E.W. Plummer, National Academy of Sciences member and a leading physicists, will join the University faculty as special assistant to the vice chancellor of research and economic development and professor of physics and astronomy effective Jan. 6, pending approval by the Board of Supervisors today, according to a University news release.”Plummer will certainly be instrumental as LSU begins to organize and pursue its materials science and engineering efforts,” said Brooks Keel, vice chancellor for research and economic development, in the news release. “Our faculty and students will also benefit from having the opportunity to work with one of the country’s leading scientists. His contributions to materials science at LSU will certainly play a huge part in the future of the university.” Plummer will play a “major role” in developing the materials science cluster of the Multidisciplinary Hiring Initiative, according to the release. Plummer will be joined by five new faculty hires.”One of the goals of the MHI is to support the Flagship Agenda through attracting and retaining nationally recognized faculty,” said Chancellor Michael Martin in the release. “Having Plummer join the LSU family is definitely a major step in the right direction, and with his input and impressive body of work, we are gaining the momentum needed for the university to meet and even surpass its goals.”Plummer is the first National Academy of Sciences member to join the University’s faculty in the history of the University.Other hires include:
– Professor Mark Jarrell will join the Department of Physics and Astronomy and CCTin January. His appointment is also in conjunction with LONI, the Louisiana OpticalNetwork Initiative.
-  Associate Professor Rongying Jin will join the Department of Physics and Astronomyin January.
– Assistant Professor Juana Moreno came to LSU in August with a joint appointment inphysics and astronomy and CCT, the Center for Computation and Technology.
– Associate Professor Shane Stadler came in August to LSU’s Department of Physicsand Astronomy, and will also conduct research at the university’s Center forAdvanced Microsystems and Devices, or CAMD.
– Professor Jiandi Zhang will join the Department of Physics and Astronomy in January.The MHI involves aggressively pursuing and hiring multiple high-profile faculty members to create national prominence in interdisciplinary areas, a method the University is using to achieve Flagship Agenda goals, according to the release.Material science is the fabrication, analysis and theoretical understanding of the basic properties of materials.
 
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