2026 Celebration of Faculty Excellence

The Holladay Medal is the highest university award in recognition of faculty excellence. It is awarded to members of the faculty who have made outstanding and sustained contributions to the university through their achievements in research, teaching, or extension and engagement.

Francis L. de los Reyes III

Dr. de los Reyes is the Glenn E. and Phyllis J. Futrell Distinguished Professor in Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor and a University Faculty Scholar. He is internationally recognized for integrating microbiology and engineering to solve pressing problems in wastewater treatment, waste-to-energy and global sanitation. Dr. de los Reyes innovative and interdisciplinary work has advanced both fundamental science and real-world practice — improving public health, protecting the environment and training the next generation of engineers and scientists. His research has redefined our understanding of microbial communities in engineered and natural systems.

Carol K. Hall

Dr. Hall is the Worley H. Clark, Jr. Distinguished University Professor in Engineering in the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering. She is widely regarded in scientific and engineering circles as an intellectual leader and a pioneer who paves the way for others. Dr. Hall’s early use of statistical and molecular thermodynamics to solve engineering problems — long before most chemical engineers recognized its value — played a pivotal role in modernizing applied chemical engineering thermodynamics research. Beyond her research, Dr. Hall chaired the Honors Council from 1992-94, and as part of her responsibilities, she helped establish the Holladay Medal at the request of the NC State Board of Trustees.

The UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching is the most prestigious teaching award given annually to one faculty member from each campus in the UNC System. The award was established in 1993 to recognize and reward full-time tenured faculty and to underscore the importance of teaching by encouraging, identifying, recognizing, rewarding, and supporting good teaching within the university system.

Katie Sheats

Dr. Sheats is the Associate Dean of Professional Education and Admissions and a professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine. As leader of the Equine Primary Care (EPC) rotation, Dr. Sheats developed the CVM’s first formal distributive clinical education program for educating veterinary students in primary education that serves as a model for other veterinary schools developing similar distributive courses. According to her students, Dr. Sheats is the kind of teacher every student needs, consistently offering her full attention while providing encouragement, honest feedback, and meaningful opportunities for both personal and professional growth. Dr. Sheats is a skilled mentor, educator, leader, and innovator at the CVM and in the profession and she exemplifies the qualities of a UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching recipient.

The American Academy of Arts & Sciences serves the nation as a champion of scholarship, civil dialogue, and useful knowledge. As one of the country’s oldest learned societies and independent policy research centers, the Academy convenes leaders from the academic, business, and government sectors to respond to the challenges facing the nation and the world. NC State is an affiliate institution of the Academy.

Rodolphe Barrangou

Dr. Barrangou is the Todd R. Klaenhammer Distinguished Professor in Probiotics Research in the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences. He was selected as a member of the Academy for his work on CRISPR and genome editing technologies, and their industrial and commercial deployment in human therapeutics, food products, agriculture and forestry.  

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an international organization seeking to “raise the bar of understanding for science worldwide.” Election as a fellow is an honor awarded to accomplished scientists by their peers in recognition of extraordinary achievements and contributions in research, teaching, technology and public science.

Rob Dunn

Dr. Dunn is the Senior Vice Provost for University Interdisciplinary Programs and a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Applied Ecology. He was elected to AAAS for distinguished contributions to the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology, particularly the ecology and evolution of daily human lives, and to the engagement of the public in these fields.

Srinath Ekkad

Dr. Ekkad is a professor and department head of mechanical and aerospace engineering. He was elected to AAAS for distinguished contributions in the development of detailed heat transfer and combustion measurements, particularly inside gas turbines, for applications in power generation and aerospace propulsion.

Charles Henderson

Dr. Henderson is the director of interdisciplinary STEM education and a professor of physics. He was elected to AAAS for distinguished contributions to discipline-based education research in physics, and on understanding processes leading to institution-wide instructional change in science education.

