Five CSE Faculty named University of Minnesota Land Grant Professors

Awards recognize early-career researchers’ potential for significant impact

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (04/11/2025)— Five College of Science and Engineering faculty members are among 12 recipients of the 2025 McKnight Land-Grant Professorship, an award given to early career faculty who have the potential to make big impacts in their fields. 

Recipients are chosen based on merit, professional promise, quality of publication record, and originality and innovation in research achievements. They hold the designation of “McKnight Land-Grant Professor” for a two-year period and receive a research grant of $25,000 in each year of that appointment.

2025 CSE McKnight Land Grant Professors

Jessica Lamb

Jessica Lamb is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry. Her research group works on applying catalysis and physical organic techniques to the synthesis of new polymers and small molecules. The team investigates the depolymerization process to better understand how different structural features affect the depolymerization and which factors control the extent of it. These insights will aid in the design of chemically-recyclable polymers in the future and could help in the plastic-water crisis. Lamb also is one of the faculty presenters for Energy and U, an outreach program that reaches thousands of elementary school students each year.

Ju Sun

Ju Sun is an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. His research focuses on advancing efficient and trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI). Sun’s group builds the foundations and tools to enable AI systems to make reliable predictions, even if only limited data are available, and safeguard them against costly mistakes, leading to breakthroughs in AI's scientific, engineering and medical applications. Sun is currently working on multiple internal and external projects that are funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute.

Honghong Tinn

Honghong Tinn is an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Tinn is a historian of information technology. Her research interests are mainly in the areas of history of electronic digital computing, Cold War, econometrics, and science, technology, and medicine in East Asia. She recently published a book in 2025, Island Tinkerers: Innovation and Transformation in the Making of Taiwan’s Computing Industry, that explores the transnational exchanges of computing technology and expertise between Taiwan and the United States.

Natasha Wright

Natasha Wright is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Her research is focused on increasing access to decentralized water treatment systems, primarily in low and middle-income communities. The Wright Lab’s current focus is on the on-demand production of medical-grade fluids necessary to increase dialysis access; and remediation of, and resource recovery from, decentralized waste streams. The team’s work recently won the KidneyX Sustainability Prize from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

Boya Xiong

Boya Xiong is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering. Her research focuses on the interface of polymer science, environmental chemistry, and membrane material science. The Xiong group works to explain the environmental degradation of polymers/plastics for sustainable design and thoughtful management. The team also works to develop novel membrane and filtration technologies to combat pathogen contamination for more effective water and air treatment.

Read more about the work of these CSE professors—and the additional recipients of the 2025 University of Minnesota Distinguished McKnight University Professors.