IN THIS ISSUE: ACES | Engineering | FAA | LAS | Social Work | UI Library | FAA&LAS | FAA&UI Press |
agricultural, consumer and environmental sciences
Dennis R. Campion, associate dean for extension and outreach, was named secretary of the Council for Extension, Continuing Education and Public Service of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges. The council is a group for professionals engaged in a broad range of outreach activities including extension, economic development, continuing education, technical assistance and public service. Under the council’s guidelines, Campion eventually will serve as chairman of the group.
Richard Braatz, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, received the 2005 Antonio Ruberti Young Researcher Prize, presented by the Control Systems Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Antonio Ruberti Foundation. The award recognizes distinguished cutting-edge contributions by a researcher under the age of 41 to the theory or application of systems and control and carries a $5,000 cash prize. The award cites Braatz’s theoretical results in the robust control of complex systems, and their application in the process, pharmaceutical and microelectronics industries.
Donald E. Carlson, professor of theoretical and applied mechanics, was awarded the 2005 American Academy of Mechanics Lifetime Service Award. Carlson was recognized at the Applied Mechanics Division banquet meeting of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in November for his many contributions to continuum thermomechanics, applied mathematics, constitutive theory and elasticity.
David Nicol, a research professor in the Coordinated Science Laboratory and professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Lui Sha, a research professor in the Coordinated Science Laboratory and professor of computer science, recently were named fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery. The fellows program celebrates the exceptional contributions of the leading members in the computing field. Nicol and Sha were among the 34 members recognized for their contributions to both the practical and theoretical aspects of computing and information technology. Nicol was recognized for contributions to discrete-event simulation. Sha’s research covers the design and integration of robust real-time embedded systems using a mixture of new and reused components. The association will formally recognize the new fellows at its annual awards banquet May 20 in San Francisco.
Donna Cox, leader of the Visualization Division at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications and a professor of art and design, was named a fellow of the World Technology Network and was nominated for the 2005 World Technology Network Award. The award honors individuals and corporations from 20 technology-related sectors viewed by their peers as being the most innovative and whose work has the greatest likelihood of long-term significance.
Rebecca Ginsburg, UI architectural historian and professor of landscape architecture, was elected president for a two-year term of the Vernacular Architecture Forum in April 2005. Vernacular architecture refers to ordinary, everyday buildings, as opposed to architect-designed, high-style structures. The forum has about 900 members, mostly academics and professionals, committed to the study and preservation of these environments. The forum publishes in Vernacular Architecture, the premier American journal on vernacular studies.
Dianne Harris, professor of landscape architecture, was selected to receive a 2006 Iris Foundation Award for Outstanding Scholarly Contributions to the History of Art, Design and Cultural History. The award, administered by the Bard Graduate Center in New York, will be given at a ceremony and luncheon at the St. Regis Hotel in New York on April 4.
Billie Jean Theide, professor of art and design, was nominated by NICHE magazine to receive the first Arts Educator of the Year Award. This year, 173 educators were nominated. The award recognizes professors demonstrating an unwavering dedication to the promotion of the arts, through the cultivation and encouragement of emerging American craft artists at Canadian and U.S. art programs and institutions. NICHE magazine will reveal the two award winners on Feb. 19 during the annual NICHE Awards ceremony at the Philadelphia Buyers Market of American Craft.
The American section of the International Association of Art Critics awarded Krannert Art Museum second place for Best Thematic Museum Show Nationally for its exhibition “Traylor, Edmondson and the Modernist Impulse.” The awards are given in recognition of exceptional and important work in the visual arts contributed by artists, curators, writers, scholars and cultural institutions. Throughout the years, the winners have represented the nation’s most important and innovative art institutions. The award was presented to Josef Helfenstein, exhibition curator and former director of Krannert Art Museum. After the show’s opening at Krannert Art Museum, it traveled to museums in Birmingham, Ala., Houston and New York City.
