The College of Science congratulates UNT Chemistry Professor Dr. Francis D'Souza on receiving the 2021 Regents Professor Award from the Office of the Provost. Each year, this award is given to provide recognition for faculty at the rank of professor who have performed outstanding teaching, research and service to the profession, and who have achieved a high level of national and international recognition. An individual who retires from faculty status while holding the designation of Regents Professor receives the designation of Regents Professor Emeritus.

"I am grateful to have had outstanding graduate and undergraduate students in my research team over the years, as well as supportive colleagues at UNT and collaborators across the globe from whom I have learned so much of what I know," said Dr. D'Souza. "It has been a great journey."

Dr. Francis D'Souza currently holds the ranks of University Distinguished Research Professor at UNT. Prior joining UNT in 2011, he was a Professor at Wichita State University, Wichita, KS. He received his Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India, and post-doctoral studies at the University of Houston and University of Dijon, France.

Dr. D'Souza's research covers wide areas of photonic and electronic materials. Current research interests include developing advanced functional materials for light energy harvesting, developing sensors and biosensors, and developing photo-probes for imaging and therapeutic applications. He has over (460) publications and edited (10) handbooks on Carbon Nanomaterials resulting in over 18,700 citations with an h-index of 71. Currently he serves as an Associate Editor of Journal of Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines and the Journal of Electrochemical Society, and is an editorial board member of several other journals.

Beyond receiving this 2021 UNT Regent Professor Award, Dr. D'Souza's most recent honors and awards include the 2020 CRSI Medal from the Chemical Research Society of India, the 2019 UNT Toulouse Scholar Award, the 2018 Doherty Research Award for the ACS-DFW Section (2018), and Fulbright Specialist Scholar in 2018.

Four faculty members in the College of Science received Faculty Excellence Awards this year. "[These awards] speak clearly of our excellence in faculty research and mentoring," said Dean Su Gao. "Each of the awards is well deserved and the result of years of diligent and outstanding work by the faculty members. I offer my heartfelt congratulations to all COS faculty award recipients, and thank all faculty for their unwavering pursuit of excellence in their research and scholarship."

For more information on this year's Salute to Faculty Excellence Award Winners, please visit: https://vpaa.unt.edu/fs/recognition/SFE-award-winners21