Five CSE faculty named McKnight Land-Grant Professors

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (01/21/2015) – Five College of Science and Engineering faculty members are among eight recipients of the 2015-17 McKnight Land-Grant Professorship, a program designed to advance the careers of the most promising junior faculty members who are at the beginning stages of their professional careers. The winners were chosen for their potential to make important contributions to their field; the degree to which their achievements and ideas demonstrate originality, imagination, and innovation; the significance of their research; and the potential for attracting outstanding students.

Each recipient will receive a research grant in each year of the two-year appointment, to be used at the recipient’s discretion for expenditures directly related to research and scholarly activities. In addition, each professor is awarded either a year’s leave to pursue research during the second year of the award or a supplementary research grant.

The new McKnight Land-Grant Professors are:

Assistant professor Rafael Fernandes (physics)

Next generation technological applications of solid state physics, incorporating superconductivity and magnetism, will require a deeper understanding of the cooperative interactions between electrons in solids. In these challenging systems, termed quantum materials, the collective behavior of the electrons cannot be derived from the properties of a single electron. Fernandes’ research combines theoretical models and close collaboration with experimental groups to unravel the relationship between the microscopic behavior of these materials and their alluring macroscopic properties.

Assistant professor Matthew Johnson (biomedical engineering)

Brain disorders and their treatments remain a significant challenge for society. Bridging engineering and neuroscience disciplines, Matthew Johnson’s research is building a principled understanding for how to target electrical stimulation within the brain to correct abnormal patterns of neural activity. Using these principles, he is creating new neural interface technology to more precisely modulate networks of neurons within the brain to ultimately improve the clinical care of individuals with neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders.

Assistant professor Dan Knights (computer science and engineering)

Trillions of bacteria live in our guts, protecting us from infection and aiding our digestion. An imbalance of these bacteria, called dysbiosis, may contribute to obesity, diabetes, cancer, Crohn’s, and many other diseases, yet each person’s bacterial diversity is so distinct that we cannot easily identify when a microbiome is “unhealthy.” In his research Dan Knights combines expertise in data mining and biology to advance detection and treatment of dysbiosis in obesity and autoimmune diseases.

Assistant professor Will Northrop (mechanical engineering)

Internal combustion engines will continue to be a dominant power source for decades to come; however, their use comes with high environmental cost. Previous research has shown that no advanced fuel, engine technology or catalytic aftertreatment system alone can solve these interconnected challenges. Will Northrop’s research examines the combination of advanced combustion strategies, efficient engine systems, new diagnostic techniques and renewable fuels together in the pursuit of an engine with minimal environmental impact.

Assistant professor Kechun Zhang (chemical engineering and materials science)

Transforming traditional chemical production into a green and sustainable future is a great challenge facing human society. Current biorefinery process utilizes food resources and is limited by the metabolic capability of natural microorganisms. To enhance the viability of biomanufacturing, Kechun Zhang is engineering a new way of metabolism into industrial yeast for efficient fermentation of value-added chemicals from lignocellulosic feedstocks such as corn stove, sugar beet pulp and citrus peel.