Celebrating eight Distinguished Professors at Western

Western Sydney University has recently announced eight members of the professoriate who will be named as Distinguished Professor, the most prestigious honour awarded to highly-recognised and influential academics. This nomination has previously been awarded only once at Western Sydney University. It marks an occasion to honour the achievements of some of our finest professors, which the University will do at its 30 year anniversary at the April 2019 graduation ceremony.

The title of Distinguished Professor is awarded to researchers with:

  • international influence within their field;
  • a commitment to excellence;
  • made a difference to our region and the world; and
  • continued to demonstrate intellectual leadership and are highly recognised in their field.

Vice-Chancellor and President of Western Sydney University, Professor Barney Glover, announced the renewal of the Distinguished Professor’s award at the annual Professorial Dinner at the Peter Shergold Building.

“In this first cohort, we recognise the outstanding achievements of some our professors who have made a significant impact in their respective fields and among their peers, students, and the community, not only in our region but across the world,” Professor Barney Glover said.

The eight Distinguished Professors named are:

  • Professor Ien Ang (continuing) - A leader in cultural studies worldwide, Professor Ang developed a new methodological approach which found worldwide attention and paved the way for what was later called the active audience approach.
  • Professor Anne Cutler – Having explained some of the major puzzles concerning how listeners decode speech, Professor Cutler has centred her research on how the processes of decoding speech in the brain are shaped by language-specific listening experience.
  • Professor Annemarie Hennessy AM - Our Dean and Foundation Chair of Medicine, Professor Hennessy has focused her research focuses on preeclampsia and maternal and prenatal health.
  • Professor Lynn Kemp – As an international leader, Professor Kemp has focussed her work on early childhood interventions in primary and community health and translational research.
  • Professor Andre Renzaho – Professor Renzaho has significant international expertise in global health, international development and improving the outcomes for those marginalized by poverty, conflict, famine and disease.
  • Professor David Simmons – at the forefront of diabetes research, Professor Simmons is internationally recognised for his work in diabetes epidemiology, diabetes in pregnancy and diabetes service development.
  • Professor David Tissue - an international expert on the effects of climate change on ecosystems, Professor Tissue’s work helps determine the ultimate impact of climate factors in natural and agricultural ecosystems.
  • Professor Wei Xing Zheng - identified as a Thomas Reuters Highly Cited researcher for the past three years, Professor Zheng’s research on systems control, including systems applications and stable and unstable systems, has seen him garner national and international esteem.

ENDS.

13 November 2018

Media Unit.