Two University of Georgia faculty members have been named Regents’ Professors in recognition of their innovative and pace-setting research. The honor is the highest professorial recognition bestowed by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents.
Elena Karahanna
C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry Distinguished Chair in Business Administration
Department of Management Information Systems
Terry College of Business
Elena Karahanna is known for her work in technology adoption.
With over 48,000 Google Scholar citations, she is one of the most cited information systems scholars worldwide, and she has authored three of the 25 most cited papers in MIS Quarterly, the field’s premier journal. She has received the Association for Information Systems LEO Award, the discipline’s highest lifetime honor, and has been elected as both an AIS Fellow and an INFORMS Information Systems Society Distinguished Fellow.
Her research examines how individuals and organizations engage with and are impacted by digital technology. Her works spans critical areas such as technology adoption, algorithmic coordination, health care IT, human-AI collaboration and societal impacts of AI. What makes it unique is that her scholarship consistently anticipates where digital technology and organizations are headed and then provides a novel conceptualization and empirical base on which others build.
“I think it would be fair to say that very few colleagues (if any) in our global community can boast of accomplishments comparable to those of Professor Karahanna and the respect she gets from colleagues around the world,” one colleague wrote. “Not only is her research nationally/internationally esteemed and considered innovative and foundational in multiple areas, but she also has a reputation for being an excellent editor, mentor and leader.”
Karahanna has chaired 16 doctoral dissertations — from early graduates who now lead programs of their own to recent alumni shaping scholarship on AI, cybersecurity governance and human-algorithm collaboration. Additionally, she has served as a faculty mentor at doctoral and faculty development consortia for the field’s major conferences and has been an invited faculty mentor at research workshops at a dozen universities across the globe.
Her extensive editorial service also demonstrates her leadership in her field. She spent 11 years as senior editor at both MIS Quarterly and Information Systems Research. She also had long tenures as associate editor at Management Science and advisory senior editor at Information Systems Research. She is regularly invited to give scholarly talks and presentations around the world.
J. Marshall Shepherd
Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences
Director, UGA Atmospheric Sciences Program
Department of Geography
Franklin College of Arts and Sciences
Marshall Shepherd explores the physical, human and socioeconomic aspects of extreme weather.
His research examines the intersection of weather, risk, vulnerability and communication. He is viewed as one of the pioneering scholars advancing the understanding of how urban environments modify rainfalls, thunderstorms and flooding. His group’s recent studies have developed artificial intelligence/machine learning techniques to predict inland tropical intensification.
That work led to a unique distinction — Shepherd was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Engineers in the same year. He’s earned numerous recognitions throughout his career, including SEC Professor of the Year in 2022. In addition, he served as president of the American Meteorological Society in 2013, among roles on other boards and committees.
“Throughout Dr. Shepherd’s career, he has demonstrated exceptional capacity for innovative thought, visionary leadership and meaningful action. His extensive research fosters deeper understanding of the role of climate and how it relates to community impact and preparation,” one colleague wrote. “His work stands as a testament to the difference one person can make in the fight for a better, more sustainable world as well as the power of scientific inquiry.”
His work extends beyond the academic world. He writes for Forbes and has authored or co-authored eight scholarly books, 25 book or monograph chapters and over 120 peer-reviewed journal articles. He’s also frequently sought as an expert on weather, climate and remote sensing, appearing on national media and hosting The Weather Channel’s “Weather Geeks” show and podcast. Additionally, he’s given three TED Talks that have a combined total of more than 3 million views.