Three Texas A&M faculty members have been recognized as University Distinguished Professors, one of the highest faculty honors awarded. 

Akhil Datta-Gupta, Valen Johnson and Cheryl Lyn Walker have joined a select group of 85 faculty members. The award is given to faculty members who are recognized in their field of study and have made at least one influential contribution to their field.

Datta-Gupta, regents professor and holder of L.F. Peterson ’36 Endowed Chair in Petroleum Engineering, previously worked for BP in research and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. 

He was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering for establishing the theory of streamline simulation for fluid flow in heterogeneous reservoirs, a technology that has been rapidly adopted by the industry for reservoir management among other uses. 

“I am very honored for being named as a University Distinguished Professor,” Datta-Gupta said. “It is truly a humbling experience to be selected from a pool of so many deserving candidates.”

Johnson, professor and head of the Department of Statistics in the College of Science, has spent the last three decades analyzing comparative intelligences in non-human primates, studied grade inflation at American universities and developed a more effective means of testing the effectiveness of cancer drugs. 

Johnson is an elected member in the International Statistics Institute and has two published books. 

“I am honored by my selection as a distinguished professor, and thank Texas A&M University and the College of Science for the outstanding environment that they have provided for me to conduct my research,” Johnson said. “This is a world class university with a world class faculty, and it is a pleasure and honor to work here.”  

Walker, a Robert A. Welch Professor and director of the Institute of Biosciences and Technology, is a distinguished molecular biologist who has made impressive contributions to the scientific understanding of gene-environment interactions in human disease. 

Walker is a recipient of awards including the Cozzarelli Prize in Biological Sciences from the National Academy of Sciences, and Outstanding Distinguished Scientist from the A&M Chapter of Sigma Xi. Walker was not available for comment at time of press.