UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Six University faculty members have received 2022 Faculty Scholar Medals for Outstanding Achievement. 

They are Ralph Colby, professor of materials science and engineering in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS); Jonathan P. Eburne, professor of comparative literature, English, and French and francophone studies in the College of the Liberal Arts; Homero Gil de Zúñiga, professor in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications; Jonathan Lynch, distinguished professor of plant nutrition in the College of Agricultural Sciences; Carleen Maitland, professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology and Susan Sinnott, professor of materials science and engineering (MatSE) and chemistry and head of the Department of MatSE. 

Established in 1980, the award recognizes scholarly or creative excellence represented by a single contribution or a series of contributions around a coherent theme. A committee of peers reviews nominations and selects candidates. 

Ralph Colby 

Nominators said Colby, who was selected in the category of engineering, is an internationally renowned expert in polymer physics and is a leading force in polymer education and research at Penn State. His groundbreaking work on the physics of ion-containing polymers is critical to improving batteries and advanced renewable energy devices.  

He also wrote one of the leading books, “Polymer Physics,” which is now undergoing its second revision. The book has sold more than 6,500 copies, and is currently used as a graduate level text by roughly 40 universities around the world. 

“Professor Colby is an exemplary international scholar of the highest caliber. Penn State should be proud to have him in its ranks,” a nominator said. Another added “Colby has made outstanding achievements that brought us significant advances in our understanding of the properties and structures of ion-containing polymer materials.”  

Colby’s group researches ion-containing polymers and develops new materials for the conduction of two classes of ions. His research showed that these ionic materials once thought to be strong insulators are capable of being conductive. These materials have significant potential commercial applications as battery separators and/or ionic actuators, nominators said. These polymers are a promising new material for lightweight batteries because it potentially has manufacturing, packaging and safety advantages over liquid electrolytes found in traditional batteries. 

“Colby has a rare talent to identify outstanding problems of great impact, and design model materials and experiments to address them,” a nominator said. “His numerous seminal contributions have shaped modern physics and soft materials science, advanced scientific knowledge and contributed greatly to technological developments.”  

Colby’s work determining the basic principles of charged polymer solutions answered questions in a cutting-edge area of physics for which little was understood. The work, nominators said, is critical since modern sensors, battery separators, adhesives, and other advanced materials contain charged polymers. It also spans outside of the materials realm since DNA and proteins are also charged polymers. The work is of fundamental importance to living things and biotechnology.  

Recently, Colby discovered details related to the science behind the rapid crystallization of polymers. That’s a key step used in the manufacturing of nearly half the world’s polymers. He’s also had an impact on other areas of polymer science including glassy polymers, high-performance polymers and 3-D printing. 

“His work is distinctive, because he transforms his considerable understanding of ionic interactions in polymers into designs for new polymer materials,” a nominator said. “Dr. Colby’s work is an exquisite example of both significantly contributing to building the strong scientific foundation of complex polymers and implementing that new understanding in materials engineering.”  

Jonathan P. Eburne 

Nominators said Eburne, chosen for arts and humanities, is an internationally recognized scholar of surrealism and experimental artistic movements who has made enormous contributions to his field within the past two decades. Nominators called the scope of his academic work and service “extraordinary.” They said the quality of his research is revealed in that, in the past 10 years, there has not been any collective volume dedicated to surrealism that doesn’t feature his work.  

Eburne’s acclaimed book “Surrealism and the Art of Crime,” published in 2008, is cited by numerous researchers and experts and is the basis for the definition of surrealism in “The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics.” Eburne serves on the editorial board of the journals “Dada/Surrealism” and “The Journal of Surrealism and the Americas.” He’s been president and co-president of the Association for the Study of Dada and Surrealism. He’s also consulting editor for the “International Encyclopedia of Surrealism.” In 2018, he published the book “Outsider Theory: Intellectual Histories of Unorthodox Ideas,” which earned the James Russell Lowell Prize from the Modern Language Association in 2020.

Eburne founded in 2017 and led the International Society for the Study of Surrealism (ISSS). The group of experts, now numbering more than 400 members, began from Eburne’s quest to improve collaboration and international voices in the field. ISSS held two international conferences, followed by a virtual conference during COVID. A Paris conference is planned for s2024, the centenary of the first surrealist manifesto. Eburne also co-founded the award-winning ASAP/Journal, which was awarded “Best New Journal” by CELJ, the council of Editors of Learned Journals and received a PROSE award from the Association of University Publishers  

Nominators said Eburne is both a visionary and practical designer, planner, and problem-solver for his field. His work beginning and growing ISSS was constructed to solve what he saw as a fragmented and disconnected approach to researching surrealism.   

