Chemistry professor Prashant Jain is one of five University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professors named University Scholars in recognition of their excellence in teaching, scholarship and service. The award is presented by the University of Illinois System to faculty members from the Chicago, Springfield and Urbana universities.
Begun in 1985, the scholars program recognizes faculty excellence and provides $15,000 to each scholar for each of three years to enhance their academic career. The money may be used for travel, equipment, research assistants, books or other purposes.
“We value the critical role of our diverse, world-class faculty in maintaining the University of Illinois System’s preeminence as a global leader in higher education,” said Nicholas Jones, the System’s executive vice president and vice president for academic affairs. “Continuing to support their efforts remains a top priority, and recognition as a University Scholar is one example of how we look to demonstrate that.
“Our honorees are to be commended for their dedication to excellence in teaching, scholarship and service and for their outstanding contributions to the discovery and innovation that will continue to drive progress and positively impact our state, nation and world. These individuals are most deserving of this prestigious award, and we are proud to recognize and congratulate each one of them.”
Jain is a world leader in three high-impact fields of research: artificial photosynthesis, catalysis and fundamental nanoscience. His teaching record is superb in advanced laboratory courses and undergraduate and graduate lecture courses in physical chemistry. He is particularly recognized for making technically challenging concepts in statistical mechanics and thermodynamics accessible to students.
Through his vision, leadership in the scientific community and outreach, Jain is helping reimagine and reinvent how chemicals and fuels are manufactured. Building on the foundations of discoveries and ideas from his laboratory, capital and energy-intensive, carbon-emitting facilities could in the future be replaced by distributed photoreactors that deploy solar photons for sustainable, zero-carbon manufacturing.
The other University Scholars on the UIUC campus are Gloriana González, a professor of curriculum and instruction; Derek Hoiem, a professor of computer science, D.K. Lee is a professor of crop sciences; and Carol Symes, a professor of history.
Related People
