Arizona State University

ASU President Michael Crow and the university’s executive vice president and provost, Elizabeth D. Capaldi, have announced four new ASU Regents’ Professors for 2008. The selection was ratified April 25 by the Arizona Board of Regents.

This year’s honorees are:

• Stuart Lindsay, Edward and Nadine Carson Presidential Chair in Physics, and professor of chemistry.

• James Ohlson, W. P. Carey Chair of Accountancy.

• Otto Sankey, professor of physics.

• Elly van Gelderen, professor of English.

The title “Regents’ Professor” is the highest faculty honor awarded at ASU. It is conferred on ASU faculty members who have made pioneering contributions in their areas of expertise, who have achieved a sustained level of distinction, and who enjoy national and international recognition for these accomplishments.

“In making this award to these four outstanding researchers, it reminds us of the remarkable research that is conducted daily throughout this university,” Capaldi says. “The individuals chosen this year are at the top of their professions in the sciences, the humanities and business, indicative of the breadth of accomplishments occurring at ASU. We are proud to recognize the achievements of such distinguished scholars.”

A brief description of the honorees’ accomplishments includes:

• Lindsay, a professor in physics and chemistry, leads the Center for Single Molecule Biophysics in the Biodesign Institute. He is an international leader in the area of experimental physics and chemistry. He has made key contributions to the understanding of electron transfer in single molecules and to the science of nanotechnology.

• Ohlson, the W. P. Carey Chair of Accountancy, is internationally recognized for his analytical and empirical work on valuation, earnings changes and earnings capitalization. His research is central to the progress of modern accounting research and practice, and it has fundamentally changed how academics, analysts and auditors use accounting data in security valuation.

• Sankey is a professor of physics, and his research contributions relate to the development of theoretical physics approaches that calculate the electronic states of complex materials and molecular systems. His techniques have been highly influential in theoretical materials physics research around the world. They are applied by researchers to provide insight into the relation of atomic structure, electronic states and materials properties.

• Van Gelderen, a professor of English, is a leading scholar in the history of English syntax. She is internationally recognized as a leader in the branch of theoretical linguistics that seeks to explain language change. Her original work in linguistics has been groundbreaking, combining imagination and careful data analysis.