“He created an organization that now functions as a hub of information exchange and mutual support among scholars, artists and writers,” a nominator said. “There is a palpable excitement among the membership, particularly regarding the exchanges that are now taking place with regard to surrealism in previously less prominent regions such as Latin America.”  

Nominators said graduate students and colleagues find continuous inspiration in his work.   

“Professor Eburne broke new ground in the study of surrealism and pointed to directions taken, subsequently, by other scholars: colonial and post-colonialism as they featured in French surrealism and as a cause taken by surrealism around the world, Afro-surrealism, questions of gender in surrealism, are a few of the directions that he led the field to,” a nominator said.   

Homero Gil de Zúñiga 

Nominators said Gil de Zúñiga, selected for social and behavioral sciences, researches some of the most vexing “grand challenges” of our time. His work explores political communication, digital media and “fake news” and voter engagement. His work, “the news finds me” perception, explores how a growing number of citizens have relied on news delivered to them through social media instead of seeking reliable sources of news on their own, as they belief the news if important, will find them. This phenomenon is leading to information vacuums that could have wider implications for politics and democracy. 

“His studies have found that individuals tend to believe that news will come to them via their social media and other channels and therefore avoid habitual consumption of news, with detrimental effects on their political knowledge and interest over time,” a nominator said. “That, of course, has implications for civic engagement but also for the journalists and news organizations working to get the attention of these news consumers, providing rich fodder for scholars.”  

Gil de Zúñiga uses his rich ties to researchers in the U.S., Europe and South America. He and his global collaborators look at how online and social media sources are changing the way people consume information.   

His research shows patterns of political information consumption and action in a way that helps make sense of today’s rapidly shifting political landscape. 

“At a time of increased political polarization, Dr. Gil de Zúñiga has established a global reputation as a scholar whose work brings together political communication research with communication technology research to understand our changing political landscape,” a nominator said.  

One massive study, led with one of his colleagues out of New Zealand, has collected a trove of data on social and political behavior in 20 countries. Nominators said surveys of this scope are uncommon and illustrate his ambition and reach. The work examines system justification, social dominance, social capital, civic engagement and political participation, among other findings. 

Gil de Zúñiga is a prolific researcher, securing more than $4 million in grants while publishing more than 150 articles and books. He serves on the editorial board of 20 journals. In 2020, he was selected as a Web of Science Highly Cited Scholar, a designation achieved by only the top .1% of researchers in 21 research fields. 

“Dr. Gil de Zúñiga is a prolific world-renowned researcher, a generous mentor and a terrific colleague,” a nominator said. 

Jonathan Lynch 

Nominators said Lynch, chosen for life and health sciences, has spent three decades meticulously working to accelerate breakthroughs in groundbreaking research that’s transformed our understanding of how plants modify their roots to adapt to changing environments. They said the work has both advanced the science and the practice of farming, particularly in food insecure areas.  

Lynch researches crop productivity and plant adaptation to stress with the goal of improving yield and food security. His research group’s seminal work on plant nutrition and acquisition of phosphorus and nitrogen established a clear connection between root architecture and the acquisition of nutrients. Lynch also researches drought tolerance in crops and plant response to salinity and toxins. Through the invention of Laser Ablation Tomography, Lynch found new ways to map root anatomy in 3D.   

“His efforts to pioneer phenotyping platforms for use on plants grown in the field, combined with his efforts to develop computer simulation models to facilitate testing of conceptual models, promises to revolutionize our understanding of how plants respond to stress and nutrient availability in a real world setting,” a nominator said. “These types of studies are quite urgent given the rate of climate change and our need to feed a growing population.”  

Nominators praised Lynch’s ability to bring research to direct application in the field. He and his collaborators have identified novel root traits that are now commonplace in crop breeding programs for crops such as bean, maize and soybean globally. For example, three new bean varieties with improved root structure developed through Lynch’s research nearly doubled yield under drought and poor soils in Mozambique.  

“Throughout his career, Dr. Lynch has applied himself to important questions in plant biology in support of agriculture,” a nominator said. “His work provides a platform for a wide array of approaches aimed at improving food security and improving the lives of people around the world.”  

Lynch also makes those around him better. He’s among the top 1% of cited plant scientists, with more than 250 publications. He’s also secured more than $24 million in external grant funding at Penn State since 2007. His website, available in three languages, boasts more than 50,000 visitors annually. He’s trained or advised more than 100 graduate students and postdoctoral scholars and is a prolific teacher including a flagship undergraduate course in plant nutrition, and encourages undergraduate students to conduct research in his laboratory, nominators said. 

