Three distinguished NDSU faculty members have been awarded endowed professorships:

• Verlin Hinsz, professor of psychology, received the Dale Hogoboom Presidential Professorship.

• Ying Huang, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, received the Walter F. and Verna Gehrts Presidential Professorship.

• Cheryl Wachenheim, professor of agribusiness and applied economics, received the Jordan A. Engberg Presidential Professorship.

The Engberg and Hogoboom professorships are awarded to faculty at the rank of professor with at least eight years of service to NDSU. The Gerhts professorship is for faculty at the associate professor rank with at least five years of service.

Each recipient will receive a stipend of $5,000 and $1,500 for expenditures related to their academic endeavors for each of the next two years. They also will be recognized by President Dean L. Bresciani and Provost Margaret Fitzgerald with a plaque during the annual NDSU Celebration of Faculty Excellence event, scheduled for Thursday, May 13, at 3 p.m.

“Endowed Professorship Awards are given to faculty members who have an outstanding record in all areas of faculty work: in teaching, research and service,” said Vice Provost Canan Bilen-Green, who oversees campuswide faculty awards. The selections were made by the NDSU Faculty Awards and Recognition Committee.

Verlin Hinsz

“Professor Hinsz is unquestionably deserving of this award and the Department of Psychology enthusiastically recommends him for this honor,” said nominator Mark Nawrot, chair of the psychology department. “Professor Hinsz has consistently excelled in his contributions to research, teaching, outreach, and service. This can be initially demonstrated by noting that he received the Faculty Lectureship Award in 2015, as well as many other awards while at NDSU.

Hinsz became a member of the NDSU faculty in 1983. He earned his bachelor’s degree at NDSU and his master’s degree in social psychology and doctorate in social-organizational psychology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

His previous awards include the Golden Anniversary Monograph Award from the National Communication Association and the association’s Dennis Gouran Award for publication on small groups. He was associate editor of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology for two terms, was an editorial board member for eight journals and a book series.

Ying Huang

“Dr. Huang’s research focuses on three areas: Design of smart cities and autonomous systems as well as intelligent transportation systems for pavement and traffic monitoring; assessment of pipeline and railroad for damage detection, corrosion detection, and mitigation; and big-data for transportation applications and multi-hazard mitigation of transportation infrastructure in harsh environments,” said nominator Kalpana Katti, University Distinguished Professor of civil and environmental engineering, noting Huang has been principal investigator or co-principal investigator for 18 research projects funded by federal or local agencies.

Huang joined the NDSU faculty in 2012 and has served on the doctoral committees of 54 students. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Guangzhou University, China; her master’s degree at the Harbin Institute of Technology; and doctorate in civil engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology.

Her previous honors include being named the Welch Faculty Fellow Professor and receiving the National Science Foundation Faculty Early CAREER Award, NDSU Centennial Endowment Award, College of Engineering Researcher of the Year Award and NDSU Ozbun Economic Development Award.

Cheryl Wachenheim

“Professor Wachenheim has had a substantial, measurable impact through her demonstrated devotion to continuous improvement of our courses, our teachers and our curriculum. She has built an outstanding, meaningful research program and aggressively disseminates her findings to the broad audiences we serve,” said nominator Siew Hoon Lim, associate professor of agribusiness and applied economics.

Wachenheim earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Minnesota and her Master of Business Administration, master’s degree and doctorate in agricultural economics at Michigan State University. She also completed the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Program and 30 resident schools by the Department of Defense. She joined the NDSU faculty in 1998.

Her other honors include the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association Distinguished Teaching Award, Challey Faculty Fellow, Fulbright Distinguished Chair Scholarship to China, H. Roald and Janet Lund Excellence in Teaching Award and North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture teaching fellow and scholar awards. Her numerous military honors include the NATO Medal, Bronze Star, three Army Commendation Medals and two Meritorious Unit Commendation Medals.

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