Arts and Sciences Professors Named Regents’ Professors

ATLANTA—The College of Arts and Sciences is pleased to announce Irene Weber of biology and Douglas Gies of physics and astronomy have been awarded permanent Regents’ Professorships.

Regents’ Professorships, the University System of Georgia’s highest honor, recognize faculty whose research efforts and achievements have been acknowledged both nationally and internationally as trailblazing.

Irene Weber’s research focuses on understanding the molecular basis of disease and developing new treatment strategies for these diseases. Weber’s lab studies key regulatory proteins at the molecular level, applying bioinformatics, biochemistry and crystallography techniques. In September 2017, Weber was awarded a four-year, $1.3 million National Institutes of Health grant to pursue her research entitled, “Inhibition Variants of HIV Protease.”

Douglas Gies is the director of Georgia State University’s Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA). Located on Mount Wilson in California, CHARA is the largest optical interferometer in the world, with the ability to record fine details of the surface of stars and their environments. Gies, in collaboration with other international CHARA researchers, recently received $5 million in awards from the National Institutes of Health to provide CHARA Array access to scientists all around the United States.