Four CSE faculty members named Distinguished McKnight University Professors

Awards recognize outstanding and high-achieving University of Minnesota professors

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (04/09/2026)— Four College of Science and Engineering faculty members are among the 14 recipients of the University of Minnesota’s 2025 Distinguished McKnight University Professorship, an award given to outstanding faculty who have made significant advances in their careers while at the University and recently achieved full professor status. 

Recipients are chosen based on merit, research accomplishments, and leadership activities, among other factors.

Each faculty member will receive a research grant of $120,000 over five years, to be used for expenditures related to the recipient’s research and scholarly activities. They will also maintain the title of “Distinguished McKnight University Professor” for as long as they remain at the University.

2026 CSE Distinguished McKnight University Professors

Renee R. Frontiera

Renee R. Frontiera is a professor in the Department of Chemistry. Frontiera’s research determines how nanoscale environments can be controlled to fundamentally shape chemical reaction trajectories and energy flow. Her group is known for the development and application of new spectroscopic techniques designed to initiate, control and probe chemical transformations. Her research has led to fundamental understanding and scientific advances in the areas of plasmon-driven chemistry, super-resolution microscopy, spectroscopy-guided molecular design and plasma-driven solution electrochemistry.

Jiarong Hong

Jiarong Hong is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Hong creates “flowscopes” — imaging systems that make fluid and particle motion visible from micrometers to kilometers. He combines innovative optics, fluid dynamics, computation and robotics to measure winds around turbines, track wildfire smoke and snow transport and analyze microparticles in air and water. These capabilities advance fundamental fluid mechanics and enable high-resolution, real-time environmental sensing and cleaner energy, with public-health and medical impacts — mitigating disease transmission, enhancing dialysis safety and enabling early cancer detection.

Andre Mkhoyan 

Andre Mkhoyan is a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. Nanoscale materials are at the heart of any device of current technology, and with every passing year, their dimensions are shrinking further. Andre Mkhoyan’s research is focused on understanding the formation of these nanomaterials, their properties and functionalities from the perspective of individual atoms to help design new materials. To accomplish this, he uses advanced electron microscopes to image the atoms and study their roles in these nanomaterials.

Tom Schwartzentruber

Tom Schwartzentruber is a professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics. When a NASA spacecraft returns to Earth or lands on another planet, it enters the atmosphere with velocities higher than seven kilometers per second. The spacecraft is subjected to extreme conditions with temperatures above 5000 degrees that wind tunnels on Earth simply cannot recreate. Schwartzentruber’s research is developing predictive computer models, used to design spacecraft heat shield materials, through multidisciplinary collaboration with experts in theoretical and experimental chemistry.

Additional University of Minnesota faculty members receiving 2026 Distinguished McKnight University Professorships:

• Lin Yee Chen, Medicine, Medical School, Twin Cities
• Kathleen A. Collins, Political Science, College of Liberal Arts, Twin Cities
• Karen B. Gran, Earth & Environmental Sciences, Swenson College of Science & Engineering, Duluth
• Douglas Kearney, English, College of Liberal Arts, Twin Cities
• Aaron S. Kelly, Pediatrics, Medical School, Twin Cities
• Joseph S. Koopmeiners, School of Public Health, Twin Cities
• Douglas Mashek, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics, College of Biological Sciences and Medical School, Twin Cities
• Jennifer Powers, Plant & Microbial Biology, College of Biological Sciences, Twin Cities
• Jenny N. Poynter, Pediatrics, Medical School, Twin Cities
• Scott Vrieze, Psychology, College of Liberal Arts, Twin Cities

Read more about the 2026 University of Minnesota Distinguished McKnight University Professors.