Oregon State University is conferring its highest faculty honor, the title of "distinguished professor," on longtime faculty members Lewis Semprini and Jeffrey A. McCubbin.

Semprini, a professor of environmental engineering, is a world leader in research of the use of living organisms to remove pollutants from the environment. Bioremediation, a relatively new field of study, has grown exponentially during the past 20 years.

McCubbin has gained national acclaim for work in adapting physical exercise activities for kids with disabilities. That includes the Individualized Movement and Physical Activity for Children Today program (IMPACT), which has operated at OSU since 1988.

OSU typically names two distinguished professors after every school year, though in some years there have been three. The university currently has 1,109 people on its instructional staff.

"Professors McCubbin and Semprini exemplify the intent behind use of the word 'distinguished' in their new titles," said Sabah Randhawa, OSU provost and executive vice president.

"Both are not only successful as classroom instructors and as researchers, but also give back to the community, the state of Oregon and the nation through significant service," Randhawa added.

McCubbin has been an OSU faculty member since 1988. He has been the director or co-director of two special education training grants from the U.S. Department of Education totaling more than $5 million.

OSU is the only university in the nation to have both grants - one supporting masters students, the other doctoral students - and that has helped elevate its Movement Studies in Disability graduate program to one of the best in the nation.

McCubbin, who earned his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia, has also served as president of the National Consortium for Physical Education and Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities and as chairman of other national organizations focused on ability, health and mobility. His is a fellow of the prestigious Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education and has co-authored two books and published dozens of research papers.

Semprini, a 14-year member of the OSU faculty, has had an equally significant impact in his field. A principal investigator on research projects supported by some $15 million in funding from the National Science Foundation and Environmental Protection Agency, Semprini has pioneered the practice of using living organisms to remove pollutants from soil and waters. He undertook the first field trials of co-metabolism to remove trichloroethylene from groundwater in the 1980s, drawing international interest from other researchers as well as press attention from such periodicals as Newsweek and the Christian Science Monitor.

Over the years, he has published more than 120 articles in scientific journals and edited or contributed chapters to eight books. Semprini has earned awards for research and scholarship at OSU and currently serves as the executive chair of the OSU Subsurface Biosphere Initiative, one of the university's six strategic initiatives.