Morgan State University Faculty Recognized Nationally, Earning Prestigious Fellowships and Honors in Various Disciplines

MSU Professors Included Among Top 2% of Scientists Worldwide, Based on their Research

BALTIMORE — As Morgan State University advances its goal of achieving a Carnegie R1 “Very High Research” University Classification, members of its faculty continue to advance within their disciplines, receiving critical acclaim and distinction for their teaching and research. Morgan professors Gaston N’Guerekata, Ph.D. (mathematics), Christine F. Hohmann, Ph.D. (biology) and Wayne Dawkins (journalism) received prestigious national honors recently. In addition, six members of Morgan’s faculty are ranked among the top 2% of scientists in the world, according to a 2021 Stanford University report: Ganesh Bhatt, Ph.D. (information science and systems), Gloria Hoffman, Ph.D. (biology), Farin Kamangar, Ph.D. (epidemiology), Dr. N’Guerekata (mathematics), Alexander Pankov, Ph.D. (mathematics) and Hongtao Yu, Ph.D. (chemistry). The report ranked more than 180,000 researchers from the more than eight million globally active scientists, using bibliometric information contained in the Scopus database.

“Our faculty at Morgan exemplify indisputable excellence and leadership through their tireless work in the classroom, the research lab and the field, while effecting change in the communities we serve and offering solutions to some of today’s most pressing challenges,” said David K. Wilson, president of Morgan. “The honors they receive are well deserved, and the critical work they are engaged in propels Morgan in its charge as Maryland’s Preeminent Public Urban Research University.”

The eight members listed above exemplify the standard of excellence upheld by Morgan’s nearly 600-member faculty, which has distinguished the University as a premier public urban research institution as well as a destination for some of the world’s leading academic minds. Details of the faculty’s most recent national honors follow:

• Gaston N’Guerekata, University Distinguished Professor in Morgan’s School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences (SCMNS), was designated a 2022 AMS Fellow by the American Mathematical Society (AMS), for his significant contributions to the theory of almost automorphic functions and promoting opportunities in the mathematical sciences for underrepresented groups. Dr. N’Guerekata is among a select group of 45 Fellows representing researchers and faculty from institutions across the globe. Honored for his brilliant contributions to mathematics, Dr. N’Guerekata is a Network of Minorities in Mathematical Sciences (NMIMS) honoree and a recipient of fellowships from The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and the African Academy of Sciences (AAS).
• Christine F. Hohmann, a professor of biology, also in SCMNS, was elected a 2021 AAAS Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the Science family of journals. One of the 564 scientists, engineers and innovators spanning 24 scientific disciplines who were chosen for the honor, Dr. Hohmann was distinguished for her neuroscience research in cholinergic systems, specifically, the role acetylcholine plays in postnatal brain development and learning. A member of the SCMNS faculty for nearly 30 years, Dr. Hohmann is also a principal investigator for Morgan’s NIH-BUILD and \program and director of the Investigator Development Core for the NIH RCMI@Morgan. In 2019, Morgan’s Willie E. May, Ph.D., vice president for Research and Economic Development and professor of chemistry, was also elected as an AAAS Fellow.
• Wayne Dawkins, associate professor of multimedia journalism in the School of Global Journalism and Communication (SGJC), is the recipient of the 2021 Barry Bingham Sr. Fellowship Award, for his stewardship of diverse talent and his outstanding efforts to develop career tracks in the field of journalism. Awarded by the News Leaders Association (NLA), the Bingham Fellowship is considered among the most prestigious in journalism. Professor Dawkins will be formally recognized at this year’s News Leaders Awards Ceremony, scheduled for May 19–20, 2022 at NLA’s annual leadership conference.

“Traditionally, Morgan has been seen as having one of the more diverse university faculties, particularly among HBCUs, but we also can lay claim to having some of the most accomplished and recognized in their chosen fields,” said Dr. Yu, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Morgan and himself a National Technical Association (NTA) James C. Jones Humanitarian Award winner. “Maintaining an academic environment that demonstrates all are welcome and that you can conduct cutting-edge research while reaching the highest plateaus professionally, goes a long way in helping us to attract and retain the top talent in academia as we strive toward R1 status. This is an advantage we can build upon.”

About Morgan

Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland’s Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.

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