Celebrating OSU's distinguished professors

俄勒冈州 State University has named 托德年代. 帕尔默 和 Małgorzata Peszyńska 作为它的 2024 Distinguished Professors, the highest academic honor the university can bestow on a faculty member.

帕尔默 和 Peszyńska have both been internationally recognized for their research. 帕尔默 is an expert in the physics of nuclear reactors 和 computational methods for radiation transport 和 diffusion. And Peszyńska is a leader in mathematical 和 computational modeling of complex processes.

自1988年以来, 俄勒冈州 State has awarded the title of University Distinguished Professor to faculty who have achieved national 和 international distinction for their contributions to scholarship, research 和 creative work, teaching 和 mentoring, public engagement 和 service.

托德年代. 帕尔默

Distinguished Professor of Nuclear 科学 和 工程
College of 工程

What originally drew you to your field of study?

Throughout elementary, middle 和 high school I was always drawn to math, computer programming 和 science, but I also had an interest in literature 和 music. I had this great physics teacher in my senior year, 和 he got to the back of the textbook where nuclear reactions 和 nuclear power were introduced. I remember thinking “Ooh, that’s cool, 和 I might be able to make a living at this!” The rest is history.

What keeps you motivated at this stage in your career?

My motivation stems from a combination of a continued steady stream of interesting technical problems to work on, a feeling of personal responsibility to help society address challenges in national 和 energy security, 和 a desire to give back to future generations. I’ve been very fortunate in my life, 和 I want to pay it forward.

What’s the one big takeaway you’d want someone to know about your field of study?

I am a nuclear engineer by degree, but I think of myself as a computational physicist working in nuclear energy, national security 和 other industrial uses of radiation-related technology. It may appear that this is a very narrow or niche field, but nuclear engineers are highly interdisciplinary with skills 和 knowledge that allow us to nimbly address a wide variety of technical 和 social problems.

What have you learned from your work that surprised you?

在教学, I’ve been surprised to learn just how important it is to present technical subjects from a variety of different perspectives. 在研究, the degree of difficulty involved in, 和 satisfaction that can be achieved from, a successful interdisciplinary collaborative project is something that I didn’t expect. And I discovered that I enjoy working on systemic, university-wide challenges to try to make things better for future 学生, faculty 和 staff.

What does the title “distinguished professor” mean to you?

When I learned that I would be receiving this title I was quite shocked. My academic home here at OSU is small, 和 I thought that I was fairly invisible. This acknowledgement — 和 being truly seen by OSU colleagues 和 administration — is very special to me. And though it takes the form of individual recognition, it is received as the product of the hard work 和 dedication of a great many people — family, 学生, mentors 和 colleagues.  

Questions just for fun:

When did you arrive at 俄勒冈州 State? 从哪里?

I first arrived in 1983 as a bright-eyed high school graduate 读y to study engineering, after finishing school in Nebraska. My family moved to Omaha early in my junior year from Hillsboro, 俄勒冈州, 和 I really wanted to get back home to 俄勒冈州. Later, after finishing my Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in 1993 和 working at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California for a few years, I joined the faculty in January 1995.

What’s your favorite place on campus to eat or grab a coffee?

Coffee is h和’s down Interzone. Pair a “2x2” with one of their homemade muffins 和 it’s just paradise. I’m a big fan of Squirrels for lunch: burger or Chicken Little with fries or a salad is my fave. I also have a soft spot for Bombs Away Cafe, but that’s a story for another time…

What are some of your hobbies?

I am a guitar player, 和 a lover of progressive rock, 爵士乐融合, classic rock 和 old school metal. I play a little, a couple times a week. I enjoy sports — playing them 和 following college (Beavs 和 Wolverines) 和 some pro teams. My Texas Rangers won the World Series this last year! Our family travels a bit for vacations, 和 with a 10- 和 12-year old, there are many after-school activities for the kids.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

While I have been to several different countries in Europe, Irel和 is at the top of my remaining bucket list. The idea that you can walk around from pub to pub, enjoying the countryside, meeting people 和 soaking in all the music sounds great. I’ve also not been to Sc和inavia 和 I have a feeling I would really enjoy it there, too.

If you hadn’t gone into academia, what do you think you would have done instead?

I started my career at a U.S. national laboratory, 和 I really enjoyed it. The national security problems are technically very challenging, 和 the work is exceptionally rewarding. It was a tough decision to leave LLNL when I did, mostly because I didn’t feel that I was “fully developed” 和 读y to run my own research group. No regrets now, but it was stressful getting started. 

Małgorzata Peszyńska

Distinguished Professor of Mathematics
College of 科学

What originally drew you to your field of study?

My field can be defined as computational mathematics with interdisciplinary applications. In my elementary school years, I cannot remember if mathematics found me first or if I found it. Regarding computations, I started coding in high-school. Back then it was not the norm, but I immediately loved the structure 和 the endless possibilities that came with it. Regarding the applications, I got immersed in these during my Ph.D. years 和 never let go.  

What keeps you motivated at this stage in your career?

Definitely the 学生, one at a time. 同样, having an opportunity to make a difference by creating mathematical 和 computational tools that explain the world. And even more equally, the many collaborators 和 colleagues.

What’s the one big takeaway you’d want someone to know about your field of study?

Computational mathematics is better than video games, because you can create simulations that are more stimulating! You can also learn 和 create theories to explain how to make it happen, 和 go to sleep 和 wake-up completely obsessing about these.

What have you learned from your work that surprised you?

That every theory — no matter how profound 和 broad — is based on some calculation or vision. And that you can lead anyone to that discovery. +, a movie made from real world simulations with computational mathematics tools is better than a thous和 words.

What does the title “distinguished professor” mean to you?

It is an honor 和 a sense of closure, 和 the title gives me reasons to feel pride 和 gratitude. I feel really lucky that I must have done enough to be so appreciated. I also feel a sense of responsibility to look farther 和 farther ahead from this position on the shoulders of the giants so I can continue to pay it forward as effectively as I can.

Questions just for fun:

When did you arrive at 俄勒冈州 State? 从哪里?

I came to OSU in 2003 from The University of Texas at Austin after a tortuous journey through Purdue University, University of Augsburg (Germany), Polish Academy of 科学s, 和 Warsaw University of Technology all the way from a math high school now named after Stanislaw Staszic — an 18th century scientist in Warsaw, 波兰.

What’s your favorite place on campus to eat or grab a coffee?

Definitely Valley Library coffee shop: so many conversations, so many cups of coffee. And Tarntip Thai st和s in competition with Bombs Away Cafe for great food, 和 memories of great people.

What are some of your hobbies?

Enjoying the great outdoors with family 和 friends: sailing, 滑雪, 攀岩, mountain hiking 和 biking, camping 和 growing stuff in 俄勒冈州, playing guitar 和 singing folk, 和 curling with a lap cat to watch a movie, 或阅读, 读, 读 (cat included).

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Permafrost regions in the Arctic or methane observatories in Svalbard are my dream, but I worry about the carbon footprint. 

If you hadn’t gone into academia, what do you think you would have done instead?

I would have probably continued being a sailing, 滑雪 和 swimming instructor, while coding to support my lifestyle. 反之亦然.