Recognizing U

Congratulations to the following:

ABBIE GRIFFIN , a presidential chair in marketing at the David Eccles School of Business was awarded the Crawford Fellow for her research contributions in the area of product innovation management. Griffin is a presidential chair in marketing at the David Eccles School of Business. Griffin is just the fourth recipient of the Crawford Fellow. First presented in 1991, the award is presented by the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA) in recognition of superior and unique contributions to advance the state of professionalism in the field of new product management through direct contributions of knowledge, service, practice, and stature in the field.

Griffin’s research investigates means for measuring and improving the process of new product development. Most recently she has studied “Serial Innovators”, defined by Griffin, as individuals in large, mature organizations which are associated with one after another new product development success. Her findings on “Serial Innovators“ has been the topic of numerous articles in prominent academic journals and will soon be published as a book. Back to top (Dated: 11/06/2009)

BRAD VIERIG , assistant dean of Executive Education for the David Eccles School of Business was recently appointed as chair of the Executive MBA Council, a group dedicated to advancing the education of executives. More specifically, the group serves as a mediator for collaboration among Executive MBA programs from around the world. The council has more than 200 member colleges and universities, which offer more than 300 programs in 25 countries. As chair of the Executive MBA Council, Vierig joins representatives from other Executive MBA programs including Columbia, Wharton, Minnesota, Alabama, EADA (Spain), Michigan State, INCAE (Costa Rica), Ohio, UCLA, and Loyola.

In congratulating Vierig on the appointment, University of Utah President, Michael K. Young emphasized the benefit of knowing that leadership from the David Eccles School of Business will be involved with addressing education issues on an international level. Back to top (Dated: 11/02/09)

SCOTT M. MATHESON, JR., a professor at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, has won the 2009 Chicago-Kent College of Law/Roy C. Palmer Civil Liberties Prize for his book Presidential Constitutionalism in Perilous Times. The prize was established in 2007 to honor an exemplary work of scholarship exploring the tension between civil liberties and national security in contemporary American society. Matheson will present his work at Chicago-Kent on November 20.
“I'm pleasantly surprised because I didn't know my book had been nominated, and I'm deeply honored,” Matheson said. His book explores the use of presidential power in times of crisis and analyzes executive branch actions that have raised serious constitutional concerns about individual liberties and separation of powers.“This is wonderfully well-deserved recognition for an elegant work,” added Hiram E. Chodosh, dean and professor of law at the University of Utah, “one that fortifies the constitutional foundations for regulating executive power in terrifying times.” Back to top (Dated: 10/01/2009)

Associate Vice President for Research, CYNTHIA FURSE, is one of 16 women awarded a Women Tech Award for 2009 by the Women Tech Council and Mountainwest Capital Network. According to the Women Tech Council, "Furse works to interest young students, particularly women and minorities in engineering and routinely volunteers in Utah's K-12 schools as an engineering mentor, science educator, and engineering career guidance counselor and is active with the Society of Women Engineers, Junior Engineering State, Expanding your Horizons, School-to-Careers, MESA, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts." It says the second annual Women Tech Awards Ceremony recognized technology-focused women who are driving innovation, leading technology companies, and are key contributors to the community. Back to top (Dated: 09/28/2009)

ZHIGANG ZAK FANG, associate professor in metallurgical engineering, is a recipient of the 47th Annual R&D 100 Award. The highly competitive award is given by the editors of R&D Magazine, and "provides a mark of excellence known to industry, government, and academia as proof that the product is one of the most innovative ideas of the year," according to the magazine. Fang won for his research on the functionally designed hard material, double cemented tungsten carbide and will be recognized at a ceremony in November. Back to top (Dated: 08/25/2009)

C. DALE POULTER and GREGORY VOTH -- both distinguished professors of chemistry -- are among 162 members of the American Chemical Society who have been elevated to the rank of fellow. Those honored are being recognized for "true excellence in their contributions to the chemical enterprise, coupled with distinctive service to ACS or to the broader world of chemistry," says Bruce E. Bursten, the society's immediate past president. A ceremony to recognize the fellows will be held Aug. 17 during the ACS meeting Washington. Back to top (Dated: 07/31/2009)

SAM WILSON, professor of art, was awarded the 2009 Mayor's Artist Award for Visual Arts by the Salt Lake City Mayor's Office. Mayor Becker presented the award to Wilson at the Salt Lake Art's Festival. According to the festival's Web site, since 1992 the Mayor's Office has honored the contributions that artists and organizations make to the cultural life of our community. The site also states, "(Wilson) is committed to the community in many ways. He has mentored talented adult students with disabilities for the Art Access Partners Program, has taught thousands of students in his college classes and has conducted an artist residency for the George Wahler Veterans Administration Medical Center." Back to top (Dated: 06/17/2009)

CHRIS IRELAND, Ph.D., professor and chair in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and an investigator at the Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI), has been appointed to the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Board of Scientific Counselors for Basic Sciences.

