Professors Julie Champion and Mark Styczynski have been awarded William R. McLain Endowed Term Professorships in Georgia Tech’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE).

These three-year term professorships will provide Champion and Styczynski with substantial financial support that they can deploy to explore innovative new research directions, develop new classroom teaching methods, or create new course materials. The professorships will enable them to explore new intellectual pursuits without needing to undertake the burden of acquiring federal or other funding to seed their ideas.

“Julie and Mark both joined the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in 2009.  Since that time, they have shown themselves to be exceptional teachers and creative researchers,” said ChBE Professor Christopher W. Jones, the John F. Brock III School Chair. “They also have earned the respect of their colleagues as outstanding departmental citizens.”

Styczynski’s research program spans the topics of metabolomics, computational systems biology, bioinformatics, and low-cost diagnostics. Champion’s research program is focused on developing therapeutic protein materials and engineering proteins to enable control and understanding of protein particle self-assembly for biotechnological and biomedical applications. 

Champion said, "The McLain Professorship will enable my students and I to take risks on exciting research ideas that we have but are not aligned with current grants. I am thankful to the donor that this endowment will enable me to creatively grow my research program."

Styczynski said, "This professorship will allow our group to explore potentially risky new directions in our work to help bring our biosensors and other work closer to real-world impact. It will also help provide our group with the opportunities and resources for the professional and creative development of our members, positioning them for success not only at Tech but throughout their future careers."

Champion and Styczynski will hold the McLain Professorships from 2022 to 2025, at which time the positions may be awarded to other outstanding members of the ChBE community, enabling the impact of the William R. McLain Faculty Endowment to achieve the broadest possible impact.

“ChBE is fortunate to have the support of a large number of successful alumni and friends who have contributed to the School in support of our students and faculty,” Jones said.