December faculty and staff features

Shiv Khanna, Ph.D., Department of Physics
Khanna, professor of physics, has been named a Fellow of the American Physical Society. Khanna was selected by his peers in the field of physics for his “pioneering contributions to theoretical understanding of electronic and magnetic properties of clusters as well as work on superatoms forming a new dimension to the periodic table.”

Through theoretical work, Khanna and his team have identified a new class of multiple valence "superatoms" with unique chemical and electronic behaviors. The theoretical effort is complemented by the experimental work by researchers at Penn State University.

In previous research findings, Khanna, together with Penn State colleagues, had demonstrated that aluminum clusters can act as halogen or alkaline earth elements, thus allowing for the creation of new families of nanoscale materials with extraordinary attributes.

According to Khanna, the production and stabilization of such species is a stirring development as it opens a new branch of chemistry and material science, showing that these “superatoms” can be used as building blocks to form new nanoscale materials that could lead to new applications in medicine, catalysis, sensors and other fields.

John Everett, professor, Department of Accounting, School of Business
Everett was presented this fall with the Ray M. Sommerfeld Outstanding Educator Award of the American Taxation Association. The lifetime achievement award includes two crystal sculptures and a $5,000 scholarship from Ernst & Young. Everett has authored more than 70 articles, twice received the Tax Adviser of the Year Award, received the Deloitte/ATA Tax Education Award in 2005 and co-authored an innovative web textbook in taxation. The American Taxation Association is the premier national academic organization for taxation with more than 1,000 academic members.