Twenty-five faculty earned one of two new awards from the Penn State Office of Executive Vice President and Provost. These awards are designed to recognize full-time faculty of any rank, tenure-line or non-tenure-line, whose accomplishments during the current year distinguish them as top performers within their units.
The following faculty were nominated by members of the Academic Leadership Council and received the endorsement of their dean or chancellor.
Provost Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activity
This award recognizes outstanding full-time faculty of any rank who demonstrate excellence within their academic units during their current evaluation period, such as an annual review, and have received endorsement from their dean. Their research or creative work demonstrates exceptional scholarly excellence, innovation and impact. This award celebrates faculty who may have achieved distinction in their field, produced influential bodies of work that advance knowledge and practice, secured resources and funding that support transformative scholarship or creative endeavors, and fostered meaningful engagement with communities and contributions that address important societal needs.
The 2026 recipients are:
- Reka Albert, Evan Pugh University Professor, Department of Physics, Eberly College of Science; adjunct appointment, Department of Biology; and affiliated with the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences
- Long-Qing Chen, Evan Pugh University Professor and Hamer Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences; professor, Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, College of Engineering; professor, departments of Physics and Mathematics, Eberly College of Science
- Brian Fronk, professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering
- Swaroop Ghosh, professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, College of Engineering
- Ben Goldman, University archivist, Eberly Family Special Collections Library, University Libraries
- Jainendra K. Jain, Evan Pugh University Professor and Eberly Chair in Physics, Department of Physics, Eberly College of Science; founding director, Center for Theory of Emergent Quantum Matter (C-TEQ)
- Yun Jing, professor, Graduate Program in Acoustics, College of Engineering
- Sheridan Miyamoto, associate professor, Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing; cofunded faculty with the Social Science Research Institute; faculty associate, Child Maltreatment Solutions Network
- Andrew Patterson, H. Thomas and Dorothy Willits Hallowell Chair in Agricultural Sciences and professor of molecular toxicology, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, College of Agricultural Sciences; professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Eberly College of Science; director, Center for Environmental Health Sciences; associate director, Huck Institutes of Life Sciences
- Federico Rodriguez Hertz, Anatole Katok Chair Professor of Mathematics, Eberly College of Science
- Dorothea "Dora" Roumpi, associate professor of human resource management, School of Labor and Employment Relations, College of the Liberal Arts
- Chris Shelton, associate professor of clinical psychology, Penn State Behrend; interim program coordinator, master’s program in clinical psychology; founder and director, VAR Lab: The Emerging Technologies Hub
- Chaopeng Shen, professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering; leader of Multiscale Hydrology, Processes and Intelligence (MHPI) research group
- Martin Sliwinski, Gregory H. Wolf Professor in Healthy Aging and Human Development; professor, Department of Human Development and Family Studies; director, Center for Healthy Aging; College of Health and Human Development
- Amara Solari, professor, Department of Art History, College of Arts and Architecture; professor, Department of Anthropology, College of the Liberal Arts
- Julian Wang, professor, Department of Architectural Engineering, College of Engineering
- Lauren Zarzar, professor, Department of Chemistry, Eberly College of Science; affiliated with Penn State’s Materials Research Institute
Provost Award for Pedagogical Innovation and Excellence
This award celebrates faculty who reshape learning with creative, inclusive and student-focused approaches: advancing curriculum, pedagogy and engagement in ways that inspire lasting impact. It recognizes outstanding full-time faculty of any rank who elevate academic excellence through bold, student-centered innovation in teaching within their academic units.
The following are 2026 recipients:
- Sarah Bordenstein, associate research professor, Department of Biology, Eberly College of Science; associate research professor, Department of Entomology, College of Agricultural Sciences
- Kyle Chalupczynski, assistant teaching professor of management information systems, Sam and Irene Black School of Business, Penn State Behrend
- Chris Gamrat, associate teaching professor, Department of Human-Centered Computing and Social Informatics, College of Information Sciences and Technology
- Glenn Kumhera, associate professor of history, Penn State Behrend
- Benjamin J. Lear, professor, associate head for undergraduate education, Department of Chemistry, Eberly College of Science.
- Travis Masterson, associate professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences, Broadhurst Career Development Professor for the Study of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, College of Health and Human Development; director, Health, Ingestive Behavior, and Technology (HIT) Laboratory; associate director of research, Center for Immersive Experiences (CIE)
- Baljinder Sekhon, associate professor of composition and composition program head, School of Music, College of Arts and Architecture
- Anna Sigmon, associate professor of chemistry, Penn State Brandywine
Complete bios of the award recipients are available on the Office of Faculty Affairs website.