 2002
R. Lawrence Edwards Earth sciences 2001
Timothy Lodge Chemistry, chemical engineering and materials science 2001
Keshab K. Parhi Electrical and computer engineering 2000
Vladimir Sverak Mathematics 2000
William B. Tolman Chemistry 2000
Hung-wen Liu ** Chemistry 1999
David Y.H. Pui Mechanical engineering 1999
Michael Ward ** Mechanical engineering 1999
Wei-Shou Hu Chemical engineering and materials science 1998
Richard D. James Aerospace engineering and mechanics 1998
Keith A. Olive Physics and astronomy 1998
George Barany Chemistry 1997
Tayfun Tezduyar ** Aerospace engineering and mechanics 1997
Frank S. Bates Chemical engineering and materials science 1996

retired ** no longer at the University of Minnesota † deceased

McKnight Land-Grant Professors

The McKnight Land-Grant Professorship, a two-year endowed chair, is designed to advance the careers of the most promising junior faculty at a crucial period in their professional lives.

Recipient Department Awarded
David Poerschke Chemical engineering and materials science 2022
Patrick Kelly Physics and astronomy 2022
Xue Feng Civil, environmental, and geo- engineering 2022
Martina Cardone Electrical and computer engineering 2022
Suhasa Kodandaramaiah Mechanical engineering 2021
Peter Kang Earth and environmental sciences 2021
Turan Birol Chemical engineering and materials science 2021
Julianna Abel Mechanical engineering 2021
Andy Wickert Earth sciences 2020
Lindsay Glesener Physics and astronomy 2020
Soheil Mohajer Electrical and computer engineering 2019
Vlad S. Pribiag Physics and astronomy 2019
Mehmet Akcakaya Electrical and computer engineering 2018
Filippo Coletti Aerospace engineering and mechanics 2018
Gene-Hua Crystal Ng Earth sciences 2018
Ian Tonks Chemistry 2018
Vivian Ferry Chemical engineering and materials science 2017
Sairaj Dhople Electrical and computer engineering 2017
Renee Frontiera Chemistry 2017
Lana Yarosh Computer science and engineering 2017
Cari Dutcher Mechanical engineering 2017
Xiang Cheng Chemical engineering and materials science 2016
Jiarong Hong Mechanical engineering 2016
William C. K. Pomerantz Chemistry 2016
Rafael Fernandes Physics and astronomy 2015
Matthew Johnson Biomedical engineering 2015
Dan Knights Computer science and engineering 2015
Will Northrop Mechanical engineering 2015
Kechun Zhang Chemical engineering and materials science 2015
James Van de Ven Mechanical engineering 2014
David J. Flannigan Chemical engineering and materials science 2014
Jake Bailey Earth sciences 2013
Jasmine Foo Mathematics 2013
Mo Li Electrical and computer engineering 2013
Rusen Yang Mechanical engineering 2013
Joshua Feinberg Earth sciences 2012
Jason Hill Bioproducts and biosystems engineering 2012
Daniel Keefe Computer science and engineering 2012
Aditya Bhan Chemical engineering and materials science 2011
Christopher Hogan Mechanical engineering 2011
Chad Myers Computer science and engineering 2011
Ibrahim Volkan Isler Computer science and engineering 2010
Vuk Mandic Physics and astronomy 2010
Yoichiro Mori Mathematics 2010
Arindam Banerjee Computer science and engineering 2009
Ryan Elliott Aerospace engineering and mechanics 2009
Tian He Computer science and engineering 2009
Julian Marshall Civil, environmental, and geo- engineering 2009
Martin Saar Earth sciences 2009
Taner Akkin Biomedical engineering 2008
Alptekin Aksan Mechanical engineering 2008
Nicholas Hopper Computer science and engineering 2008
Chris Hyung-il Kim Electrical and computer engineering 2008
Katsumi Matsumoto Earth sciences 2008
Christy Haynes Chemistry 2007
Nihar Jindal ** Electrical and computer engineering 2007
Marta Lewicka ** Mathematics 2007
William Schuler ** Computer science and engineering 2007
Chun Wang Biomedical engineering 2007
Demoz Gebre-Egziabher Aerospace engineering and mechanics 2006
Yongdae Kim** Computer science and engineering 2006
Efie Kokkoli Chemical engineering and materials science 2006
Stergios Roumeliotis Computer science and engineering 2006
Alex Kamenev Physics and astronomy 2005
Ezra Miller ** Mathematics 2005
T. Andrew Taton ** Chemistry 2005
Eric Van Wyk Computer science and engineering 2005
Baoquan Chen ** Computer science and engineering 2004
Heiko Jacobs ** Electrical and computer engineering 2004
Kristopher McNeill ** Chemistry 2004
Joachim Mueller Physics and astronomy 2004
Tian-Jun Li Mathematics 2003
Krishnan Mahesh Aerospace engineering and mechanics 2003
Fernando Porté-Agel ** Civil, environmental, and geo- engineering 2003
Marcus Keel Mathematics 2002
David Odde Biomedical engineering 2002
Mohamed-Slim Alouini ** Electrical and computer engineering 2001
Shaul Hanany Physics and astronomy 2001
Richard Hsung ** Chemistry 2001
Victoria Interrante Computer science and engineering 2001
Jiaping Wang Mathematics 2001
Marc A. Hillmyer Chemistry 2000
Dihua Jiang Mathematics 2000
Ivan Marusic ** Aerospace engineering and mechanics 2000
Zhi-Li Zhang Computer science and engineering 2000
Paul A. Crowell Physics and astronomy 1999
Mats Per Erik Heimdahl Computer science and engineering 1999
Marc Hirschmann Earth sciences 1999
Bradley J. Nelson ** Mechanical engineering 1999
C. Daniel Frisbie Chemical engineering and materials science 1998
Rachel Kuske ** Mathematics 1998
Eric Munson ** Chemistry 1998
Donna Whitney Earth sciences 1998
John Bischof Mechanical engineering 1997
Andreas Stein Chemistry 1997
Victor Reiner Mathematics 1996
J. Ilja Siepmann Chemistry 1996
Andrew Teel ** Electrical and computer engineering 1996
Prodromos Daoutidis Chemical engineering and materials science 1995
Craig Forsyth ** Chemistry 1995
Susan Mantell Mechanical engineering 1995
Nikolaos Papanikolopoulos Computer science and engineering 1995
Carol Shield Civil, environmental, and geo- engineering 1995
Christopher Cramer Chemistry 1994
David Lilja Electrical and computer engineering 1994
Ellen Longmire Aerospace engineering and mechanics 1994
John Lowengrub ** Mathematics 1994
Jaekyun Moon ** Electrical and computer engineering 1994
Daniel Mooradian ^ Biomedical engineering 1994
Mark Person ** Earth sciences 1994
Mark Snyder ** Civil, environmental, and geo- engineering 1994
Amy Alving ** Aerospace engineering and mechanics 1993
Gary Balas † Aerospace engineering and mechanics 1993
Lorraine Francis Chemical engineering and materials science 1993
Karin Musier-Forsyth ** Chemistry 1993
Jian-Gang Zhu ** Electrical and computer engineering 1993
Keshab Parhi Electrical and computer engineering 1992
Thomas Shield Aerospace engineering and mechanics 1992
William Tolman Chemistry 1992
Stephen Chou ** Electrical and computer engineering 1991
Jeffrey Derby Chemical engineering and materials science 1991
Jeffrey Roberts ** Chemistry 1991
R. Lawrence Edwards Earth sciences 1990
Yuichi Kubota Physics and astronomy 1990
Scott Rychnovsky ** Chemistry 1990
James Kakalios Physics and astronomy 1989
Homayoon Kazerooni ** Mechanical engineering 1989
Kenneth Leopold Chemistry 1989
Christian Teyssier Earth sciences 1989
Robert Tranquillo Biomedical engineering 1989
Steven Kass Chemistry 1988
Yukata Hosotani ** Physics and astronomy 1987
Doreen Leopold Chemistry 1987
Henry White** Chemical engineering and materials science 1987

