IN THIS ISSUE: ENGINEERING | LAS | FAA | LIBRARY | LAS & ENGINEERING
engineering
Nathan Price, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development award. The award is given to junior faculty who “exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations,” according to the foundation’s Web site. The title of his research grant is “Systems biology and engineering of Clostridium beijerinckii for Enhanced Butanol Production.”
liberal arts and sciences
Penelope Soskin, senior assistant dean and director of honors, scholarships and experiential learning initiatives in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is the recipient of the 2009 Medallion of Honor, the most prestigious annual award given by the Moms Association at the UI. Soskin will be recognized for her contributions April 18 at the Moms Association annual board meeting.
The Medallion of Honor Award was created in 1966 to recognize those people who, by example and service, have used their talents to enrich the lives of others. Since 1977, the award has been given to women affiliated in some way with the UI.
Among Soskin’s duties are administering the college’s scholarship-selection program, serving as the primary support to out-of-state LAS students, and organizing the LAS senior thesis program. Her main charge is the oversight of the Edmund J. James Scholar Honors Program for the college.
John Hedeman, an assistant dean in the College of Business, has noticed the effect her support has had on her students. “By encouraging young undergraduates to set the highest possible standards for themselves, she inspires her James Scholars to … pursue undergraduate research, apply for the most prestigious scholarships … and to give back to the world through positive civic engagement.”
The 2009 American Society for Microbiology will honor Carl R. Woese, the Stanley O. Ikenberry Professor of Microbiology, with the Abbott-ASM Lifetime Achievement Award during the society’s general meeting in May. Woese also is a professor of biology in the School of Life Sciences and a professor in the Institute for Genomic Biology at the UI. Sponsored by Abbott Laboratories, this is the society’s premier award for sustained, remarkable contributions to the microbiological sciences.
Woese is being honored for changing perceptions of microbial diversity. His phylogenetic analyses of ribosomal RNA sequences led to the recognition of a third domain of life – the Archaea – which revolutionized the view of life’s history and brought order to the understanding of microbial diversity and classification.
fine and applied arts
The Pacifica Quartet has added a Grammy Award to its growing collection of musical achievements.
Pacifica, the faculty quartet in residence at the UI School of Music, won the 2009 Grammy for Best Chamber Music Performance for its recording of Elliott Carter’s String Quartets Nos. 1 and 5. The announcement was made Feb. 8 at an afternoon ceremony held prior to the televised Grammy Awards program.
Ensemble members are Sibbi Bernhardsson and Simin Ganatra, violin; Masumi Per Rostad, viola; and Brandon Vamos, cello.
The quartet recorded Carter’s quartets, on the Naxos label, in celebration of the composer’s centenary.
library
Lynne M. Rudasill, a professor of library administration and a global studies librarian, has been named the 2009 recipient of the Association of College and Research Libraries Law and Political Science Section Marta Lange/CQ Press Award. The award honors an academic or law librarian who has made distinguished contributions to bibliography and information service in law or political science. CQ Press, sponsor of the award, will present the $1,000 award and plaque during the 2009 American Library Association annual conference in Chicago.
“As the first and only global studies librarian at the UI, Lynne has made a number of contributions to the library profession through articles published in books, peer reviewed and general academic library journals and through a host of presentations both at home and abroad,” said Leslie Homzie, chair of the award committee and senior reference librarian at Boston College. “Through her Web site created for the Global Studies Library at the UI she continues to engage users in international studies.”
liberal arts and sciences & engineering
Jay Bass, a professor of geology; Albert Valocchi, a professor of civil and environmental engineering; and Donald Wuebbles, a professor of atmospheric sciences, have been elected fellows of the American Geophysical Union.
“The union is a worldwide scientific community with a membership of 50,000 researchers, teachers and students that advances, through unselfish cooperation in research, the understanding of Earth and space for the benefit of humanity,” according to its Web site.
