Two SEAS faculty named SUNY Distinguished Professors

Stelios Andreadis, professor and chair of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Andrew Whittaker, professor in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering and director MCEER and the Institute of Bridge Engineering, were named distinguished professors in recognition of their academic achievements.

The honor recognizes innovative research and teaching, as well as extraordinary community service. It also spotlights the international prominence of the faculty members in their respective fields and the impact of their scholarship in such diverse areas as stem cell engineering, medical education, vision science, structural engineering and neuroscience.

“Being named a SUNY Distinguished Professor is a tremendous honor that recognizes exceptional achievement, pioneering research contributions, disciplinary leadership and service, and excellent teaching and mentorship. We are extremely proud of UB faculty who have been named SUNY Distinguished Professors” said Charles F. Zukoski, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.

The rank of distinguished professor is an order above full professorship and has three co-equal designations: distinguished professor, distinguished service professor and distinguished teaching professor.

Stelios Andreadis, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Andreadis is internationally recognized leader in the field of stem cell engineering, and a pioneer who has made a series of fundamental and translational contributions at the forefront of bioengineering and regenerative medicine.

A UB faculty member since 1998, Andreadis has an exemplary record of continuous, peer-reviewed funding, having received more than $19 million in research support from public and private sources.

He also has received numerous accolades, including being named a fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) and the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). Additionally, he also was named a recipient of a SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Scholarship and Creative Activities in 2014, and received the NSF CAREER Award in 2000 and the Whitaker Foundation Young Investigator Award in 1999.

Andreadis received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Aristotle University in Greece and, from the University of Michigan, master’s degrees in chemical engineering and mathematics, and a doctorate in chemical engineering. He completed postdoctoral research work at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Andrew Whittaker, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering

An internationally renowned structural engineer who has made fundamental contributions in earthquake and blast engineering of buildings, bridges, nuclear facilities and other critical infrastructure, Whittaker joined the UB faculty in 2001. His work has improved the safety and performance of the built environment in the United States and abroad.

Whittaker previously served as chair of the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering. He currently serves as director of UB’s MCEER, Institute of Bridge Engineering (IBE), and the Structural Engineering and Earthquake Simulation Laboratory (SEESL). He chairs the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) Nuclear Standards Committee, and serves on ASCE’s standards committees 4, 7, 43 and 59.

Whittaker has received numerous honors, including being named a fellow of ASCE, the Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) and the American Concrete Institute (ACI).

Whittaker received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and a master’s degree in civil engineering and a doctorate in structural engineering, both from the University of California, Berkeley.