The NCI Board of Scientific Counselors for Basic Sciences is a group of 30 members who are invited to serve overlapping terms of up to five years. The board advises the director of the Center for Cancer Research and the director and deputy director of the NCI on a wide variety of matters concerning scientific program policy, progress, and future direction of research programs in the areas of basic sciences.

Ireland’s research focuses on the discovery and development of new anticancer therapies from environmental niches in nature. He also screens natural products for their ability to target cancer cells, in the hopes of discovering new agents with potential for the treatment of human cancers. Back to top (Dated: 06/02/2009)

TROY D'AMBROSIO has been named 2009 Best of State Medalist for Education Administrator. As director of the Pierre Lassonde Entrepreneur Center , Troy has worked directly with the students participating in the LassondeNew Venture Development Center for the past eight years. It’s only natural that this successful entrepreneur is taking what he has learned through his personal experiences, and teaching and mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurs.

The Lassonde New Venture Development Center brings together students from the business, engineering and science schools at the University of Utah and provides them with the unique educational experience of working on the commercialization of university-developed technologies. After selecting high value technologies, Troy guides the students as they spend a year performing core market research, developing business strategies, preparing business plans and making commercialization recommendations to the inventor and the university. Each year, Troy guides approximately 20 graduate students through the program. Back to top (Dated: 05/06/2009)

BRIAN MCGLADREY, doctoral student in Exercise and Sport Science, is the recipient of the 2009 College of Health Student Research Award. His study emphasis is Sport Pedagogy and he has taken on a challenging project for his dissertation. He has been working to develop a knowledge exam designed to assess the minimal knowledge that youth sport coaches and teachers should possess to safely and effectively instruct youth in a weight room setting. Brian assembled an impressive group of experts to help him develop the exam using the Delphi Technique. He piloted the exam using a sample of coaches throughout the western United States and has begun data collection from a nationwide sample of current teachers and coaches, as well as senior year physical education majors at various colleges and universities. In addition, Brian will be traveling across the West to collect data from a sub-sample of students taught or coached by individuals taking the exam to assess student perceptions of their knowledge of strength training. Brian was a finalist for the AAHPERD Student Research Grant and is currently in the review process for the National Strength and Conditioning Association Graduate Student Research Grant. Brian is planning on defending in early August. Back to top (Dated: 05/01/2009)

JUSTINE REEL, PhD from the Department of Health Promotion and Education is the recipient of the 2009 College of Health New Investigator Award. Dr. Reel’s interests and scholarly efforts exemplify those of a new research investigator. Dr. Reel has received funding from a variety of sources, including intramural, professional organization, foundation, and federal. She has an established record of innovative research and scholarship on psychological factors related to eating disorders among male and female athletes, as well as obesity prevention and promotion of healthy lifestyles in low-income preschoolers and their families. She is co-investigator on an R21 study examining the psychometric properties of a computer program to assess physical activities for children, a project which will lead to the comparison of school-based and clinical-based interventions to address physical activity in school-aged children. She has established collaborative relationships with researchers from multiple disciplines and has broadened the depth of her research focus. Dr. Reel is a noted leader in AAHPERD (specifically, the National Association for Girls & Women in Sport). Lastly, she is a well respected mentor to several students, both graduate and undergraduate, in Exercise Sport and Science and Health Promotion and Education. Back to top (Dated 05/01/2009)

KAROL KUMPFER, PhD from the Department of Health Promotion and Education is the recipient of the 2009 College of Health Senior Investigator Award. Dr. Kumpfer has a consistent and internationally recognized research focus on family interventions for substance abuse prevention and health promotion. Dr. Kumpfer has collaborated with colleagues across the College, the University of Utah, and at other universities across the country. She is active in publishing and presenting her work in scientific venues. Her Strengthening Families Program has received international recognition by the United Nations and World Health Organization and she has been invited to deliver keynote presentations across the globe. She has consistently published, presented and secured over 26 million dollars in externally funded grants over the course of her career at the University of Utah. Back to top (Dated 05/01/2009)

VICTORIA TRUJILLO of University College has been selected as a National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) Outstanding New Advisor Certificate of Merit recipient in the Primary Role category as part of the 2009 Annual Awards Program for Academic Advising. In addition, the Transfer Center at University College has been selected as a 2009 NACADA Outstanding Institutional Advising Program Award winner. The awards will be presented at the 2009 NACADA Annual Conference in San Antonio, TX on Oct. 1. Back to top (Dated: 04/22/2009)

CHRIS JOHNSON , director of the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute, has been selected as a fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. Fellowship honors SIAM members who have made outstanding contributions to the fields served by the group. Johnson is among the first group of fellows since the fellows program was approved by SIAM members last year. Back to top (Dated: 04/20/2009)

JAMES T. SVENDSEN , associate professor of classics & theatre at the U, will receive the 2009 Madeleine Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts and Humanities at a dinner in his honor to be held on Sunday evening, May 10, 2009 at the New Yorker in Salt Lake City.

