DALLAS – Conference USA selected UTEP’s Dr. Jorge Gardea-Torresdey, a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, as the CUSA Professor of the Year. A fixture on campus since his arrival in 1994, Dr. Gardea-Torresdey quickly rose to the Director of the Environmental Science and Engineering PhD program within his first two years and served as the Chair of the Chemistry Department for 17 years after being appointed to the role in 2001. His tenure included the addition of Biochemistry BS and Chemistry PhD offerings, and the construction of a state-of-the-art Chemistry and Computer Science Building. Over 30 years of service in the Sun City, Dr. Gardea-Torresdey aided in obtaining more than $150 million in major grants.
“We are immensely proud of the many accomplishments that led to Dr. Gardea-Torresdey’s selection as the Conference USA Professor of the Year,” UTEP Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs said. “His tireless work in teaching and mentoring students, his international prominence as a researcher, and the broad reach of his published work exemplify the University’s core values of access, excellence and impact.”
Dr. Gardea-Torresdey is regarded as a world leader in environmental nanotechnology and is a key investigator who has authored over 550 publications. He is not only a prolific researcher in his own right but has made an enormous impact in the field, earning honors as a Clarivate Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher (top 1% in the world) six consecutive years from 2018-23. With his research being cited more than 46,000 times to date, Dr. Gardea-Torresdey owns an h-index – a metric measuring impact of research based on number of citations – of 116, making him one of just 4,700 researchers globally with an h-index of at least 100.
His research group was recognized as the first to discover the production of gold and silver nanoparticles in biological systems, which has been highlighted by Nature and the Lawrence Hall of Science of the University of California Berkeley, among others. Dr. Gardea-Torresdey is the recipient of five U.S. patents for projects in environmental remediation and has been the UTEP lead investigator of three major multi-institution research centers on nanotechnology funded by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
A renowned researcher and teacher, Dr. Gardea-Torresdey is also very well-regarded in the mentorship he provides students. His research laboratory has been a highly fertile ground for mentoring and developing nearly 120 undergraduate, master’s and doctoral level students into promising chemists, including the most PhD students (47) in STEM fields than any professor in UTEP’s illustrious history.
His record of mentoring both undergraduate and post-baccalaureate Hispanic students has earned him extensive recognition for excellence, including the 2009 Distinguished Scientist of the Year Award from the Society for the Advancement of Chicano and Native American Scientists (SACNAS); the 2012 Piper Professor Award for excellent teaching and mentoring; and the 2016 Graduate Mentor Award. He has also earned the Outstanding Career Award from Mexico’s National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT) for his work as a researcher and his valuable scientific contributions to nanotechnology.
The new awards program was established by the league’s presidents and chancellors to recognize exceptional contributions in teaching, research and service while strengthening relationships among the conference membership through collaboration. Voted on by the member institution’s provosts, the annual award winner receives an honorarium and is honored at a conference athletic event.