Carleen Maitland 

Nominators said Maitland, lauded for entrepreneurship, technology transfer and economic development, uses technology to better understand and resolve refugee crises. She’s worked with Syrian refugees in Jordan and Burundian refugees in Rwanda. With a background in data science, engineering and economics, she’s known for taking an interdisciplinary approach to research. 

“Dr. Maitland has worked tirelessly over the last five years on the challenges of assisting refugee communities as they seek economic stability and resilience under complex circumstances,” a nominator said. “Her specific expertise is the role that technology can play in the social-cultural-political technical landscape. This is inherently interdisciplinary work, often field-based, and requires a commitment to partner with communities and organizations that serve communities. It also requires a fundamentally different attitude about technology, as potential enabler, but never as the holy grail answer to any issue. Technology’s role in enhancing economic stability must be designed in context, with deep understanding of the local situation.”  

Maitland’s work looks at establishing economic resilience for refugees, which is particularly difficult since refugees are fleeing their jobs, belongings and personal connections.  

At a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan in 2016-17, Maitland examined network access and its role in creating economic and community divides within the camp. While training and employing refugees to gather data, her team investigated the relationship between data and community. Nominators said this groundbreaking research showed how training refugees for future employment could have a positive impact on their economic and social well-beings. It also demonstrates how establishing communication through data collection can build a sense of community. 

One goal of the research is to better help global aid agencies understand the unique problems refugees face. Researchers also gathered data on mobile phone and internet use while also creating a community asset map. Nominators said the data yielded new insights for global aid agencies.  

That research led to follow-up studies in Rwanda. Working with the UN Refugee Agency, her team trained Burundian refugees to gather and manage data. The goal was to build off-the-shelf technologies that could benefit future refugees and the agencies tasked with assisting them. In 2020, Maitland wrote a report for the UN that detailed digital technologies available for refugees and aid agencies. She’s now applying that work to refugee crises in Latin America and East Africa. 

“Dr. Maitland’s research is modern, relevant and timely,” a nominator said. “It’s on the cutting edge of both technical and social sciences. To me, Dr. Maitland embodies the values of an interdisciplinary approach to education. She truly believes that the greatest potential for research can only be found through taking a holistic approach to a problem and drawing from many different disciplines and theories.”  

Susan Sinnott 

Nominators said Sinnott, who was awarded for physical sciences, has made outstanding contributions to the development and utilization of computational methods for understanding and creating two-dimensional materials. They lauded her groundbreaking advances in discovering new materials as well as using computational methods for determining the structure of materials. Sinnott is an international expert on developing simulations that illuminate how processes can shape the structure of materials. 

A nominator said Sinnott is “one of the leaders in the field of computational materials science, who has made numerous significant and seminal contributions to a range of areas of materials science, and is well known for developments of tools and new approaches for atomistic simulations of materials.” Another added, “she is clearly one of the foremost leaders in the field of computational materials science and over the past five years she has established herself at the forefront of the field of discovery and structure-property determination of 2D materials.” 

Sinnott is known for developing new tools and approaches for simulations at the atomic level of materials, nominators said. This approach has led to discoveries in novel phenomena, new designs, the identification of relationships between chemical and atomic structure and electronic and mechanical properties.  

“Dr. Sinnott is an outstanding, internationally recognized scientist and one that continues to innovate herself,” a nominator said. “This is reflected in the breadth of her research, the number and quality of her publications, as well as the numerous recognitions from the community, including being a fellow of five different professional societies.” 

Through the use of computational chemistry, Sinnott made groundbreaking advances for discovering and understanding 2D materials. Nominators said her contributions make possible system-structure property relationships for new materials. Specifically, her work understanding unconventional 2D superconductors that can withstand high temperatures will advance quantum communications and quantum computing, among other potential applications. Nominators said this work is critical for creating 2D materials with new functions. 

“This was a tour-de-force study that will undoubtedly inspire more research in this important area of materials physics,” a nominator said. 

Along with Richard Hennig, of the University of Florida, Sinnott developed a python tool called MPInterfaces, which allows the rapid screening of bulk materials that would make great candidates for 2D materials. Data gathered through the software populates the open-source database “Materials Project.” Nominators said this data is critical to advancing the experimental creation of these complex yet potentially useful novel materials.  

“Dr. Sinnott is clearly one of the foremost leaders in the field of computational materials science and over the past five years she has established herself at the forefront of the field of discovery and structure-property determination of 2D materials,” a nominator said.