Svendsen is the founding father and artistic director and executive producer of the Classical Greek Theater Festival of Utah (CGTF). He received his Ph.D. in classics from the University of Minnesota where he specialized in Greek and Roman theatre and was actively involved in several stage, film and radio productions. He has received several University of Utah awards for teaching and a national award for Teaching Excellence in Classics from the American Philological Association. Svendsen is the author of several articles on Greek drama and the ancient novel and has lectured widely on those topics throughout the United States and abroad.

For award dinner reservations, call the Cathedral of the Madeleine office at 328-8941. Back to top (Dated 04/16/2009)

Science depends on researchers not only conducting their own studies, but acting as "referees" by providing anonymous peer review of studies by other researchers before those studies are published by journals. The American Physical Society alone uses 42,000 referees for its journals Physical Review and Physical Review Letters. This year, the society is honoring 360 of them as outstanding referees, including two U. physicists: Z. VALY VARDENY, a distinguished professor of physics, and JOHN WORLOCK , a research professor of physics. Back to top (Dated: 04/06/2009)

HUY VO, a graduate student in the university's Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute, has been awarded a 2009-2010 fellowship by NVIDIA, a California company that makes high-powered computer graphics chips. Huy is one of just 10 students in the country to receive the honor. The NVIDIA Fellowship Program provides funding to Ph.D. students who are conducting research on topics that are expected to lead to major advances in the graphics and digital media industry, and are investigating innovative ways of leveraging the power of graphics hardware. Back to top (Dated: 04/02/2009)

HONG YONG SOHN, a professor of metallurgical engineering at the University of Utah-Salt Lake City, was inducted into the TMS 2009 honorary class of Fellow. Established in 1962, a Fellow candidate must be recognized as an eminent authority and contributor within the broad field of metallurgy, with a strong consideration of outstanding service to the Society. The honorary class of Fellow is the highest honor bestowed by TMS. Sohn was honored for his many outstanding contributions to the extractive and process metallurgy community in research and education, and for his exceptional service to TMS. “Receiving the TMS Fellow Award is a highlight of my career. It represents recognition of my life-long efforts in teaching young metallurgical and materials engineers and creating new knowledge and technologies by research,” he said. “Being recognized for what I enjoy doing most is an added bonus, which is made possible by belonging to a community of peers like TMS. Membership in TMS has also provided me with a career-long opportunity to exchange ideas and form professional bonds with persons of similar technical interests. This is essential for the development of a professional engineer.” Back to top (Dated: 03/19/2009)

MILTON WADSWORTH, a retired distinguished professor emeritus of metallurgical engineering, was the recipient of the 2009 AIME Honorary Member Award. AIME Honorary Membership is one of the highest honors that the Institute can bestow on an individual. It is awarded in recognition of distinguished scientific or engineering achievements in the fields embracing the activities of AIME and its member societies. Wadsworth was selected for his pioneering contributions to the field of hydrometallurgy, his service to professional societies, and his distinguished achievements in research and education. Back to top (Dated 03/19/2009)

DAVID BLAIR , a professor of biology, is among 72 microbiologists recently elected to fellowship in the American Academy of Microbiology. Academy fellows are elected annually through a selective, peer-review process, based on their records of scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced microbiology. Blair's research focuses on the molecular structure and workings of the "flagella" that many bacteria use to swim. These thin, helix-shaped propellers are driven by rotary motors in the cell membrane and can turn as fast as 1,000 revolutions per second. Back to top (Dated 02/11/2009)

KENT GOLIC , a professor of biology, has won a prestigious 2009 Novitski Prize from the Genetics Society of America. Named for late fruit fly geneticist Edward Novitski, the prize "is designed to recognize an extraordinary level of creativity and intellectual ingenuity in solving significant problems in genetics research," according to the society. Golic is known for developing two methods for studying how genes function: gene targeting in fruit flies, or the ability to disable a gene to see what goes wrong without it, and "site-specific recombination," which is a way to efficiently and precisely rearrange genes and the chromosomes that carry them. Back to top (Dated: 01/30/2009)