Sung Woo Kim

Dr. Kim is a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Animal Science. He was elected to AAAS for developing a world-class research program in monogastric nutrition.  His research has significantly advanced our knowledge about intestinal health and amino acid nutrition, and functional nutrients in monogastric animals. 

Heike Sederoff

Dr. Sederoff is a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Plant and Microbial Biology. She was elected to AAS for distinguished contributions in the field of molecular plant biology, particularly sensory genomics in abiotic stress responses and metabolic engineering of crop plants to increase yield and resistance.

Julie Swann

Dr. Swann is the A. Doug Allison Distinguished Professor and department head in the Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. She was elected to AAAS for distinguished contributions to health care systems engineering and humanitarian logistics, dedicated service to INFORMS, visionary leadership in academia, and outstanding efforts in communicating industrial engineering to the public.

The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program provides unique opportunities for faculty to teach, conduct research and carry out professional projects around the world.

Stephanie Chen

Dr. Chen is an associate teaching professor in the Biological Sciences and Biotechnology Program. She has received a Fulbright Scholar Teaching/Research Award to serve as visiting faculty at Nagoya University in Japan where she will teach biochemistry and genetic engineering as well as conducting research on motivations for pursuing a doctoral degree in a STEM discipline.

Timothy Horn

Dr. Horn is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. As a Fulbright Scholar, he will travel abroad to Politecnico di Milano in Milan, Italy, to help improve the inspection process for metal parts made with electron beam 3D printing; this process is used to manufacture components for a number of high-tech fields, including the aerospace industry.

Anne McLaughlin

Dr. McLaughlin is a professor of Psychology. As a Fulbright Scholar, she will be working with the Australian Defense Science and Technology Group in Melbourne, Australia, on research projects regarding human trust in automated systems, technologies, and robotics.

John Nietfield

Dr. Nietfield is a professor of Teacher Education and Learning Science. His Fulbright project involves developing an intelligent game-based learning environment that supports science literacy for elementary school students in both Croatia and the United States. 

Paul Umbach

Dr. Umbach is a professor of Educational Leadership, Policy and Human Development. For his Fulbright award, he  will be based at Tampere University working with their Higher Education Group. Dr. Umbach’s primary project focuses on university mergers in Finland, examining how these large-scale institutional changes affect faculty, organizational structures, and long-term outcomes. 

Wensong Yu

Dr. Yu is an associate research professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. For his Fulbright, he will be traveling to Finland. The goal of Dr. Yu’s research project is to address issues of power transformers for the electric grid in the form of a solid state transformer composed of switching devices made of Silicon Carbide (SiC) rather than Silicon, accomplishing this through collaborative design, testing, and educational integration with Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT) and Kempower.

The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) Fellows Program was established to highlight academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society.

R. Michael Roe

Dr. Roe is a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Entomology and Plant Pathology. The NAI Selection Committee chose Dr. Roe for being the inventor of the first EPA registered, all natural insect and tick repellent, Mimikai. A compound found in bananas and wild tomato plants is the basis for the new spray, which protects wearers from mosquitoes for up to eight hours and ticks for four hours. Dr. Roe is also the co-inventor of the first, non-insecticidal, mosquito bite proof clothing.

Cheryl Xu

Dr. Xu is a professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. The NAI Selection Committee has recognized her for innovations in advanced materials and manufacturing, including AI, robotics, and wireless sensors. Dr. Xu’s work enables technologies for energy and defense applications, translating into impacts through industry partnerships, national strategy and policy leadership.

The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) Senior Members are active faculty, scientists, and administrators with success in patents, licensing, and commercialization and have produced technologies that have brought or aspire to bring, real impact on the welfare of society. 

Mike Sano

Dr. Sano is an associate professor of Molecular Biomedical Sciences. His research, focusing on using electricity to target mainly inoperable tumors, will be formally inducted into the NAI. He has authored more than 45 peer-reviewed publications, holds 18 issued patents licensed to five companies and has founded two university spinoff companies. 