** no longer at the University of Minnesota ^ changed affiliation within the University of Minnesota

McKnight Presidential Fellows

The McKnight Presidential Fellows Program is targeted at the most promising faculty who have been newly granted tenure and promotion to associate professor, to recognize their accomplishments and support their ongoing research and scholarship. Candidates are considered for these awards at the conclusion of the regular promotion and tenure review process each year. The program, which provides research funds for three years, complements the McKnight Land-Grant Professorship for new assistant professors and the Distinguished McKnight University Professorship for new full professors. As a whole, the McKnight awards identify and support promising faculty at critical stages of their careers.

Recipient Department Awarded
Jeff Calder Mathematics 2021
Samira Azarin Chemical engineering and materials science 2021
Lana Yarosh Computer science and engineering 2020
Tim Kowalewski Mechanical engineering 2020
Tony Low Electrical and computer engineering 2019
Rafael Fernandes Physics and astronomy 2017
R. Lee Penn Chemistry 2009
Ezra Miller ** Mathematics 2006
Bethanie Stadler Electrical and computer engineering 2006
Krishnan Mahesh Aerospace engineering and mechanics 2005
Fernando Porté-Agel ** Civil, environmental, and geo- engineering 2005
Paul Crowell Physics and astronomy 2004
Tian-Jun Li Mathematics 2004
Yong-Zhong Qian Physics and astronomy 2004

** no longer at the University of Minnesota

College of Science and Engineering Distinguished Professors

The College of Science and Engineering Distinguished Professorship honors exceptional faculty for their efforts in and contributions to teaching and scholarly research and for their genuine commitment to the College of Science and Engineering and its activities. College of Science and Engineering Distinguished Professors receive a one-time award of $15,000 to be used for professional development or research.

