UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State has recognized three faculty members as Atherton Professors, a new distinction created by the University to recognize the continuing high level of scholarly or creative activity Evan Pugh University Professors may pursue after their retirement. George Andrews, Evan Pugh University Professor Emeritus of Mathematics; Abhay Ashtekar, Evan Pugh University Professor Emeritus of Physics; and James Kasting, Evan Pugh University Professor Emeritus of Geosciences, have been named the inaugural Atherton Professors, with an initial appointment of three years.
The new Atherton Professorship recognizes emeriti Evan Pugh University Professors for their exceptional record of research and creative accomplishment, teaching and learning, and service over the course of their careers, and allows for the continuation of these activities to the benefit of the University community, according to Justin Schwartz, interim executive vice president and provost.
“The new Atherton Professorship — named in honor of Penn State’s seventh president, George W. Atherton, who served the University from 1882 to 1906 — allows us to recognize and support our most preeminent faculty who have retired but who continue to pursue their exemplary scholarly activities on behalf of the University,” said Schwartz. “It gives me great pleasure to announce Dr. Andrews, Dr. Ashtekar and Dr. Kasting as Penn State’s first Atherton Professors, and I look forward to our continued partnership with each of them.”
The inaugural Atherton Professors are:
George Andrews, Evan Pugh University Professor Emeritus of Mathematics
Andrews has been a member of the Penn State faculty since 1964 and was named Evan Pugh University Professor in 1981. He served as chair of the department from 1980 to 1982 and again from 1995 to 1997. During his career at Penn State, Andrews has served as thesis adviser for 27 doctoral candidates and for numerous master's degree students. He is considered to be a world pioneer in the mathematical fields of partitions and q-series, and his contributions include numerous scientific papers and several books. He is an authority on the work of Srinivasa Ramanujan, the great Indian mathematical genius of the late 19th and early 20th centuries; in 1976, Andrews rediscovered Ramanujan's Lost Notebook, a finding that changed the shape of modern q-series research.
Abhay Ashtekar, Evan Pugh University Professor Emeritus of Physics
Ashtekar is emeritus holder of the Eberly Family Chair in Physics and was the founding director of the Penn State Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos, which he led from 1992 to 2021. He was named an Evan Pugh University Professor in 2018. A widely recognized leader in theoretical physics, he focuses his research on classical general relativity and quantum gravity. His most prominent and creative contribution to physics is his seminal reformulation of Einstein’s theory of general relativity as a gauge theory. The central piece of this reformulation is his discovery of a new set of canonical variables, now known as Ashtekar variables, that provided a powerful representation of canonical general relativity and led to an important branch of fundamental theory known as “loop quantum gravity.” The Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos, which Ashtekar created at Penn State, is a focal point for research worldwide into all aspects of the theory of gravity, including quantum gravity.
James Kasting, Evan Pugh University Professor Emeritus of Geosciences
Kasting joined the Penn State faculty in 1988 as an associate professor of geosciences and meteorology and was named an Evan Pugh University Professor in 2012. In 2020, he became the inaugural director of Penn State’s Consortium for Planetary and Exoplanetary Sciences and Technology. As a world expert in the evolution of Earth’s climate and atmosphere, Kasting's investigations of the evolution of carbon dioxide and other atmospheric gases — oxygen, methane, nitrous oxide — provided insight into the proliferation of life on early Earth. His research has also focused on the study of habitable zones around other stars, a field that is critical to the search for extraterrestrial life. He has made major contributions to the search for life on other planets, including refining the concept of the “habitable zone” — the area around a star where a planet can support liquid water and possibly life.
About the Evan Pugh and Atherton professorships
The Evan Pugh University Professorship is the highest distinction bestowed upon faculty by the University, to honor preeminent professors and recognize the importance of research in supporting the quality and reputation of the University. Since the establishment of the designation in 1960, only 79 faculty members have been named as Evan Pugh University Professors.
Evan Pugh University Professors who are retiring with emeritus status and want to continue a high level of engagement can apply within their college to be considered for the Atherton Professorship. Final approval is given by the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost. Atherton Professors are appointed to an initial term of three years with the possibility of renewal.
Atherton Professors typically engage in the pursuit of scholarly or creative activities, leadership or outreach in one or more of the following ways:
- Obtaining external funding to support ongoing research
- Current and future publications of research papers and/or books
- Leadership in learned societies and/or scholarly journals
- Solicited lectures, performances or exhibits
The program is sponsored by the Office of the Provost and is under the administration of the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs. For more information, please contact Abby Diehl, assistant vice provost for faculty affairs, at agc105@psu.edu.