New Regents Professors Appointed at OSU
Friday, June 23, 2006
Two Oklahoma State University faculty members have been appointed Regents Professors
by the Oklahoma State University A&M Board of Regents, effective July 1.
Dr. Girish Agarwal, Noble Foundation Chair and professor of physics, and Dr. Hailin
Qu, professor and William E. Davis Distinguished Chair in Hotel and Restaurant Administration,
received this honor.
The title of Regents Professor is bestowed to recognize a scholar or creative
artist of exceptional ability who has achieved national and international distinction.
A nominee must be recognized by colleagues, nationally and internationally, for past
and current unique contributions and accomplishments in several areas within the discipline.
“Oklahoma State University is very pleased to appoint Dr. Agarwal and Dr. Qu as
Regents Professors,” said Dr. Marlene Strathe, OSU provost and senior vice president.
“Both have demonstrated extraordinary accomplishments and made significant contributions
to their academic disciplines. We are indeed pleased to have these outstanding faculty
members as part of our university community.”
Agarwal joined the OSU faculty in 2004 and has held visiting professorships
and visiting fellowships at numerous universities. He received his B.S. degree from
the University of Grakhpur, his M.Sc. degree from Banaras Hindu University and his
Ph.D. from the University of Rochester.
Among his honors are the Humboldt Research Award in Germany in 1997, the Einstein
Medal of the Optical and Quantum Electronics Society in 1994, the Third World Academy
of Sciences Prize in Physics in 1994, The Max-Born Award of the Optical Society of
America in 1988, and the Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Award in Physical Sciences for 1982
from the government of India.
His research interests are various branches of optical and laser physics, atomic
physics that borderlines optical physics, nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, stochastic
processes, and foundations of quantum mechanics and quantum information science.
Agarwal is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, of the Indian Academy of
Sciences in Bangalore, of the Indian National Science Academy in New Delhi, of the
Optical Society of America, and of the Third Word Academy of Sciences.
Qu joined the OSU faculty in 1999. He received his B.S. degree in hotel and restaurant
management from Northern Arizona University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in hospitality
and tourism management from Purdue University.
He received the Regents Distinguished Research Award in 2005, and was the recipient
of the Marguerite Scruggs Award for Meritorious Research in 2004. He was presented
with the Student Recognition of Excellence in Advising Award in 1998 and 1999.
His research interests are consumer behavior and marketing, service quality management,
destination image and branding, and economic impact and demand. He has served on the
editorial boards or as a reviewer for numerous journals.
Qu holds memberships in the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant & Institutional
Education, Travel and Tourism Research Association, The International Association
of Travel Research and Marketing Professionals, and the Oklahoma Travel Industry Association.