The National Academy of Sciences recognizes achievement in science by election to membership, and—with the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine—provides science, engineering, and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations.

Jose Alonso

Dr. Alonso is a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of plant and microbial biology. He studies molecular circuits in plants to answer fundamental questions about how they grow and respond to the environment and was elected for distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. 

The NEH Scholarly Editions and Translations program provides grants to organizations to support collaborative teams who are editing, annotating, and translating foundational humanities texts that are vital to generating new scholarship but are inaccessible or only available in inadequate editions or translations.

Anna Gibson

Dr. Gibson is an assistant professor of English. This NEH grant funds Dr. Gibson’s completion of the Dickens Notes project (dickensnotes.org), an interactive, annotated scholarly edition of the detailed working notes Charles Dickens kept as he composed his novels in parts over many months. 

The Faculty Early Career Development Program is the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious award in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.

Ali Gurbuz

Dr. Gurbuz is an associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. This CAREER project will have a high impact on sensing technologies being developed to improve the quality of our daily lives, ranging from applications of cameras to biomedical imaging, or from smart home technologies to autonomous vehicles.

Dariush Heiranian

Dr. Heiranian is an assistant professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. This CAREER project aims to understand how nearly identical ions can be separated at the molecular level using advanced membrane materials. The research will help guide more efficient technologies for water purification, energy systems, and the recovery of critical minerals such as lithium.

Andrew Lee

Dr. Lee is an assistant professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. This CAREER award will support research focused on understanding the prevailing conditions for propagating instabilities and creating methods for regulating their behavior in deployable shell structures. This award also aims to spark early interest in STEM and motivate students to pursue STEM careers through lab internships for high school students, research opportunities for undergraduate students, and exhibitions at local STEM events and museums.

Xiaorui Liu

Dr. Liu is an assistant professor of Computer Science. His CAREER award will advance the development of next-generation robust AI systems capable of operating reliably in open and adversarial environments, which ensures that AI systems remain aligned with human values and can be deployed safely and effectively in high-stakes, real-world applications.

Yuchen Liu

Dr. Liu is an assistant professor of Computer Science. The CAREER project aims to increase the level of intelligence and timely situational awareness in next-generation wireless networks. It uses hybrid digital-physical learning to create a virtual copy of a network, and this digital representation runs “what-if” scenarios and uncover reconfigurability.

Vijay Shah

Dr. Shah is an assistant professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. This NSF CAREER project develops an AI-driven, real-time spectrum management system that improves how 5G/6G networks share limited airwaves. It boosts capacity, reduces interference, and enables smarter use of the finite RF spectrum for future connectivity, public safety, and autonomous systems.

Wentao Tang

Dr. Tang is an assistant professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. This CAREER project will create a framework to better understand how computer programs called optimization solvers work, focusing on how they rule out poor solutions and move toward the best one. 

Ruijuan Xu

Dr. Xu is an assistant professor of Materials Science and Engineering. Through this CAREER project, the research team aims to develop strain-engineering pathways to create phase boundaries in lead-free ferroelectric oxide heterostructures and membranes beyond the traditional chemical method. These new strain modalities open opportunities to explore, manipulate, and harness novel functionalities in oxide materials for next-generation applications.

Rong Yin

Dr. Yin is an assistant professor of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science. This CAREER project reinvents hemp as a high-performance, sustainable textile fiber by advancing processing and structure-property understanding. It integrates fiber science, manufacturing innovation, and education to enable high-quality yarn production.

The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring are the nation’s highest honors for those who have made significant contributions to mentoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Terri Long

Dr. Long is a professor of Plant and Microbial Biology. She has led research and trained almost 30 students and postdocs for more than a decade. She has taught plant physiology to over 400 students and mentored dozens of K-12 students through outreach programs that focus on minoritized students. Dr. Long has led many workshops, seminars, and has published articles about the importance of mentoring minoritized scientists. She also serves as the Platform Director for Education and Workforce Development for the NC Plant Sciences Initiative.