West Virginia University professors Thomas H. Myers and Bojan Cukic are this years recipients of the Robert C. Byrd Professorship Award.

Funded through the WVU Research Corp., the awards were established to acknowledge outstanding professional accomplishments and leadership of WVU faculty. The purpose of the professorship program is designed to recognize faculty for their outstanding achievements in research and other scholarly activities, and the impact of their research, in their fields of study, including technology development, technology transfer and commercialization.

The Robert C. Byrd Professorship is intended to be a prestigious award and based on distinction in ones field of scholarly work. Recipients are expected to hold the highest standards and values of academic scholarship,said John D. Weete, vice president for research and economic development and president of the WVU Research Corp.

Thomas H. Myers, professor of physics in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, was selected on the basis of his achievements in research and scientific leadership.

Co-director of the WV Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Education Initiative (WVNano), he played a key role in the planning, development and implementation of WVNano at WVU . An interdisciplinary initiative, WVNano obtained new WV Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) funding to support the recruitment and retention of additional nanosciences faculty and enhance the level of nanoscience research at WVU .

Myersexemplary record as a scientific leader extends beyond WVU . Since 2000, he has given 22 invited presentations on his research. His presentations have spanned every continent of the world, except Antarctica. Myers has been selected by his peers to leadership roles in the American Vacuum Society, the Electronic Materials Committee, and the Governing Board of the Electro-Optic Alliance (a Navy-Industry-University partnership organization), and Program Chair of the 2004 International Workshop on Nitride Semiconductors.

Myers has been recognized by the Eberly College for his significant contributions in the field of gallium nitride films and has received outstanding teaching awards from the Eberly College and the WVU Foundation. In 2005, Myers was awarded a Visiting Erskine Fellowship from the University of Canterbury in Christchurch New Zealand.

Bojan Cukic, associate professor in the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering in the College of Engineering and Mineral Sciences, was selected on the basis of his achievement and contribution to the field of biometrics.

Cukic is involved in two highly visible initiatives. He is a leader in WVU collaborations with the NASA IV &V laboratory in Fairmont, and he is co-director of the Center for Identification Technology Research (CITeR), a National Science Foundation Industry/University Center focused on biometric systems for establishing identity based

on unique biological characteristics. Both initiatives have contributed significantly to the funded research base and national reputation of WVU , and both hold substantial potential for regional economic development.

Cukic is also a key member of the faculty team that won the NSF award of $9 million to WV EPSCoR in June of 2006. The WV EPSCoR grant will provide support for new research in molecular recognition and engineering over the next three years at WVU and Marshall University. It will also support efforts at West Virginia State University in an expanded collaboration among the 3 state universities.

Cukic has twice been recognized by the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources for his research accomplishments. He also received the 2002 Research Synergy Award from the NASA Office of Safety and Mission Assurance and the 2004 Tycho Brahe Outstanding Research Award from NASA , a prestigious and nationally competitive award.

“I congratulate these two professors on their outstanding academic achievements. Their groundbreaking work and interdisciplinary approach to research continues to help ensure WVU ’s place among the nation’s top research universities. Their achievements, and those that they are sure to make in the future, are points of pride for me and every West Virginian,”Sen. Robert C. Byrd remarked.

The Robert C. Byrd Professorship program will grant a total of 16 awards. Up to four, 4-year professorships will be awarded annually. Each professorship will carry an annual stipend of $5,000 as a salary supplement for the 4-year period of the award.

Past recipients of the Robert C. Byrd Professorship are: Larry Hornak, professor of computer science and electrical engineering in the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources; Mark Keopke, professor of physics in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences; Roger Viadero, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering in the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources; and Kimberly Horn, associate professor of community medicine in the School of Medicine.