SUNY Distinguished Professor

The rank of SUNY Distinguished Professor is accorded to faculty who have distinguished their campus and State University communities through outstanding academic contributions, including scholarly publications, national and international research presentations, research findings and the training of students.

2022-23 Honorees

Diana S. Aga

Department of Chemistry

Diana Aga, PhD, is the Henry M. Woodburn Chair and professor of chemistry and director of UB’s RENEW Institute. A fellow of the American Chemical Society and two-time recipient of a Fulbright award, Aga is a globally recognized leader in environmental analytical chemistry whose research contributions have fundamentally changed our understanding of the fate, transport, treatment and effects of emerging contaminants in the environment. Her significant studies have revealed that antibiotics residues in the environment promote emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance, and that pharmaceuticals and industrial chemicals that contaminate drinking water sources, can accumulate in fish and wildlife of the Great Lakes region and around the world. A prolific scholar whose research has been supported by more than $18 million in federal and state funding, she has published over 190 refereed papers and edited two books.

Jochen Autschbach

Department of Chemistry

Jochen Autschbach, PhD, Larkin Professor and UB Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry, is a world-renowned, pioneering theoretical chemist working on molecular spectroscopy, magnetism, and chemical bonding. His groundbreaking contributions, which apply to both fundamental and applied theoretical chemistry, have significantly advanced understanding of how light interacts with molecules. A remarkably prolific scholar, Professor Autschbach has published more than 400 peer-reviewed articles and a comprehensive textbook on quantum chemistry. He has presented more than 130 invited talks and seminars nationally and internationally. Dr. Autschbach received an NSF CAREER award in 2005. He has held visiting professorships at the University of Rennes, the University of Toulouse and ETH Zurich in Switzerland.

Xiufeng Liu

Department of Learning and Instruction

A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a leading expert on science education, Xiufeng Liu, PhD, professor in the Department of Learning and Instruction, is renowned for his scholarship on measurement and evaluation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education. His pioneering application of Rasch measurement—a psychometric model for developing and validating standardized measurement instruments—fundamentally changed science education research. A prolific scholar, Liu has authored/co-authored over 120 refereed publications including 14 books, and he has been principal or co-principal investigator on grants totaling more than $24 million. Liu has served as editor, associate editor or editorial board member for more than ten journals, including the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, the premier journal in science education.

Thomas Thundat

Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

SUNY Empire Innovation Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and UB RENEW Institute, Thomas Thundat, PhD, is an internationally renowned researcher known for developing micro- and nanomechanical chemical and biological sensors. An elected fellow of eight societies including the National Academy of Inventors and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Thundat is recognized for his pioneering work on microfabricated cantilever-based sensors for chemical and biological applications. His work has contributed significantly to development of microelectromechanical systems for chemical and biological sensing. A highly prolific scholar, Thundat has published over 480 referred journal articles and has 44 patents. He has received many prestigious awards and honors including three R&D 100 Awards, which are widely recognized as the “Oscars of Innovation.”

Paul Hawthorne Vanouse

Department of Art

Paul Vanouse, MFA, is professor and program head for emerging practices in the Department of Art and founding director of UB’s Coalesce Center for Biological Art. A pioneering practitioner in the field of biological art, Vanouse is credited with inventing a convergent model of artistic practices that both draws upon and critically contributes to scientific research. An accomplished artist, curator and scholar, Vanouse has exhibited his work in prestigious venues in more than 25 countries, including the Louvre, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Zentrum für Kunst und Medien, Albright-Knox Museum, Andy Warhol Museum, Walker Museum, and Carnegie Museum. Supporters of his work include the Creative Capital Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the New York Foundation for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. He has received numerous awards of distinction and exhibition prizes including the Golden Nica — the highest international award within interdisciplinary and experimental art — from Prix Ars Electronica for Artificial Intelligence and Life Art.

Robert Zivadinov

Department of Neurology

Robert Zivadinov, MD, PhD, professor of neurology, is a renowned scholar in the study of multiple sclerosis (MS). His groundbreaking, highly impactful research has earned him a global reputation as an expert in MRI imaging and neurological disorders. Zivadinov has made numerous significant discoveries, including the crucial role of thalamic atrophy on cognitive impairment and other forms of disability, and imaging predictors for clinical progression in MS. His extensive scholarship includes more than 500 articles and 850 abstracts in leading, peer-reviewed journals, which have garnered over 27,000 citations and an H-index of 89. The director of the Center for Biomedical Imaging at UB’s Clinical and Translational Research Center, Zivadinov also served as executive director of the New York State Multiple Sclerosis Consortium.

Igor Žutić

Department of Physics

A professor of physics and fellow of the American Physical Society, Igor Žutić, PhD, is a globally renowned condensed matter theoretical physicist who is recognized for his seminal discoveries related to spin-dependent transport and superconducting junctions. Žutić’s predictions for spin-photodiodes, spin-transistors, and ultrafast spin-lasers, have been experimentally realized, complementing commercial spintronic applications, while his work on superconducting junctions is guiding efforts to implement fault-tolerant topological quantum computing. He is the recipient of a National Research Council Fellowship, NSF CAREER Award, and Gordon Godfrey Visitor Fellowship at the University of New South Wales. Žutić is also an excellent mentor, and the research of his undergraduate students has been recognized with prestigious awards, including Barry Goldwater Scholarship, NSF Graduate Fellowship, and National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship.