Florida State University President Richard McCullough was among an outstanding class of inductees and new members of the Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine of Florida (ASEMFL) who were honored during the organization’s annual conference on Nov. 7 in Orlando.
Six FSU researchers — Igor Alabugin, Richard Liang, Angelina Sutin, Christopher Patrick, Joseph Schlenoff and Robert Schurko — are a part of the ASEMFL’s 2025 inductees.
This year, Florida-based members of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) were also invited to join the ASEMFL. McCullough, who was elected an NAI Fellow in 2013, was among the newly recognized members along with Murray Gibson, Eric Holmes, Hui “Helen” Li and Bruce Locke.
“It’s an honor to be inducted into the Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine of Florida,” McCullough said. “I’m deeply gratified by this recognition of my work and humbled to be included among outstanding FSU researchers who have made significant contributions to their fields and continue to drive discovery and innovation.”
Founded in 2018, the academy studies issues in science, engineering and medicine of interest to the people of Florida and provides unbiased, expert advice related to these issues.
McCullough, who was recently inducted into the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame, was recognized for his discovery and development of a type of polymer known as regioregular polythiophenes and other breakthrough organic electronic materials and for founding companies that have advanced the commercialization of printable electronics and reactive metal inks.
The six 2025 FSU inductees are:
Angelina Sutin, professor of behavioral sciences and social medicine in the FSU College of Medicine who studies the psychological and social factors that contribute to the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. She has brought in more than $11 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health and is a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and the Gerontological Society of America.
Christopher Patrick, a Distinguished Research Professor and the director of clinical training in the Department of Psychology. His research focuses on psychopathy, antisocial behavior, substance abuse and personality. He is the author of more than 380 published works and editor of the Handbook of Psychopathy. He has served as president of the Society for Psychophysiological Research and the Society for Scientific Study of Psychopathy and has received lifetime contribution awards from both organizations.
Igor Alabugin, a member of the FSU faculty since 2000 and a Distinguished Research Professor whose work bridges synthetic and theoretical organic chemistry. His research group integrates experimental and theoretical approaches to discover new reactions, reveal hidden stereoelectronic effects and design unusual molecules with applications for molecular electronics. In 2023, Alabugin received the Southern Chemist Award from the American Chemical Society for his pioneering contributions to organic chemistry.
Joseph Schlenoff, a Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Research Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry. He specializes in polymer and materials science research, with a focus in polyelectrolytes. He served as chair of the FSU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry from 2007 to 2011, and he was named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in 2023.
Richard Liang, the Sprint Eminent Scholar Chair Professor in the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and the associate dean for research. He also serves as the director of the FSU High-Performance Materials Institute. His research experience and expertise are in the areas of advanced composites, multifunctional nanomaterials and thin carbon nanotube materials, including synthesis, chemical functionalization, processing-structure-property relationships and multiscale characterization and manufacturing process modeling. He has published more than 175 journal articles and holds 40 U.S. patents for his work. He was named to the National Academy of Inventors in 2021.
Robert Schurko, a leading authority in solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Since 2020, he has served as director of the NMR/MRI User Program at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, the world’s only open-access facility of its kind. In this role, he guides the scientific direction of the program, oversees a multidisciplinary team of more than 25 staff scientists and engineers and supports over 300 users annually from around the globe.
In addition to McCullough, the new members from FSU are:
Murray Gibson, a Florida A&M University professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and former dean of the joint FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. He is renowned for research in advanced electron microscopy techniques. His work reveals critical relationships between structure and properties in semiconductor nanostructures.
Eric Holmes, a recently retired former assistant vice president for research, has focused most of his career on cancer but more recently has looked at antiviral therapeutics for viruses such as Zika. He has patented a number of technologies, 21 of which were licensed to drug companies.
Hui (Helen) Li, a Florida State University Provost McKenzie Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering. She received recognition for work in power electronics. Her research focuses on developing technologies for direct current converters, renewable energy solutions and battery products.
Bruce R. Locke, chair and distinguished research professor in Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at FSU. He is acclaimed for research in plasma reaction engineering. He designs and develops gas-liquid plasma reactors for environmental pollution control and chemical synthesis.
For more information, visit the Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine of Florida.
