ENGINEERING
Moshe Matalon, the Caterpillar Distinguished Professor in the department of mechanical science and engineering, was honored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics with the 2016 Fluid Dynamics Award. He was presented the award for his outstanding “contributions to the development of combustion theory, for revolutionizing understanding of chemically reacting flows and for work on the hydrodynamic theory of premixed flames.” Matalon will be honored in June at the institute’s Aviation and Aeronautics Forum and Exposition, where he will deliver the 2016 Fluid Dynamics Lecture. AIAA is the world’s largest technical society dedicated to the aerospace profession; it also publishes cutting-edge aerospace books and journals.
IPRH
The Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities awarded its 2015-16 IPRH Prizes for Research in the Humanities to faculty members, graduate students and undergraduate students at a reception May 3 at Levis Center.
Faculty winners:
Eduardo Ledesma, a professor of Spanish and Portuguese, "The Poetics and Politics of Computer Code in Latin America: Codework, Code Art and Live Coding," published in Revista de Estudios Hispánicos 49.1 (March 2015).
Andrew Gaedtke, a professor of English, "Neuromodernism: Diagnosis and Disability in Will Self's Umbrella," published in Modern Fiction Studies 61.2 (Summer 2015): 271-294.
Honorable Mention:
Michael B. Silvers, a professor of music and of musicology, "Birdsong and a Song About a Bird: Popular Music and the Mediation of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Northeastern Brazil," published in Ethnomusicology 59.3 (Fall 2015): 380-397.
Graduate student prizes
Winner:
Elizabeth Tavares, a predoctoral fellow in English, "A Race to the Roof: Cosmetics and Contemporary Histories in the Elizabethan Playhouse, 1592–1596," forthcoming in Shakespeare Bulletin 34.2 (Summer 2016) and written for English 599: Thesis Research, directed by English professor Curtis Perry.
Honorable Mention:
Ethan Madarieta, a graduate student in comparative and world literature, "Unbordering the Body: Raúl Zurita’s Utopian Performance Under Dictatorship," written for Spanish 590/Comparative and World Literature 581: Borders, taught by Eric Calderwood, a professor of comparative and world literature. Nominated by Brett Kaplan, a professor of comparative and world literature.
Undergraduate student prizes:
Winner:
Patricia J. Fleming, a student in English, "The Gods in Men and the Sinners in Women," nominated by Mara Wade, prepared for German 199: Emblematica Online, taught and nominated by Germanic languages and literature professor Mara Wade.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Brian Stauffer, a photographer for the News Bureau, was honored by the University Photographers’ Association of America. His photo of the March 11 Tesla Coil Concert on the Barden Engineering Quad during Engineering Open House received first place in the news and college life category in the association’s monthly image competition for April. The association is an international organization of college and university photographers concerned with the application and practice of photography as it relates to the higher education setting.
SECRETARIAT
Rebecca Nash received the 2016 Office Professional of the Year Award from The Secretariat at the U. of I. Nash, an administrative assistant, was nominated by Kathleen Harleman, the interim dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts. Nash was honored at an April 20 awards luncheon.
Also nominated were: Michael Foellmer, an office manager in the department of urban and regional planning; Betsy Lancaster, an office support specialist in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences’ Academic Programs; Elizabeth Leamon, an office administrator for Undergraduate Affairs in the College of Business; Kari Mahannah, an office support specialist in the College of Education; Debora McCall, an executive assistant dean in the College of Medicine; Karen Myers, an administrative assistant for the MBA Program in the College of Business; Sara Simmons, an office support specialist for Facilities and Services Capital Programs; Lori Stalter, an office administrator for the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Sports Medicine; Barb Vandeventer, an office administrator in the department of food science and human nutrition; Susan Vinson, an office administrator for the National Center for Supercomputing Applications; April Wellman, an office support specialist for the department of animal sciences; and Angie Wisehart, an administrative assistant for the Prairie Research Institute.
The Secretariat is an organization for U. of I. employees in certain civil services classifications. The organization seeks to build collegiality across campus, create a high standard of ethics among members and assist in the professional development of members. More information can be found online.