Each semester, the University of Utah Staff Council awards scholarships of up to $500 each to two U of U staff who are working 30 hours or more per week and have worked at the U for at least the past two years. CYNTHIA TERRILL, University Hospital Pediatric Dialysis, and GRACE CRAIG, University Reading Clinic, received the scholarships for spring semester 2009. More information is available online at http://web.utah.edu/staffcouncil/index.html. Back to top (Dated: 01/30/2009)

ROBERT B. SMITH , professor of geology and geophysics, has been honored with the National Park Service Intermountain Region's Natural Resource Research Award. He was cited for his research, including studies of earthquakes and volcanism and their impact on Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, and for providing the Park Service with "foundational knowledge of the dynamics of the Yellowstone volcano, the park's extraordinarily high heat flow and its potential catastrophic future." Back to top (Dated: 01/21/2009)

SUSAN SMITH, of the Union Pharmacy, and her husband Mike have been named "Citizens of the Month" for finding a missing elderly woman while on their first solo patrol for Mobile Watch, according to a statement released by the Salt Lake City Police Department. Chief of Police Chris Burbank hand-delivered the honor to the Smiths at the U on January 15, 2009. Back to top (Dated: 01/15/2009)

The American Society of Parasitologists (ASP) has awarded DALE H. CLAYTON, Department of Biology, the 2008 Henry Baldwin Ward Medal, the association's highest award. Clayton is a top expert on the chewing lice associated with birds, often known as "bird lice." He became a close associate of Dr. Roger Price, the world's foremost authority on the taxonomy of chewing lice, at the University of Minnesota in the early 1980's. Since then, his research has led him to the U (1996), and to develop a highly respected laboratory and the Price Institute for Phthirapteran Research (PIPeR). He and his colleagues also developed the LouseBuster, a device for the treatment of head lice in people.

According the American Society of Parasitologists, the Henry Baldwin Ward Medal is presented in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of parasitology to those who have attained a position of leadership in some aspect of parasitological research. The award consists of a special bronze medal designed by Dr. Justus F. Mueller, an honorarium of $1,000, a certificate, and travel and accommodation expenses. Back to top (Dated: 01/13/2009)

The American Mathematical Society (AMS) has awarded CHRISTOPHER HACON, professor, Department of Mathematics, the AMS Cole Prize in Algebra along with James McKernan of the University of California, Santa Barbara. A statement released by AMS states that the award is for "their groundbreaking joint work on higher dimensional algebraic geometry." According to the association's Web site, "This prize was founded in honor of Frank Nelson Cole on the occasion of his retirement as secretary of the AMS after 25 years of service and as editor-in-chief of the Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society for 21 years... Prizes are awarded at three-year intervals for contributions to algebra or the theory of numbers." Back to top (Dated: 01/06/2009)

Four University of Utah faculty members have been awarded the distinction of being named as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science. The four Utah scientists are DAVID GRAINGER, professor and chair of pharmaceutics and pharmaceutical chemistry; JOEL S. MILLER, distinguished professor of chemistry; BALDOMERO OLIVERA, distinguished professor of biology; and CARL S. THUMMEL, professor of human genetics. “These individuals have been elevated to this rank because of their efforts toward advancing science applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished,” the AAAS said. Grainger was honored “for distinguished, innovative efforts combining diverse aspects of chemistry, materials, and biomedical science” and for “creative research, education, and new biomedical technology.” Miller was given the rank of fellow for “discovering and developing molecule-based materials exhibiting the technologically important properties of magnetism and electrical conductivity,” including so-called “plastic magnets.” Olivera’s honor was for his work on venomous, ocean-dwelling cone snails and studying the identity, functioning and evolution of the nerve toxins they produce, leading to a deeper understanding of how nerves transmit signals and to new medical therapies. Thummel’s elevation to fellow was due to his research on “nuclear receptors” in cells and how they detect hormones, particularly genetic studies of how steroids control development in the fruit fly. Including the four Utah researchers, the AAAS has elevated 486 of its members to the rank of fellow this year. Back to top (Dated: 12/18/2008)

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH), and the National Parks Service (NPS) have awarded the UTAH MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY (UMNH) a $500,000 grant as part of the Save America's Treasures awards for this year. The museum is one of 40 institutions nation-wide to receive these grants. According to the Deseret News, the administration awarded the grant because UMNH "cares for anthropological collections that are of national significance. The origins of these collections date to the late 19th century, and today the museum is the steward of nearly 1 million archaeological and 3,000 ethnographic objects," and grant funds "will be used to clean, stabilize and prepare the anthropology collections for the move to a new facility and for purchase of museum-quality metal cabinets to house the significant holdings." Back to top (Dated: 12/16/2008)

