Three Named 2019 Distinguished University Professors in College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences

Sean Carroll, Ming Lin and Richard Walker received the university's highest academic honor

Sean Carroll, Ming Lin and Richard Walker will be named 2019 Distinguished University Professors at the University of Maryland’s annual Faculty and Staff Convocation on September 18, 2019. The title of Distinguished University Professor is the highest academic honor bestowed by the university.

Carroll, Lin and Walker join more than 100 colleagues who have been named Distinguished University Professor since 1980. Distinguished University Professors are faculty members who have been recognized nationally and internationally for the importance of their scholarly achievements. UMD’s president, along with a committee composed of the provost and seven faculty members—including several Distinguished University Professors—from diverse disciplines select the honorees each year. 

Carroll joined UMD’s Department of Biology in 2018 as the inaugural Andrew and Mary Balo and Nicholas and Susan Simon Endowed Chair. He is the first Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator to take a faculty position at UMD.Carroll came to UMD from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he first established his lab in 1987 and was the Allan Wilson Professor of Molecular Biology, Genetics and Medical Genetics.

Carroll is a pioneer and international leader in the field of evolutionary developmental biology, also known as “evo-devo.” His research has shown that the physical diversity of animal life is largely due to the different ways the same body-building and body-patterning genes are regulated, rather than changes to the genes themselves. During his career, Carroll has published more than 125 peer-reviewed journal articles and mentored more than 60 undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. More than 35 of his lab alumni now lead their own academic labs. He has also authored five books for the general public and served as executive producer or presenter on more than a dozen feature documentary films.

Carroll received the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science from the Franklin Institute, the Stephen Jay Gould Prize from the Society for the Study of Evolution, the Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing about Science from The Rockefeller University, the Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Biology Teachers, the Viktor Hamburger Outstanding Educator Award from the Society for Developmental Biology and the Kovalevsky Medal from the St. Petersburg Society of Naturalists.

Carroll is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and an associate member of the European Molecular Biology Organization. Carroll earned his bachelor’s degree in biology at Washington University in St. Louis and his Ph.D. in immunology from Tufts University. He also holds honorary doctorates from the University of Minnesota and Tufts University. 

Lin joined UMD in 2018 as chair of UMD’s Department of Computer Science. She holds the Elizabeth Stevinson Iribe Chair of Computer Science with a joint appointment in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS). Lin came to UMD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was the John R. and Louise S. Parker Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and a faculty member for 20 years.

A noted educator and expert in virtual reality, computer graphics and robotics, Lin’s research focuses on multimodal interaction, physically based animations and simulations, as well as algorithmic robotics and their use in physical and virtual environments. Her research has extensive applications in medical simulations, cancer screening, urban computing, as well as supporting city-scale planning, human-centric computing, intelligent transportation and traffic management.

Lin has authored or co-authored more than 300 refereed publications and has authored or co-edited four books. She is a former editor-in-chief of IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics (2011–2014) and has served on numerous steering committees and advisory boards of international conferences, as well as government and industrial technical advisory committees. Lin also co-founded the 3D audio startup Impulsonic, which was acquired by Valve Software.

Lin received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award in 1995 and an IEEE VGTC Technical Achievement Award in Virtual Reality in 2010. She is a fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery, IEEE and the Eurographics Association. She also serves on the board of directors of the Computing Research Association’s Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research. Lin earned her B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer sciences from the University of California, Berkeley.

Walker is chair of UMD’s Department of Geology. He joined UMD in 1990 as an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor in 1993 and to professor in 1998.

Walker’s research focuses on the origin and evolution of early solar system materials and the geochemical evolution of the Earth. His primary research focus is the study of siderophile, or “iron-loving” elements, which are largely concentrated in planetary cores. He has published more than 200 articles and book chapters, and he has advised and mentored dozens of undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students, and junior faculty members.

Walker received UMD’s Kirwan Faculty Research and Scholarship Prize and was the first recipient of the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Physical Sciences Board of Visitors Distinguished Faculty Award in 2005. He was awarded the Geochemical Society Clarke Medal in 1990. 

Walker is a fellow of the Geochemical Society, European Association of Geochemistry and the American Geophysical Union. He earned his bachelor’s degree in geology from the College of William and Mary and his master’s degree and Ph.D. in geology from State University of New York at Stony Brook. He also holds an honorary doctorate from Oulu University, Finland.

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Media Relations Contacts: Matthew Wright, 301-405-9267, mewright@umd.edu

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About the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences

The College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences at the University of Maryland educates more than 9,000 future scientific leaders in its undergraduate and graduate programs each year. The college's 10 departments and more than a dozen interdisciplinary research centers foster scientific discovery with annual sponsored research funding exceeding $175 million.