. 5 .
F. University Research Professorships (PR 3)
President Todd asked the Board to approve the naming of Professors Kimberly Anderson,
Sumit Das, Pradyumna (Paul) Karan, S. Randal Voss, and Sidney Whiteheart as University
Research Professors for 2010-11. He said that the professors will be able to use the title of
research professor throughout their entire career, and it is a real testament to the quality of work
they do in their labs, offices, and classrooms. He noted that these professors are some ofthe
most esteemed faculty. He asked Vice President for Research James Tracy to introduce the
professors.
Dr. Tracy made the following introductions and presented each recipient with a plaque:
Kimberly Ward Anderson - Dr. Anderson has been a member of the UK faculty since
1993 in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering in the College of
Engineering. In 2002 she was named a Gill Eminent Professor of Chemical Engineering.
She was an early proponent of interdisciplinary research pursuing collaborations across
multiple colleges on the UK campus. She studies the interactions between cells and
proteins with synthetic interfaces to develop and characterize bioactive interfaces for
applications as sensors and as therapeutic and diagnostic tools. Professor Anderson will
spend the year investigating adhesion and defonnation properties of cancer cells in the
process of metastasis. Dr. Anderson received a round of applause.
Sumit Das - Dr. Das is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the
College of Arts and Sciences. He joined the faculty in 2002. He is an intemationally
recognized scholar in the branch of theoretical physics known as "string theory.” Dr. Das
will spend the year extending his research on the application of string theory to
cosmology with the goal of predicting the size and distribution of galaxies and the
number and size of black holes produced by the Big Bang. Dr. Das received a round of
applause.
Pradyumna (Paul) Karan — Dr. Karan has been a member ofthe UK faculty since 1964.
He is a professor and fonner chairman ofthe Department of Geography in the College of
Arts and Sciences. His research focuses on the analysis of sustainable development in
environmental management. Dr. Karan is a pre-eminent scholar of the Himalaya, the
world’s highest mountain range. He plans to continue to explore the interrelations
between humans, the communities that they inhabit, and the various regions ofthe
Himalaya and the impact on the physical enviromnent. He has been engaged in this work
for over 50 years. Dr. Karan received a round of applause.
Randal Voss - Dr. Voss joined the UK faculty in 2002 and in 2005 was promoted to
associate professor in the Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences. Dr.
Voss is a leading proponent of ambystomatid salamanders as a versatile and robust model
of vertebrate biology. One of the advantages ofthe salamanders is a limb can be cut off;
and it will regenerate. It has a great deal of medical importance. Dr. Voss is director of
the National Science Foundation-funded Ambystoma Genetic Stock Center, a biological