Faculty and University Distinctions
Faculty in National Academies and Learned Societies
The faculty at the UNC-Chapel Hill are distinguished by their academic accomplishments.
According to the latest available data, UNC-Chapel Hill ranks fourteenth among public
research institutions in terms of number of members in the National Academies,
including the National Academy of Sciences (10), the National Academy of Engineering
(5), and the Institute of Medicine (21). In addition, Chapel Hill counts 35
of its faculty among the members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
(Source: The Center for Measuring University Performance: The Top American Research Universities Annual Report 2007. Updated: 04/08.)
Numerous faculty members have
brought distinction to the State and the University through professional
achievements that have led to their induction in nationally distinguished
learned and professional societies.
Winners of Prestigious External Awards
Over the years, many UNC-Chapel Hill faculty have been winners
of external awards. UNC-Chapel Hill ranks tenth nationally among public
research institutions in terms of the number of prestigious awards that their
faculty members have received in the arts, humanities, science, and health.
(Source: The Center for Measuring University Performance: The Top American Research Universities Annual Report 2007. Updated: 04/08.)
2008 Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigator in Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease
- Miriam Braunstein, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology, has been named a 2008 Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigator in Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease. She will receive $500,000 to support her research in understanding the protein export systems and exported proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (the bacterium which causes tuberculosis) and the roles they play in pathogenesis.
- awards web site (Burroughs Wellcome Fund)
- UNC Microbiology and Immunology news release
2008 Camille Dreyfus Teacher Scholar
- Garegin Papoian, assistant professor of chemistry, has been named a 2008 Camille Dreyfus Teacher Scholar for his work studying biophysical processes using advanced computational methods. This award recognizes outstanding young faculty members in the chemical sciences.
- awards web site (Dreyfus Foundation)
- UNC News Services release
2008 Sloan Research Fellows
- Dmytro Arinkin, assistant professor of mathematics, and Zefang Wang, assistant professor of molecular biology, have both been awarded fellowships for outstanding early-career scientists by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Arinkin plans to use the fellowship to further his collaborative mathematics research with the Langlands Project, while Wang plans to use his to fund his research in gene splicing.
- awards web site (Sloan Foundation)
- UNC News Services release
2008 Beckman Young Investigators Award
- Steve Rogers, assistant professor in biology, and Zefeng Wang, assistant professor in pharmacology, are both winners of the 2008 Beckman Young Investigators Award. The national award, given to 16 recipients by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation of Irvine, Calif., supports the research of promising young faculty members in the early stages of their careers in the chemical and life sciences.
- awards web site (Beckman Foundation)
- UNC News Services release
2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Oliver Smithies, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the UNC School of Medicine, is a co-recipient of this year’s Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. Smithies, along with Mario R. Capecchi of the University of Utah’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Sir Martin J. Evans of the Cardiff University, will share this year’s Nobel Prize "for their discoveries of principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells."
- awards web site (Nobel Foundation)
- UNC News Services release
2007 Beckman Young Investigators Award
2007 Burroughs Wellcome Grant
- Norman E. Sharpless, assistant professor of medicine and genetics at the UNC School of Medicine has been awarded one of the 11 Clinical Scientist Awards in Translational Research. The five-year, $750,000 awards are intended to support established, independent physician-scientists who are dedicated to translational research and mentoring physician-scientist trainees.
- awards web site (Burroughs Wellcome)
- UNC News Services release
2007 Searle Scholar
- Mark Zylka, assistant professor of cell and molecular physiology at the UNC School of Medicine, has been named a 2007 Searle Scholar, which provides $240,000 over three years in support of his research on neural circuits and pain. The Searle Scholars award supports exceptional young faculty across the biomedical sciences and in chemistry.
- UNC News Services release
2006 Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences
- Karen Mohlke, assistant professor of genetics, was named a 2006 Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences, which provides $240,000 over four years in support of her research. This marks the third consecutive year that a member of Carolina's faculty has won this very prestigious award.
- awards web site (Pew Scholars)
2006 Camille Dreyfus Teacher Scholar
- Jeffrey Johnson, assistant professor of chemistry, was named a 2006 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar for his research in the Application of Polarity Reversal Concepts in the Discovery of New Catalysts and Chemical Reactivity.
- awards web site (Dreyfus Foundation)
2006 Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigators in Pathogenesis of Infectious Diseases
- Blossom Damania, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology, won a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigators in Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease award, a first for Carolina faculty.
- awards web site (Burroughs Wellcome Fund)
2006 NIH Director's Pioneer Award
- Gary Pielak of the chemistry department was chosen for the 2006 NIH Director's Pioneer Award, which supports exceptionally creative scientists who take highly innovative approaches to major challenges in biomedical research.
- awards web site (NIH Roadmap for Medical Research)
(Sources: Office of Research Development, Carolina Roadmap Office, and UNC News Services. Updated: 4/2008.)
Advisors to Federal Agencies
Many Carolina faculty members serve on federal advisory committees that play an important role in shaping programs and policies of the federal government. These committee members provide the expertise and professional skills that parallel the program responsibilities of their sponsoring agencies. They also are the public's voice in the federal government's decision-making process. Use Carolina's Federal Advisory Committee Resource to learn more about our faculty who are serving in this important advisory capacity. If you have questions, please contact
karenregan@unc.edu.
(Source: Office of Federal Affairs. Updated: 05/2008.)
University Recognitions
Second-Ranked Research Library in the South
The Association of Research Libraries and the Chronicle of Higher Education rated Carolina's library system seventeenth in the U.S. and second in the South. The survey ranked research university libraries by number of volumes in the library, number of volumes added, number of current serials, total expenditures, and permanent staff. (Source: Chronicle of Higher Education. Updated: 04/08).
Fourth Most Powerful Supercomputer at a Southern University
Carolina's Dell research computing cluster, called Topsail, was ranked fourth among supercomputers at universities in the South and 10th among all universities by the TOP500 Supercomputer Sites Project. The project ranks the world's most powerful computer systems twice a year.
One of the "Top American Research Universities"
In The Top American Research Universities 2007 Annual Report, Carolina ranked ninth among public universities nationwide, and first in the south. This publication is produced by The Center for Measuring University Performance, at Arizona State University. The rankings are based on a number of measures such as research funding, private support, faculty awards, faculty membership in National Academies, and doctoral and postdoctoral advanced training. (Source: The Center for Measuring University Performance. Updated: 04/08.)
A Leader in Biotechnology
Carolina fared well in a comprehensive survey of university biotechnology transfer and commercialization conducted by the Milken Institute, a publicly-supported economic think tank in Santa Monica, California. The survey ranked educational institutions worldwide on their biotechnology publications and patents, as well as their technology transfer. Carolina ranked 28th, 41st, and 25th, respectively, and was among the top four institutions in the South in all categories. Additionally, the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area was ranked 20th by the Institute among biotechnology clusters.
Fifth among Public Universities
The latest rankings by U.S. News and World Report rank Carolina fifth among public universities and twenty-seventh overall. Detailed statistical tables prepared by the UNC Office of Institutional Research compare UNC-Chapel Hill with public university peers Universities of California-Berkeley, Virginia, Michigan at Ann Arbor, and California-Los Angeles.
A Leader in Entrepreneurship
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ranks sixth in the south and twenty-fourth overall among university entrepreneurship programs, according to Entrepreneur Magazine and the Princeton Review. (Source: Entrepreneur Magazine; updated: 12/2006.)