Recipient Department
Subir K. Banerjee * Earth sciences
Victor Barocas Biomedical engineering
Gordon S. Beavers * Aerospace engineering and mechanics
Stephen Campbell ~ Electrical and computer engineering
Cynthia Cattell Physics and astronomy
James R. Chelikowsky ** Chemical engineering and materials science
Edward L. Cussler * Chemical engineering and materials science
E. Dan Dahlberg Physics and astronomy
Prodromos Daoutidis Chemical engineering and materials science
Arthur G. Erdman ~ Mechanical engineering
Lorraine Francis Chemical engineering and materials science
Catherine French Civil, environmental, and geo- engineering
Maria Gini Computer science and engineering
Wayne Gladfelter Chemistry
Allen M. Goldman Physics and astronomy
Joachim V. Heberlein † Mechanical engineering
Kenneth J. Heller Physics and astronomy
Thomas Hoye Chemistry
Roberta Humphreys Physics and astronomy
Warren Ibele * Mechanical engineering
David L. Kohlstedt Earth Sciences
Edwin T. Layton * History of science and technology
E. Bruce Lee † Electrical and computer engineering
Timothy P. Lodge ~ Chemistry
Marvin Marshak Physics and astronomy
Larry Miller * Chemistry
Willard Miller * Mathematics
V. Rama Murthy † Earth sciences
Christopher Paola Earth sciences
Gary Parker ** Civil, environmental, and geo- engineering
Louis H. Pignolet * Chemistry
Yousef Saad Computer science and engineering
Lanny D. Schmidt * Chemical engineering and materials science
Carol Shield Civil, environmental, and geo- engineering
Evan Skillman Physics and astronomy
Ephraim M. Sparrow Mechanical engineering
Beth Stadler Electrical and computer engineering
Kim Stelson Mechanical engineering
Donald G. Truhlar ~ Chemistry
Hans F. Weinberger * Mathematics

* retired ** no longer at the University of Minnesota † deceased ~ relinquished

Endowed Chairs and Professorships

 

Dean's Office
Holder Chair or professorship
Mark Sanders (TLI) Gemini Chair in Engineering Entrepreneurship
David Orser (ECE) 3M Chair in Experiential Learning
Paige Novak (CEGE) Joseph T. & Rose S. Ling Chair in Environmental Engineering
Steve Koester (ECE) Russell J. Penrose Professorship in Nanotechnology
Joseph Zasadzinski (CEMS) 3M Harry Heltzer Chair
Paul Strykowski (Mech) Taylor Distinguished Teaching Professorship
Uwe Kortshagen (Mech) Ronald L. & Janet A. Christenson Chair in Renewable Energy
Russell Holmes (CEMS) Ronald L. & Janet A. Christenson Chair in Renewable Energy
Vacant
PUF-Ronald L. and Janet A. Christenson Faculty Impact Fellowship
Vacant
PUF-Boston Scientific Faculty Impact Fellowship

 

Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics
Holder Chair or professorship
Vacant Russell J. Penrose Professorship in Aerospace Engineering & Mechanics

 

Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering
Holder Chair or professorship
Emmanuel Detournay Theodore W. Bennett Chair
Bojan Guzina Shimizu CME Professorship
Vacant MTS Professorship in CME (visting profs here for 1-3 weeks)
Vacant JS Braun/Braun Intertec Professorship in Science & Technology (visiting profs)
Mihai Marasteanu MSES/Miles Kersten Chair
William Arnold Joseph T. & Rose S. Ling Professorship in Civil Engineering
Gary Davis  Braun/CTS Chair in Transportation Engineering

 

Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Holder Chair or professorship
Russel Holmes and Vivian Ferry Piercy Professorship in Chemical Engineering
Samira Azarin, Bharat Jalan, and Ben Hackel Shell L/G Chair - Chemical Engineering & Materials Science
Andre Mkhoyan Ray D. & Mary T. Johnson/Mayon Plastics Professorship
Chris Ellison and Kevin Dorfman Amundson Professorship in Chemical Engineering
David Flannigan LE Scriven Chair
Dan Frisbie George T. Piercy Leadership Chair in Chemical Engineering & Materials Science
Prodomos Daoutidis Neal R. & Shirley D. Amundson Chair in the Department of Chemical Engineering
Natalie Boehnke Chris Macosko Professorship
Chris Ellison Zsolt Rumy Innovation Chair in CEMS
Paul Dauenhauer  Lanny & Charlotte Schmidt Endowed Chair in CEMS

