Thirty-three faculty named UF Research Foundation Professors for 2011

April 14, 2011

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida Research Foundation has named 33 faculty members as UFRF Professors for 2011-2014.

The recognition goes to faculty members who have a distinguished current record of research and a strong research agenda that is likely to lead to continuing distinction in their fields.

The UFRF professors were recommended by their college deans based on nominations from their department chairs, a personal statement and an evaluation of their recent research accomplishments as evidenced by publications in scholarly journals, external funding, honors and awards, development of intellectual property and other measures appropriate to their field of expertise.

“These nominating documents invariably use phrases like ‘cutting edge,’ ‘innovative,’ and ‘most productive’ to describe these researchers’ work,” said Win Phillips, UF’s vice president for research. “They — and hundreds of others like them — are the reason we have been able to move into the top tier of research universities nationally.”

The three-year award includes a $5,000 annual salary supplement and a one-time $3,000 grant.

The professorships are funded from the university’s share of royalty and licensing income on UF-generated products.

The professors are:

Warrington College of Business
David E.M. Sappington
Department of Economics

College of Dentistry
Jeannine Brady
Department of Oral Biology

College of Design, Construction and Planning
Margaret Portillo
Department of Interior Design

College of Education
Cynthia Griffin
School of Special Education, School Psychology, and Early Childhood Studies

College of Engineering
Susan B. Sinnott
Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Huabei Jiang
Department of Biomedical Engineering

Franky So
Department of Materials Science and Engineering

College of Health & Human Performance

Virginia J. Dodd
Department of Health Education & Behavior

College of Fine Arts
Sergio Vega
School of Art and Art History

Florida Museum of Natural History
Jonathan I. Bloch
Department of Natural History

Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
Rafael Muñoz-Carpena
Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Natália A. Peres
Gulf Coast Research and Education

Fred Gmitter Jr.
Citrus Research and Education Center
Lake Alfred, FL

James Marois
North Florida Research and Education Center
Quincy, FL

George Casella
Department of Statistics

James W. Jawitz
Soil and Water Science Department

College of Journalism and Communications
Cory L. Armstrong
Department of Journalism

Levin College of Law
Mary Jane Angelo
College of Law

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Juliana Barr
Department of History

Benjamin Smith
Department of Political Science

Eric Potsdam
Department of Linguistics

Mario Poceski
Department of Religion

Kenneth M. Merz
Department of Chemistry

Michael R. Perfit
Department of Geological Sciences

College of Medicine
David R. Borchelt
Department of Neuroscience

Desmond A. Schatz
Department of Pediatrics

Steven C. Ghivizzani
Department of Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation

Christiaan Leeuwenburgh
Department of Aging and Geriatric Research

Maurice S. Swanson
Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology

College of Nursing
Barbara J. Lutz
Department of Health Care Environments and Systems

College of Pharmacy
Hendrik Luesch
Department of Medicinal Chemistry

College of Public Health and Health Professions
David M. Janicke
Department of Clinical & Health Psychology

College of Veterinary Medicine
Janet Yamamoto
Department of Infectious Diseases & Pathology