New Faculty Bring Research Expertise to LSU College of Science
September 15, 2026
The LSU College of Science continues to strengthen its research and teaching enterprise through the addition of outstanding faculty across a range of disciplines. From plant biology and cellular stress responses to computational mathematics and numerical analysis, these scholars bring expertise that enriches the classroom, expands research opportunities for students and advances discovery across the College.
Meet the newest faculty members joining the LSU College of Science and learn about the research they are bringing to LSU.
Biological Sciences
Carl Procko – Assistant Professor
Dr. Carl Procko is an assistant professor in the LSU Department of Biological Sciences. His research focuses on how plants sense, respond and adapt to their environments. In addition to studying light responses, Procko investigates the microscopic, glandular hairs that are found on the leaves and stems of many plants. Oftentimes, these glands provide defense against environmental stressors. To better understand gland function, Procko studies the specialized glands of some carnivorous plants, which secrete sticky substances to trap animals for food, as well as the salt-secreting glands of mangroves. His work uses genetic approaches to uncover the molecular mechanisms of plant environmental responses and gland development.
Procko is originally from Adelaide, Australia. He earned his Ph.D. in developmental neurobiology and genetics from The Rockefeller University in New York in 2011. He subsequently joined the laboratory of Dr. Joanne Chory at the Salk Institute, California, as an NIH Fellow, where he began his research in plant biology. His work on carnivorous plants, in particular, was featured on public radio and television.
Ping Wang – Assistant Professor
Dr. Ping Wang is an assistant professor in the LSU Department of Biological Sciences. Her research focuses on the molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate plant growth and responses to environmental stress, with an emphasis on protein phosphorylation and cellular signaling. Her lab investigates how phosphorylation-mediated signaling regulates stress granules and autophagy, two processes that help plant cells respond to stress and maintain cellular homeostasis. Using genetic, molecular, cellular, and omics approaches in Arabidopsis thaliana, Wang studies how these processes are coordinated during stress and recovery. Her long-term research goal is to understand the signaling mechanisms that balance plant growth and stress resilience and provide insights that may ultimately contribute to improving crop resilience under adverse environmental conditions.
Before joining LSU, Wang earned her bachelor’s and Ph.D. degrees from Northwest A&F University in China, conducted postdoctoral research at Cornell University and Iowa State University, and later served as a research scientist at Iowa State University.
Mathematics
Keegan Kirk – Assistant Professor
Dr. Keegan Kirk is an assistant professor in the LSU Department of Mathematics. His
research focuses on numerical analysis and computational mathematics, with an emphasis
on numerical methods for partial differential equations, computational fluid dynamics,
optimization, and optimal control problems. His work develops and analyzes mathematical
methods for solving complex problems arising in areas such as fluid mechanics, subsurface
transport, electrophysiology, and thermal optimization.
Kirk completed his postdoctoral training at George Mason University and Rice University
and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Waterloo. His current research interests
include nonsmooth optimization, scalable numerical methods for physics-based models,
low-rank and tensor methods for high-dimensional problems, scientific machine learning,
and digital twins.