Regents Professors
Michael D. Griswold
Dean, College of Sciences and Professor
School of Molecular Biosciences
Regents professor 2008
Dr. Michael D. Griswold joined the Washington State University faculty in 1976. He is recognized as a leading authority in the study of male reproductive biology, specifically the role of the Sertoli cell in sperm cell development. He received a MERIT award from the National Institutes of Health and has served as president of the Society for the Study of Reproduction. Dr. Griswold delivered the keynote address at a 1999 Gordon Research Conference and received the Research Award from the Society for the Study of Reproduction in 2006. He also received the WSU Sahlin Faculty Excellence Award for Research, Scholarship and Arts in 1998-99.
Dr. Griswold has enhanced the College of Sciences’ notable strength and success in research and graduate education, while extending and deepening the undergraduate educational experience in the college’s classrooms and laboratories. He has maintained an active, funded research program while serving in various administrative roles. He has trained more than 50 Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows.
Dean Michael Griswold is a distinguished administrator, teacher, researcher, advisor, and mentor.
Norman G. Lewis
Director, Fellow, and Professor
Institute of Biological Chemistry
Regents professor 2008
Dr. Norman G. Lewis joined Washington State University in 1990 and has served as Director of the Institute of Biological Chemistry and as the Arthur M. and Kate Eisig-Tode Distinguished Professor and Fellow.
Dr. Lewis is a truly imaginative scientist who has pioneered our understanding of the biochemistry of phenylpropanoids. Much of his research focuses on how land-based plants, those with a structural vascular apparatus, produce lignins. While lignins help give plants and trees rigidity, they must also be broken down or eliminated before plants can be used for production of paper, fuel, and other bioproducts. Dr. Lewis’ research activities also extend to understanding how the related lignins are formed, many of these having nutritional/medicinal roles in either preventing or treating various cancers.
Dr. Lewis is widely recognized by the plant science research community as one of the outstanding plant biochemists in the nation. He has a superb record of undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral training.
Dr. Norman Lewis is an outstanding research scholar, teacher, mentor of students, and provider of service to WSU and professional societies.
B.W. Poovaiah
Professor
Horticulture and Landscape Architecture
Regents professor 2008
Dr. B.W. Poovaiah joined the Washington State University faculty in 1975 and received his first National Science Foundation grant in 1976. Since then, he has successfully competed for millions of dollars in federal grant awards from the NSF, the National Aeronautical and Space Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Dr. Poovaiah gained international prominence for his pioneering research on calcium/calmodulin-modulated signaling in plants. His recent work in this area has provided important findings in contemporary plant biology. Dr. Poovaiah’s research program has led to many prestigious publications, patents, and invited presentations. Dr. Poovaiah has authored more than 200 publications, with many appearing in the highest-quality scientific journals, such as Science and Nature and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In addition to being an outstanding researcher, Dr. Poovaiah is also an exemplary teacher and caring mentor. He believes in bringing interesting examples of recent advances into the classroom to inspire interest in research among undergraduate and graduate students.
Dr. Poovaiah has enjoyed a distinguished career of excellence in research, teaching, and service at WSU.
Gregory W. Yasinitsky
Professor
School of Music
Regents professor 2008
Dr. Gregory W. Yasinitsky, Meyer Distinguished Professor of Music and a Washington State University faculty member since 1982, earned the 2007 Marian E. Smith Faculty Achievement Award and delivered WSU’s 2008 Distinguished Faculty Address. Additionally, Dr. Yasinitsky received the 2005 Edward R. Meyer Distinguished Professorship Award, the 2004-05 College of Liberal Arts Faculty Achievement Award, and the 1989 William F. Mullen Award for Excellence in Teaching from the College of Liberal Arts.
Dr. Yasinitsky is a world-renowned composer, performer, teacher, and scholar of music. More than 140 of his musical works have been widely published by top companies and his compositions are performed around the world.
In addition to his contributions as a composer and saxophonist, Dr. Yasinitsky has led the WSU jazz studies program to national prominence. It is typical for his students to receive professional recognition and awards and to be invited to perform at prestigious events.
Dr. Yasinitsky is acclaimed for his melodic imagination, sophisticated harmonies, rhythmic invention, clarity of orchestration, and innovative treatment of form. His compositions have had a significant impact on global jazz education.