University of Utah Professor ROBERT ALLEN, director of the School of Accounting , has received the Wildman Medal from the American Accounting Association (AAA) and Deloitte. The award is given annually to the author(s) of a publication that is determined to have the most significant impact on the practice of accounting. Along with his coauthors, Dr. Allen was recognized with the award for writing “Auditor Risk Assessment: Insights from the Academic Literature.” The publication explores the findings of academic literature to provide insight into risk assessment during the auditing process. The Wildman Medal Award was founded in 1978 to commemorate John Wildman and to encourage research relevant to the professional practice of accounting to which much of Mr. Wildman’s life was devoted. Back to top (Dated: 10/03/2008)

JOEY WILSON, engineering graduate student, won the MobiCom 2008 Student Research Demo Competition. Joey presented the demo, "Radio Tomographic Imaging", and participated in a final talk competition. Joey's presentation was chosen among nineteen student research demos presented at the Mobicom 2008 conference. It had been accepted from among 28 demo proposals submitted. The goal of this competition is to encourage students to build systems and prototypes validating their research results, and through the demo, make it more accessible to the wider community. Radio Tomographic Imaging (RTI) is an emerging technology that locates moving objects in areas surrounded by simple and inexpensive radios.RTI is useful in emergencies, rescue operations, and security breaches, since the objects being tracked need not carry an electronic device. Back to Top (Dated: 09/17/2008)

JOHN LUPTON , an associate professor of physics, has been notified that he is among 20 researchers nationwide who will receive a 2008 Fellowship for Science and Engineering from the David & Lucile Packard Foundation. The grant of $875,000 for five years is among the largest "no-strings-attached" awards available to researchers. The foundation says the fellowships are intended "to provide support for unusually creative researchers early in their careers." The only other University of Utah faculty member to receive such a fellowship was biochemist Brenda Bass in 1991, although mathematics Professor Graeme Milton won the award in 1988 before he came to Utah. Back to top (Dated: 09/15/2008)

The Utah Humanities Council has announced that the Tanner Humanities Center has been selected to receive the first UHC Humanities Partnership Award in honor of the Center’s 20th anniversary and its two decades of promoting the humanities with both campus and community audiences. The award will be presented at UHC's Annual Human Ties Celebration.

Dean ROBERT NEWMAN and Center Director BOB GOLDBERG will be recognized for their current stellar leadership along with former Dean Norman Council and history professor LARRY GERLACH for their essential roles in creating the Center in 1988. Back to top (Dated: 09/11/2008)

Professor GEORGE CHENEY has been named recipient of the 2008 Gandhi Peace Award.

Cheney is director of the University of Utah Barbara and Norman Tanner Center for Nonviolent Human Rights Advocacy in the College of Social and Behavioral Science, as well as the Peace and Conflict Studies program in the College of Humanities. The Gandhi Peace Award is presented annually by the Gandhi Alliance for Peace, a local activist group preserving the memory and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi.

In announcing its selection, the Gandhi Alliance board of directors noted that Cheney not only leads a respected academic program that teaches and conducts research on the conditions and processes of peace, but he and his program also reach out in a practical way to engage the community. According to the International Peace Research Association, there are over 600 academic peace studies programs worldwide.

“Peace work is group work” says Cheney. “Individuals can and do make a difference. But it is in collaboration and the bridging of differences that we get our work done and also show others how viable peace really is.” Back to top (Dated: 09/10/2008)

DAVE MEIKLE, Salt Lake City painter and graphic artist for University Marketing and Communications, has been commissioned by the state of Utah to develop seven new designs to be featured on 31 "Welcome to Utah" road signs across the state. According to KSL News, nearly 20 million vehicles will pass by the signs each year, earning him a unique distinction as one of the most widely seen Utah artists in history. Click here for the KSL News story: Back to top (Dated: 08/28/2008)

ESTHER ISRAEL, graduate student in the Department of Psychology, has received a recognition award from the American Psychological Association. Israel's submitted research paper was among the top six chosen from 35 peer-reviewed presentations by students and faculty from universities in the USA and Europe. These awards, along with the first ever Anne Anastasi award, were presented to student researchers at a reception that the Society co-hosted with the APA Science Student Council. Back to top (Dated: 08/26/2008)

TOLGA TASDIZEN, PhD, has joined the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute (SCI) faculty as an Assistant Professor of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Tasdizen will become the SCI Institute's second USTAR Faculty member. Prior to his USTAR appointment, Tolga was a Research Assistant Professor in the School of Computing at the University of Utah. Dr. Tasdizen received his B.S. degree in electrical engineering in 1995 from Bogazici University. He received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in engineering from Brown University in 1997 and 2001, respectively. Dr. Tasdizen's research interests are in image analysis, computer vision, and pattern recognition. His current research focuses on creating state-of-the-art image processing algorithms for biomedical and biological applications such as reconstructing neural circuit diagrams from large numbers of very high resolution microscopy images. Back to top (Dated: 08/18/2008)

TOM FLETCHER, Ph.D., is joining the University of Utah as a part of the USTAR initiative. Fletcher's research is focused on creating novel methods at the intersection of statistics, mathematics, and computer science to solve problems in medical image analysis. He is currently collaborating with researchers in autism and Alzheimer’s disease at the University of Utah on the statistical analysis of combined imaging modalities, including structural MRI, DTI, FMRI, and PET in longitudinal studies. A key component of this research is the statistical analysis of non-Euclidean data, such as anatomical shape or tensor data that is typically derived from medical images.

Dr. Fletcher received his B.A. degree in mathematics at the University of Virginia. He received an M.S. and Ph.D. in computer science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After graduating, he joined the University of Utah first as a postdoctoral researcher and then research assistant professor in the School of Computing and the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute. Back to top (Dated: 08/18/2008)

JULIE KORENBERG, Ph.D., M.D., is a new USTAR faculty member. She is a pioneer in molecular genetics of disease, and is trying to understand how disruption of genes perturb the architecture of brain circuits – groups of neurons that integrate and relay information from different parts of the brain—and how altered brain circuits lead to changes in behavior.

One way she is researching brain circuits is by looking at the genetics and behaviors associated with neurological diseases. Among the diseases she is studying is Williams syndrome, whose patients have stereotypical behavioral traits: they are outgoing, talkative, love music, and suffer from anxiety. The syndrome is caused by a small chromosomal deletion encompassing about 25 genes. She is also studying Down syndrome in an effort to understand the genetics and brain circuitry behind mental retardation.

Korenberg comes to Utah from the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she is the Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Pediatrics and the Geri & Richard Brawerman Chair of Molecular Genetics. She earned her Ph.D. in medical genetics from the University of Wisconsin and her M.D. from the University of Miami School of Medicine. Back to top (Dated: 08/18/2008)

DEBORAH YURGELUN-TODD, Ph.D., has been hired as a USTAR faculty member. She is studying the young age of onset for many psychiatric diseases, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, which is during late adolescence or young adulthood. What if it were possible to detect changes in the brains of people at risk for psychiatric disorders before they show signs of the disease? Would it be possible to develop early intervention treatments that prevent manifestation of the disease? Yurgelun-Todd is using brain imaging to address these questions.

Yurgelun-Todd has a Ph.D. in neuropsychology from Harvard University. For the last eight years she has been an Associate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and for nine years the Director of the internationally recognized Cognitive Neuroimaging laboratory at the Brain Imaging Center of McLean Hospital. Back to top (Dated: 08/18/2008)

PERRY RENSHAW, Ph.D., is a new USTAR faculty member. He uses an imaging technique called magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), a form of MRI, to determine the amount of small chemicals in the brain, including neurotransmitters and molecules that store energy—adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
Using this technique, Renshaw is investigating how drug addiction and mood disorders alter brain chemistry. “I am very interested in studying methamphetamine dependence,” says Renshaw. “I have a great interest in collaborating with the Utah Addiction Center at the University of Utah to develop some clinical imaging projects with a goal of developing treatments.”

Renshaw received an M.D. and Ph.D. in biophysics from the University of Pennsylvania and has an MBA from Bentley College. For the last thirteen years he was on the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and for ten years was Director of the Brain Imaging Center at McLean Hospital. Back to top (Dated: 08/18/2008)

MARTY SHAUB, Director of Environmental Health and Safety at the University of Utah has been awarded the Distinguished Service Award (DSA) by the Campus Safety, Health and Environmental Management Association (CSHEMA).

The Distinguished Service Award is the highest award given to individuals by the international organization in recognition of outstanding service in the field of environmental health and Safety. According to CSHEMA's press release, "Marty Shaub epitomizes the meaning of a dedicated professional and the groundwork she did in her many years of leadership in the organization has helped create the initiative to move CSHEMA to its new beginnings as an independent organization." Back to top (Dated:07/28/ 2008)

BRIAN SAAM, professor and associate chair of physics at the University of Utah, has been named Associate Dean for Alumni Relations and Development in the College of Science, effective July 1, 2008. Saam will be primarily responsible for maintaining and improving alumni relations, and for establishing an alumni association within the college. He will direct major development operations, including the college’s involvement in the university’s capital campaign. “Brian’s proven leadership in the department of physics and his tireless efforts to advance the College of Science were keys in selecting him for this unprecedented position,” says Pierre V. Sokolsky, dean of the College of Science. With this appointment, Saam joins Sokolsky and Peter Trombi, associate dean for student affairs, in the leadership of the college. Back to top (Dated: 07/09/2008)

