IN THIS ISSUE: ACES | CONTINUING EDUCATION & INHS | ENGINEERING | FAA | LAS
agricultural, consumer and environmental sciences
Two faculty members in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences were recently honored with 2002 Food and Agricultural Sciences Excellence in College and University Teaching Awards. Now in its 11th year, the awards program acknowledges that “excellence in education can only be achieved when teachers are adequately prepared, highly motivated, and appropriately rewarded.”
Shelly J. Schmidt, professor of food chemistry in the department of food science and human nutrition, received a national award, and Darrel J. Kesler, professor of animal sciences, received a regional award for the north central region. The annual awards are sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. ACES has had seven recipients in 11 years, the most in the nation.
continuing education and natural history survey
A program in the UI Office of Continuing Education was selected by the University Continuing Education Association to receive a 2002 Celebration of Excellence award. The award is designed to encourage innovation and distinction in continuing education.
The program, “Biodiversity, Wetlands and Biological Control-Purple Loosestrife: A Case Study,” was developed by Michael R. Jeffords and Robert N. Wiedenmann of the Illinois Natural History Survey to show teachers and environmentalists options for fighting invasive species using natural controls rather than pesticides and poisons. The program gives middle school and high school science teachers curriculum ideas and plans for incorporating environmental lessons into their classroom.
The course, a collaborative effort with the Illinois Natural History Survey, was offered online. The course will serve as a model for future environmental programs offered by the office, combining the interactivity and rigor of a traditional classroom experience with the flexibility of an online program.
Wendy Jackson, head of environmental programs for the Office of Continuing Education, accepted the award at the UCEA annual conference in Minneapolis in October.
engineering
Nick Holonyak Jr., professor of electrical and computer engineering, will receive the 2003 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Medal of Honor. Holonyak is being honored “for a career of pioneering contributions to semiconductors, including the growth of semiconductor alloys and hetero-junctions, and to visible light-emitting diodes and injection lasers.”
During the last decade, Holonyak and his students invented a process that enables the formation of high-quality oxide layers on any aluminum-bearing III-V compound semiconductor. The oxide process has had a major impact on vertical-cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs), making them practical for such applications as optical and data communications. His more recent research focuses on coupling quantum-dot lasers to quantum-well lasers. Holonyak is the fourth UI faculty member and third ECE alumnus to win the Medal of Honor, IEEE’s highest award. ECE hosted a reception Dec. 4 to congratulate Holonyak.
fine and applied arts
Robert I. Selby, professor and associate director for graduate studies, School of Architecture, has been elected to the national board of directors of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Selby, currently president of AIA Illinois, will be installed as the Illinois Region Director Dec. 6 at the AIA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He will serve a three-year term.
liberal arts and sciences
Martin Gruebele, Alumni Research Scholar in the department of chemistry, has been elected a Fellow in the American Physical Society, with a primary affiliation with the Division of Biological Physics. Each year, no more than one-half of 1 percent of the membership of the Society is recognized by peers for election to the status of Fellow in the APS. Gruebele is internationally known for his research on how proteins fold.
The APS Fellowship Program was created to recognize members who may have made advances in knowledge through original research and publication or made significant and innovative contributions in the application of physics to science and technology. They also may have made significant contributions to the teaching of physics or service to APS and participation in the activities of the society.
Maurice Friedberg, Center for Advanced Study Professor of Russian Literature and Professor Emeritus, department of Slavic languages and literature, received the Distinguished Contribution Award in Slavic Studies at the 34th AAASS National Convention in Pittsburgh in November. The American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies presents this award each year to a distinguished member for a lifetime of achievement in the field of Slavic studies.
Julian I. Palmore, professor of mathematics and in the Program in Arms Control, Disarmament and International Security, was elected a Fellow of the World Innovation Foundation on Oct. 7. He also has been invited by the foundation to be the United States’ national representative to W.I.F.
