Penn State's Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs has named 13 distinguished professors for 2021.

The distinguished professor title recognizes outstanding academic contribution to the University. This special academic title is bestowed upon a limited number of outstanding professors for whom endowed chairs or professorships are otherwise unavailable.

The University's 2021 distinguished professors are:

College of Agricultural Sciences

— Jason Kaye, professor of biogeochemistry

College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
— Paul Markowski, professor of meteorology and atmospheric science
— Clive Randall, professor of materials science and engineering
— Erica Smithwick, professor of geography

College of Engineering
— Mahmut Kandemir, professor of computer science and engineering
— Seong Kim, professor of chemical engineering
— Adri van Duin, professor of mechanical engineering
— Jose Ventura, professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering

College of the Liberal Arts
— Diane Felmlee, professor of sociology

College of Medicine

— Dr. Kathryn Schmitz, professor of public health sciences    

Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
— Ashutosh Deshmukh, professor of accounting and management information Systems

Penn State Berks

— Abdullah Konak, professor of information sciences and technology

Penn State Harrisburg

— Elizabeth Tisdell, professor of lifelong learning and adult education