 

Department of Chemistry
Holder Chair or professorship
Vacant 3M Alumni Endowed Professorship in Chemistry
Will Pomerantz Merck Professorship in Chemistry
Tim Lodge Prager Chair #1 in Macromolecular Science in Chemistry
Theresa Reineke Prager Chair #2 in Macromolecular Science in Chemistry
Vacant Thomas Allen Gregory Chair in Physical Chemistry 

 

Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Holder Chair or professorship
Vipin Kumar and Yousef Saad William Norris Land Grant Chair in Large Scale Computing
David Du US West Telecommunications Chair
Zhi-Li Zhang Qwest Chair #2

 

Digital Technology Center
Holder Chair or professorship
Vipin Kumar ADC Data Science Institute Director's Chair Fund
Shashi Shekhar and Vuk Mandic ADC Chair

 

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Holder Chair or professorship
Randy Victora Centennial Chair in Electrical Engineering
Ramesh Harjani E. F. Johnson Professorship
Ned Mohan Schott Professorship in Power Electronics and Systems
Murti Salapaka and Nicola Elia Vincentine Hermes-Luh Chair
Sang-Hyun Oh Sanford P. Bordeau Chair in Electrical & Computer Engineering
Chris Kim Lous J. Schnell Professorship in Electrical & Computer Engineering
James Leger Cymer Professorship in Advanced Optical Systems, Metrology, & Lasers
Sachin Sapatnekar Robert & Marjorie Henle Chair in Electrical Engineering
Jian-ping Wang Robert F. Hartmann Chair
Tony Low Paul Palmberg Professorship in Electrical & Computer Engineering
Mehmet Akcakaya Jim & Sara Anderson Professorship in Electrical & Computer Engineering
Sairaj Dhople Robert and Sydney Anderson Professorship in Electrical and Computer Engineering
Beth Stadler Erwin A. Kelen Professorship
Keshab Parhi Erwin A. Kelen Endowed Chair

 

Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Holder Chair or professorship
Peter Kang George & Orpha Gibson Chair in Hydrogeology
Christian Teyssier and Chris Paola George & Orpha Gibson Chair in Geoscience
Marc Hirschmann Gunn Professorship

 

History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
Holder Chair or professorship
Vacant Engineering Research Associates Inc Chair in the History of Technology

 

Mathematics
Holder Chair or professorship
Vacant Samuel G. Ordway Chair in Mathematics
Vacant Riviere-Fabes Fund 
Tyler Lawson Albert & Dorothy Marden Professorship in Mathematics
Vacant Donald W. Kahn Professorship in Mathematics

 

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Holder Chair or professorship
Vacant Chair in Mechanical Engineering
Natahsa Wright, Suo Yang, Marien Simeni, and Vinod Srinivasan Richard & Barbara Nelson Land Grant Chair
Susan Mantell James J. Ryan Distinguished Alumni Professorship
Lian Shen Kenneth T. Whitby Professorship
Art Erdman Richard C. Jordan Professorship
Zongxuan Sun Frank Rowley Professorship
Peter Bruggeman Ernest E. Eckert Professorship
Ognjen Ilic, Suhasa Kodandaramaiah, and Jeffrey Tithof  Benjamin Mayhugh Professorship in the Department of Mechanical Engineering
David Pui Leroy M Fingerson/TSI Incorporated Chair in Mechanical Engineering
Vacant Carl & Janet Kuhrmeyer Chair in Mechanical Engineering
Rajesh Rajamani Benjamin Y.H. Liu - TSI Applied Technology Chair in Mechanical Engineering
Mike McAlpine Kuhrmeyer Family Chair in Mechanical Engineering
Vacant Richard J. Goldstein Professorship in Thermal Science and Engineering

 

School of Physics and Astronomy
Holder Chair or professorship
Boris Shklovskii and Keith Olive A. S. Fine & Gloria Becker Lubkin Chairs in Theoretical Physics
Andrey Chubukov and Misha Shifman William I. & Bianca M. Fine Chair in Theoretical Physics
Vacant
Tang Professorship

 

Technological Leadership Institute
Holder Chair or professorship
Allison Hubel Harold W. Sweatt Chair in Technological Leadership
Tariq Smad Honeywell/William R. Sweatt Chair in Technology Management
Alfred Marcus E. W. Spencer Chair in Strategic Management
Mark Sanders Donald Osell - Gemini Chair in Entrepreneurship
Patria Lawton James J. Renier Chair for Security Technologies

Mark Wehde

 James J. Renier Chair for Medical Device Innovation
Judy Pennington James J. Renier Chair for Management of Technology

 

University of Minnesota