Moran researcher DR. YINGBIN FU recently received a Karl Kirchgessner Foundation award for his work on cone phototransduction. The Kirchgessner Foundation supports institutions actively engaged in providing services principally to disadvantaged persons. While the Foundation supports a limited amount of eye research, its emphasis is to support activities in the area of eye care. Dr. Robert Marc, Moran Director of Research, had this to say about the award: “It is rare that "pure" vision science is recognized in this fashion and the scientific directors saw in Yingbin's plans the kernel of powerful new ideas for how to explore eye disease.” Back to top (Dated: 07/08/2008)

President George W. Bush presented recent University of Utah political science graduate RICK PEHRSON with the President's Volunteer Service Award for Pehrson's work with Americorps Youth Service Corps. Pehrson greeted Mr. Bush right after the president got off of Air Force One at Salt Lake City International Airport May 28. President Bush presented Pehrson with the award and shook his hand. President Bush described Pehrson as a soldier in the army of compassion. In a prepared statement, the White House says Pehrson is a team leader who has logged more than 900 hours in AmeriCorps. His work includes recruiting, training and managing more than 1,300 volunteers for the reopening of the Utah State Capitol and the associated eight-day open house. In the fall, Pehrson plans to start law school at the University of Utah. Back to top (Dated: 05/29/2008)

CAMERON BAILEY, 2008 MBA graduate from the David Eccles School of Business, has been chosen to receive the Best of State award for Best College/University Student. The Best of State Awards were created to recognize outstanding individuals, organizations and businesses in Utah who excel in their endeavors, use innovative approaches or methods, and contribute to a better quality of life in Utah. Bailey will receive a Best of State medal at an awards ceremony scheduled for May 31, 2008. According to the Best of State organization, by recognizing excellence in our community and sharing examples of success and triumph in so many worthy endeavors, they hope "we will all be inspired to reach a little higher, to try a little harder, and to work a little longer for our dreams and goals." Back to top (Dated 5/29/2008)

The Unviersity of Utah welcomes DR. MARC PORTER as a USTAR Professor. Dr. Porter is an analytical chemist who began his academic career at Iowa State University, where he was a professor of chemistry and chemical and biological engineering, as well as director of the Institute for Combinatorial Discovery and the University’s Microanalytical Instrumentation Center. He is co-founder of Nanoparts, a company that manufactures gold nanoparticles, one of the most widely used classes of nanomaterials for chemical, bioanalytical, biomedical, optical and nanotechnological applications. Other companies co-founded by Porter include: CombiSep, Inc., which markets an analytical separation device; and Concurrent Analytical, which has developed a new-generation immunoassay system, the Ramanprobes™ System, for detecting and labeling antigens. This system received the prestigious R&D 100 Award in 2003; sponsored by R&D Magazine, the award honors the top 100 products of technological significance marketed or licensed during the previous calendar year.

Dr. Porter has over 200 publications, and has given over 300 presentations at national and international meetings. He holds over 10 patents, with several more pending. Professor Henry White, Chair of the Department of Chemistry commented, “His research is imaginative and has a remarkable breadth ranging from chromatography, immunoassays chemistry, surface acoustic wave devices, surface vibration spectroscopy, and nanoparticles.” Dr. Porter has a long track record of making interesting and fundamental discoveries in the fields of electrochemistry, surface science, and self assembly. Back to top (Dated: 05/13/08)

GUIDO GERIG, PhD, has now joined the University of Utah's Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute (SCI) as a USTAR faculty member. Professor Gerig is a world renowned researcher in neuroimage analysis and he joins the SCI Institute from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was a Taylor Grandy Professor. At UNC, he served as a PI, Co-PI and/or Senior Researcher on NIH funding of more than $28M. At the University of Utah, Dr. Gerig will have faculty positions within the School of Computing, Department of Psychiatry and SCI Institute.

As the director of the UNC Neuroimage Analysis Laboratory, he supported a number of clinical neuroimaging projects with methodology for image processing, registration, atlas building, segmentation, shape analysis, and statistical analysis. Clinical driving problems are neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases and mental disorders such as schizophrenia, autism, fragile-X, chronic depression and Parkinson's disease. Back to top (Dated: 05/13/08)

NELSON ROY, PhD from the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders has received the 2008 College of Health Senior Researcher Award. Dr. Roy is an exceptionally productive researcher and a nationally and internationally recognized scholar. He is a leader in the study and treatment of voice disorders and is one of the most frequently cited scientists in his field. He is extraordinarily prolific in terms of publications, averaging approximately five peer-reviewed publications per year. He has had more than 70 professional presentations and is a highly sought-after speaker for national and international meetings. Dr. Roy’s research is always of the highest caliber in terms of experimental rigor, has important clinical relevance, and is often innovative. He is a leader in his field with respect to providing objective evidence to support or refute treatment techniques. Dr. Roy has built successful collaborative relationships within the department and university. In particular, he has been very involved with physicians/researchers within the Division of Otolaryngology in the study of medical treatments for voice disorders. Additionally, he has established and maintained several collaborations with leading researchers from other universities. Back to top (Dated: 05/12/08)

