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Tuesday, March 19
The Indiana Daily Student

6 professors promoted to distinguished professor

IU promoted six professors to distinguished professor, the highest academic rank a faculty member can achieve.
The Board of Trustees approved the six professors this past weekend at meetings in Indianapolis, according to an IU press release. The new distinguished professors include Janet Carpenter, biomedical researcher in the School of Nursing; John Nurnberger Jr., psychiatric geneticist in the School of Medicine at IU-Bloomington and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis; Jamsheed Choksy, a Central Eurasian Studies scholar; Craig Pikaard, a biochemist; Richard Wilk, an anthropologist; and Kevin Zumbrun, a mathematician in the College of Arts and Sciences at IU-Bloomington, according to the press release.
Faculty, alumni, students and colleagues nominate candidates who they believe have transformed their fields of study and received international attention for their work, according to the press release. The nominees then go through the University Distinguished Ranks Committee, which reviews the candidates and then sends them on to the university president.
The president then bestows the title upon someone, but before being announced, it must be approved by the Board of Trustees, according to the press release.
“These six distinguished professors have demonstrated sustained records of outstanding contributions across their widely varied disciplines through their research, teaching and service,” IU President Michael McRobbie said in the release. “All have had a transformative and strongly positive impact on their fields and on the university, exemplifying the highest standards of academic accomplishment, leadership and integrity. It is highly appropriate that they are being recognized with the university’s most prestigious faculty appointment.”

Janet
Carpenter
Carpenter serves as the associate dean for research at the IU School of Nursing and is considered a pioneer in symptom management by breast cancer patients and in research methodologies for measurement of hot flashes. Her work is used by the National Cancer Institute and has been translated into 12 different languages, according to the press release.

Jamsheed Choksy
Islam. His expertise stems from his knowledge of more than 20 language dialects from his areas of study.

John
Nurnberger Jr.
Nurnberger is an expert in the genetics of bipolar disorder and alcoholism. He has authored more than 450 publications, started the first specialty journal in his field, Psychiatric Genetics, and was the co-founder of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics, according to the press release.
Craig Pikaard
Pikaard is the first researcher to provide a mechanistic explanation for nucleolar dominance, which deals with hybrid plant and animal genetics. He has also received more than $10 million in funding from outside IU since 2009 and has two grants from the National Institutes of Health, according to the press release.

Richard Wilk
Wilk is a lead anthropologist of food studies. His writings show how individual consumption is linked to history, cultural values, perceptions and circumstances, according to the press release.

Kevin
Zumbrun
Zumbrun is one of the world leaders in the field of conservation laws and the study of shock waves. He has authored more than 150 publications and was elected as a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society in 2014, according to the press release.
He also received an appointment of Chaire d’Excellence de Paris in 2014, according to the press release.
The distinguished professors will be honored at the annual Celebration of Distinguished Teaching on April 10 in Alumni Hall at the Indiana Memorial Union.

Suzanne Grossman

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