Ten WSU faculty elected to Washington State Academy of Sciences

Almost a third of the 36 new members of the Washington State Academy of Sciences are from Washington State University. The ten WSU faculty elected to the WSAS come from a range of disciplines including animal science, cropping systems, engineering, information ethics, genome engineering, and psychology.

WSAS President John Roll, also a WSU professor, welcomed all the new members who were elected in recognition of their scientific achievement and willingness to work on behalf of the academy for the benefit of the state.

“We are thrilled to honor these scientists, engineers, and leaders in the public, non-profit and private sectors for their distinguished and continued achievements,” said Roll. “We look forward to tapping their expertise and knowledge to advance the Academy’s mission of science in the service of Washington State.”

In addition, WSU education Professor Brian French, was elected as a new WSAS board member, and engineering Professor Susmita Bose was re-elected to serve for a second term on the board. Professor Jonathan Yoder of WSU School of Economic Sciences, will serve as the board’s treasurer.

New members will be inducted at the Annual Members’ Dinner following the WSAS Symposium at the Museum of Flight in Seattle on Sept. 25.

Kimberly Christen

Associate Vice President, Research Advancement, Office of Research at WSU

Christen has changed the way the field of information sciences understands information ethics by aligning it with a reparative theoretical framework based in Indigenous relations to kin, territories, material belongings, and systems of knowledge in order to unsettle standard academic practices of authorship, attribution, and accountability

Min Du

Regents Professor, Department of Animal Sciences

Du is recognized for research in maternal nutrition and fetal programming which opened new areas of discovery in genetics and nutrition and which lead to effective treatments and applications in human health and food production.

Prashanta Dutta

Professor and Director of NSF NRT-LEAD Program, School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and Statistics

Dutta is recognized for distinguished contributions in theoretical and computational modeling of thermal, mechanical, electrochemical, and biological systems as well as nationwide dissemination efforts of hands-on learning pedagogy to diverse students in institutions ranging from public, private, R1, to 4-year programs, including six minority-serving institutions.

Manuel Garcia-Perez

Professor and Chair, Biological Systems Engineering

Garcia-Perez is recognized for his leadership in sustainable agriculture systems and bio-energy research. His creative research advances our understanding of complex thermochemical reactions so that they can be controlled to obtain green products—such as bio-oils, biochar, and sustainable aviation fuel—to combat global warming and provide environmental services.

Maria Gartstein

Professor and Chair, Department of Psychology

Gartstein’s career is marked by leadership and service contributions, with international reach of research and translational efforts engaging the public and policy makers. Her work addressing the biological and contextual underpinnings of temperament has influenced broader impacts, including theoretical and methodological shifts in the discipline, and awareness of support for self-regulation in the community.

John McCloy

Professor and Director, School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture

McCloy is a renowned materials scientist and expert in radioactive waste management who is internationally recognized for his pioneering contribution to safely disposing of nuclear waste through understanding glass chemistry and processing technology and mentoring a diverse population of future workforce for Hanford in Washington State

Kevin Murphy

Professor, International Seed and Cropping Systems, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences

Murphy is an internationally recognized leader in sustainable agriculture, ensuring that the crop varieties are optimized for the agroecology, have high nutritional benefit, and consumer acceptance.  His leadership across disciplines and engagement with communities generates evidence-based, sustainable impact from soil to society. 

Jon Oatley

Associate Dean of Research; Director, Functional Genomic Initiative, College of Veterinary Medicine

Oatley is recognized for excellence in understanding the biology of germ cell development and genome engineering of animals.

Partha Pande

Professor, Interim Dean and Boeing Centennial Chair in Computer Engineering

Pande is recognized for seminal contributions to Network-on-Chip research and education and extensive service efforts for advancing IEEE/ACM technical activities, publications, and conferences in this area as well as academic leadership in the areas of electrical engineering, computer engineering and computer science fields.

Michael Wolcott

Engineering and Interim Vice President for Research for WSU

Wolcott is recognized for his exemplary scientific contributions and policy development to enable biobased materials, chemicals, and fuels leading to the development and commercialization of advanced materials and fuels, improving performance while reducing costs and environmental burdens.