University of Arizona President Ann Weaver Hart and the Arizona Board of Regents presented the award to Blowers at an induction ceremony on the UA campus.

This is the fourth consecutive year that a member of the UA College of Engineering faculty has been made a University Distinguished Professor.

"Our Regents' and University Distinguished Professors exemplify the spirit of innovation that drives our university, state and country forward," Hart said of this year's inductees.

When Blowers learned earlier in the year that he was to receive the UA's highest teaching honor for doing something he loves, he described the recognition as "amazing."

"To be surrounded by colleagues who engage so many of our students in undergraduate research, to work with peers who challenge and support students in the classroom, and to have the support from the administration," Blowers said. "All lead to me enjoying my work every day."

"Paul has a unique gift in motivating students to become enthusiastic about their future careers," said UA chemical and environmental engineering head Jim Field. "Students know they are going to get the best advice from Dr. Blowers, and, as a result, the long lines of students waiting for a consultation with him are a permanent fixture in the landscape of our department," he told the audience at the induction ceremony.

Also inducted at the ceremony were Judith Bronstein, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, as a 2012 University Distinguished Professor; Robert Glennon, professor of law and public policy, as a 2012 Regents' Professor; and Thomas Swetnam, director of the UA Tree Ring Laboratory, also as a 2012 Regents' Professor.

The Arizona Board of Regents awards distinguished professorships based on recipients' outstanding commitment to undergraduate education. It is a testament to the College of Engineering's high teaching standards that the Regents awarded this rare honor to our faculty every year for the last four years. Only one or two faculty members per year, from the entire University, are selected for this honor.

UA Engineering University Distinguished Professors

2012: Paul Blowers, chemical and environmental engineering
2011: Eduardo Sáez, chemical and environmental engineering
2010: Mary Poulton, head of mining and geological engineering
2009: Jerzy Rozenblit, electrical and computer engineering