Tim Cunningham, a specialist II for local area network support in applied technology for learning in arts and sciences, received a 2005-06 LAS Staff Award for his outstanding contribution to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Cunningham is responsible for assisting with desktop support issues and with any network connection problems for all faculty and staff members among 11 academic departments in the Foreign Languages Building. He will receive a $2,000 award and a commemorative plaque at an awards reception scheduled for late February.
Scott E. Denmark, professor of chemistry, will be awarded the Yamada-Koga Prize on Oct. 27 at the 16th Symposium on Optically Active Compounds in Tokyo. The Yamada-Koga Prize is awarded every year to a scientist whose research has had a major impact in the fields of the synthesis of optically active compounds. The award includes a medal, a plaque, a cash award equivalent to 500,000 Japanese yen and travel expenses to Japan.
Benita S. Katzenellenbogen, Swanlund Professor of Physiology and Cell Biology and Center for Advanced Study Professor, and John A. Katzenellenbogen, Swanlund Professor of Chemistry, have been selected to jointly receive the Roy O. Greep Lecture Award for 2006 from The Endocrine Society. The award recognizes their work bridging biology and chemistry to advance understanding of nuclear receptors and steroid hormone action in biology and medicine. They will officially receive the award in June at the 88th Annual Meeting of The Endocrine Society in Boston, where they will present the Plenary Greep Award Lecture on “The Diverse World of Estrogens and Estrogen Actions.” This is the first joint award recognizing their research contributions.
Wynne S. Korr, dean and professor of social work, has been elected president of the St. Louis Group, the association of deans and directors of schools of social work in AAU and Research 1 universities. Among Korr’s priorities during her two-year term, she will seek to enhance the perception of social work programs, including the UI School of Social Work, as critical to the reputations of research universities, especially in the conduct of research that exemplifies engagement with critical community concerns.
Rajwant Singh Chilana, professor of library administration and South Asian studies librarian at the UI, has been honored with the Punjab National Librarian Award for his outstanding contributions in promoting librarianship in Canada, India and the United States. The award was presented to Chilana at the annual function of the Satinder Kaur Ramdev Memorial Trust for the Advancement of Librarianship on Dec. 20. During this event, “Digital Information Resources and Networks on India,” which was edited by Chilana, was released. On Jan. 9, he was invited by the School of Library and Information Science, University of Delhi, to speak about “Reference and Information Services in the Context of Emerging New Information and Communication Technologies.”
Miranda Remnek, professor of library administration and head of the Slavic and East European Library, has assumed chairmanship of the bibliography and documentation committee of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies. This title, awarded by invitation only, is the highest honor and position in the U.S. Slavic library profession. The committee consists of scholars and librarians in the fields of Slavic, East European and Eurasian studies. It addresses a wide range of topics and ventures, including but not limited to copyright, digital projects, vendor issues, collection development and the American Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies. The chairmanship also involves international activity such as organizing a reception for Slavic librarians at the recent World Congress of the International Council for Central and East European Studies held in Berlin.
fine and applied arts & liberal arts and sciences
Ninth Letter, the literary magazine published by the English department and the School of Art and Design, was named best new literary journal by the Council of Editors of Learned Journals, an allied organization of the Modern Language Association. Jodee Stanley, the editor of Ninth Letter, accepted the award at the association’s annual meeting, in Washington, D.C., in late December. The Ninth Letter’s inaugural issue also won gold medals for best cover design and best overall design in the 2004 Annual Design Competition of the University and College Designers Association.
fine and applied arts & university press
Judith McCulloh, assistant director and executive editor of the University Press, was named an honorary member of the Society for Ethnomusicology at its 50th anniversary meeting in Atlanta, Nov. 16 to 20. She and Bruno Nettl, professor emeritus of music and of anthropology, served as program co-chairs of this meeting. The society also awarded Nettl the title Society for Ethnomusicology Fiftieth Anniversary Board of Directors Emeritus. He was named an honorary member in 2000.