M E M O R A N D U M December 17, 2012 TO: Members of the Board of Trustees FROM: Nancy L. Zimpher, Chancellor SUBJECT: Appointment of Distinguished Professors Action Requested The proposed resolution appoints the faculty members listed below to the rank of Distinguished Professor at the State University of New York campus indicated. Resolution I recommend that the Board of Trustees adopt the following resolution: Whereas the State University of New York Board of Trustees has proudly established a historic tradition of acknowledging and honoring extraordinary faculty achievement through appointment to Distinguished Faculty Rank; and Whereas the appointment to Distinguished Faculty Rank at the state-operated campuses is both a system-wide distinction and a promotion in rank; and Whereas the SUNY Board of Trustees has the authority to bestow system-wide distinctions; now, therefore, be it, Resolved that each faculty member listed below be, and hereby is, appointed to the rank of Distinguished Professor at the State University of New York campus indicated, effective December 5, 2012: Professor Francis M. Gasparini, University at Buffalo Professor Leo N. Hopkins, University at Buffalo Professor David A. Kofke, University at Buffalo Background Appointment to the rank of Distinguished Professor is conferred upon individuals who have achieved national or international prominence and a distinguished reputation within a chosen field. This distinction is attained through significant contributions to the research literature or through artistic performance or achievement in the case of the arts. The candidates’ work must be of such character that the individuals’ presence will tend to elevate the standards of scholarship of colleagues both within and beyond these persons’ academic fields. It must be of such quality that students and scholars on other campuses of the State University could and would wish to benefit by lectures and seminars or other appropriate presentations the faculty members might bring to them. The contributions of these scholars far exceed those mentioned in this resolution. Several important characteristics are omitted for brevity's sake. The candidates are also considered superlative teachers, setting the highest academic standards for their students. Beyond their scholarship, the candidates have contributed meaningfully and consistently in several notable areas, including extensive and superior service to the profession; leadership and ongoing participation on influential disciplinary committees; membership on prestigious editorial boards; service as reviewer or consultant on regulatory, advisory, and award-making bodies; and invited presentations at conferences and symposia. The following encapsulates their disciplinary accomplishments: Francis M. Gasparini – A Fellow of the American Physical Society, Professor Gasparini is an international leader in the field of low temperature physics. A world-renowned scholar who has been at the forefront of his field for several decades, Dr. Gasparini is especially well-known for his pioneering studies of phase transitions of liquid helium in confined systems-contributions regarded as the “gold standard” in the field. A member of UB’s Physics Department for nearly four decades, Professor Gasparini served for 14 years as the Director of Graduate Studies, associate chair and chair of the Physics Department and has been instrumental in guiding the department’s unprecedented growth and rise in stature, leading it to become recognized by the physics community worldwide. His many research and teaching honors include the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. The author of nearly 100 research papers, since 1975, his research has been nearly continuously funded by the National Science Foundation, with overall external funding totaling more than $3.1 million. Leo N. Hopkins – Dr. Hopkins is Professor and Chair in the Department of Neurosurgery at the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Professor Hopkins is also Director and founding member of the Toshiba Stroke Research Centre – a facility that brings together physicists, chemists, aerospace engineers, neurosurgeons, cardiologists, and radiologists to study neurovascular circulation and develop innovative technologies and approaches for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of neurovascular diseases. Dr. Hopkins is a physician scientist who has redefined the field of vascular neurosurgery in the management of stroke and stenting of vascular lesions. He is one of the founding figures of endovascular treatment for neurovascular disorders. He is a strong believer and participant in translational medicine, and his innovations in the field of endovascular surgery have been the benchmark for therapeutic endovascular intervention and have defined the field for neurosurgery. Dr. Hopkins’ work has been transformational in every sense, and has changed the way we think about and treat cerebrovascular disorders. David A. Kofke – Dr. Kofke is internationally recognized in the field of molecular simulation. He invented the Gibbs-Duhem integration technique that is now ubiquitous in the field and in molecular simulation textbooks. He has developed intermolecular potentials that permit prediction of the properties of toxic chemicals like HF, reducing the need for dangerous experiments. He has systematically examined biases in molecular simulation methodologies and developed a simple heuristic which can be applied to detect bias in simulation results. Professor Kofke has created a suite of molecular simulation modules that allow visualization of results for use in both research and education. He continues to develop methods of calculating virial coefficients and cluster integrals that previously could not be computed. This represents an important step toward the goal of first-principles calculation of fluid-phase properties. He is one of only five recipients of the John M. Prausnitz Award for Outstanding Achievement in Applied Chemical Thermodynamics, along with numerous other awards that include the Jacob F. Schoellkopf Medal, the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research and Creative Activity, and others. It is my pleasure to present these faculty members named in this resolution to the Board of Trustees for its approval. A copy of the President’s letter for each professor is attached. The letter highlights the individual’s major career achievements, and provides the campus rationale for recommending appointment. The full dossier is available in the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost. Attachments 2 -3- Board Resolution December 17, 2012