Cynthia Carnes and Ezekiel Johnston-Halperin have been named ENGIE-Axium Endowed Chair and Professor, respectively, pending approval by The Ohio State University Board of Trustees.
Carnes, a professor in the Division of Pharmaceutics and Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, and senior associate vice president for research operations at the Enterprise for Research, Innovation and Knowledge (ERIK), has been named an ENGIE-Axium Endowed Chair. Appointed in 2022 to her ERIK role, Carnes supports research and creative expression operations, training, monitoring and reporting. Funds provided can be used to support activities related to ERIK priorities and initiatives.
Carnes was elected to the 2023 American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows class, where she was recognized for sustained and distinguished excellence in pharmaceutical research on the pathogenesis and treatment of patients with cardiac arrhythmias.
She has held significant roles at Ohio State, including co-director of the K12 Clinical and Translational Mentored Career Development Program, investigator at the Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute, and senior associate dean for research and graduate studies in the College of Pharmacy.
Johnston-Halperin, professor in the Department of Physics, College of Arts and Sciences, Fellow of the American Physical Society, and co-director of Ohio State’s Center for Quantum Information Sciences and Engineering (CQISE), has been named an ENGIE-Axium Endowed Professor. Funds provided can be used to support scholarly activities related to CQISE, an ERIK interdisciplinary research center.
In 2023, led by Johnston-Halperin and co-director Ronald Reano, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, CQISE was awarded a $1 million, three-year, congressionally directed U.S. Department of Education award to create a quantum communications link that establishes a quantum-secure network between The Ohio State University’s Columbus campus and the Air Force Institute of Technology in Dayton.
Johnston-Halperin is also the lead investigator for QuSTEAM: Convergence Undergraduate Education in Quantum Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics, a network of academic institutions and industry employers to offer quantum curriculum and professional development for instructors across all disciplines. The QuSTEAM initiative was awarded a $5 million cooperative agreement from the National Science Foundation to develop a diverse, effective and contemporary quantum-ready workforce by revolutionizing and creating more equitable pathways to quantum science education and has spun out an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit to engage with this challenge nationally.
These ENGIE-Axium Endowed appointments are part of the broader Ohio State Energy Partners (OSEP) initiative, which includes significant endowment funds to support faculty positions, student scholarships, sustainability projects and other university initiatives. Through OSEP, ENGIE-Axium has contributed $9.5 million in endowment funds to support five faculty positions, demonstrating a strong commitment to advancing academic excellence and innovation at Ohio State.
In addition to Carnes and Johnston-Halperin, ENGIE-Axium endowed positions are held by Vice Provost and Dean for Graduate Education Mary Stromberger (endowed dean); Executive Director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity Ange-Marie Hancock (endowed professor); professor in the Department of Economics Trevon Logan (endowed professor); and professor in the School of Earth Sciences and director of the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Ian Howat (endowed professor).