LEE DIBBLE, PhD from the Division of Physical Therapy has received the 2008 College of Health New Investigator Research Award. Since completion of his PhD, Dr. Dibble has focused on establishing a clinical research infrastructure within physical therapy. Due in large part to Dr. Dibble’s efforts and vision, the division has a successful facility (the University Rehabilitation and Wellness Clinic) with a dual role: research examining balance and postural control in persons with neurologic disease and clinical care to persons for persons with significant risk of morbidity and mortality due to falls. The clinical and research model that Dr. Dibble has helped create has fostered collaborations for Dr. Dibble and fellow faculty with researchers within Internal Medicine, Mechanical Engineering, Neurology, Orthopedics, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. In addition to this work, Dr. Dibble has continued his leadership role in the area of rehabilitation research serving on the planning/operations board of the Center for Rehabilitation Research (CRR), directing the grant review committee for the CRR grant competition, as well as being the physical therapy discipline coordinator for the federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) URLEND Grant awarded to the University of Utah and Utah State University. Back to top (Dated: 05/12/08)

STEVEN J. ELMER (master’s student, exercise and sport science) has received the 2008 College of Health Student Researcher Award. Under the mentorship of Dr. Jim Martin, Steve has been active in research in the Neuromuscular Function Lab since he was an undergraduate working on a UROP Fellowship. He has contributed significantly to several funded research projects which will have substantial impact on the field of neuromuscular function. He is currently finishing up his master’s degree here in ESS and is already working toward his Ph.D. in the Department of Bioengineering. Back to top (Dated: 05/12/08)

The University of Utah welcomes USTAR Professor JOHN WHITE, PhD. Dr. White came to the University of Utah from Boston University, where he was professor and chair and interim of biomedical engineering, director of the Neuronal Dynamics Laboratory, associate director of the Center for Memory and Brain, and associate director of the Center for Biodynamics. Professor White’s research into the function of the brain has yielded almost $10 million in support from the National Institute of Mental Health, NSF, NIH, the Whitaker Foundation and other sources. He is perhaps best known for development of digital systems to allow computers to communicate with circuits of the brain, and for research to understand how biological noise and neural architecture alters brain function in health and disease. Professor White holds a doctorate in biomedical engineering from the Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Louisiana Tech University.
(Dated: 05/09/08) Back to top

USTAR Professor, CAMERON CHARLES, PhD joins the University of Utah from The University of Washington. Dr. Charles’ research is focused on high-speed digital wireless communication using phased antenna arrays to improve power efficiency and data rates, a topic of great importance to the work of several Utah defense, homeland security, home automation, and sensor networks companies. He pioneered the use of calibration techniques for radio transmitters in CMOS technology to achieve leading-edge performance at very low cost. Dr. Cameron Charles is excited for the opportunity to help develop the RF/wireless program at the University of Utah, and produce more qualified, local engineers to further drive the growth in Utah's RF sector. The Utah economy benefits from a strong RF design sector, with companies such as L-3 Communications and Moog doing leading edge work in defense communications Charles also looks forward to collaborative research opportunities with local industry and existing labs at the U, which have potential to bring in additional research funding from federal sources such as the NSF and DARPA. (Dated: 05/09/08) Back to top

A University of Utah course created by Languages and Literature professor CHRISTINE A. JONES in collaboration with LUISE POULTON, curator of the Rare Books Division of the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library, received a 2007-08 Innovative Course Design Competition Prize from the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies. According to their Web site, the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies presents the award to encourage excellence in undergraduate teaching of the eighteenth century. The award is largely deteremined by how specific a course is in relation to design, readings, pedagogy, and/or activities. During spring semester 2006, the graduate and undergraduate students of French 4900/7900 wrote essays based upon their research relying on rare books from the Marriott Library. The essays are now part of a Web site called Dramatis Personae Archive, A History of 17th and 18th Century Performance Arts, which is devoted to European dance, theater, and visual arts from 1600 to 1850 and includes rare digitized books, maps, newspapers, and journals. (Dated: 04/30/08) Back to top

The Western States Seismic Policy Council (WSSPC) has awarded its 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award in Earthquake Risk Reduction to WALTER J. ARABASZ, Director of the University of Utah Seismograph Stations. Created by the WSSPC "to recognize outstanding leaders in earthquake risk reduction," the award goes to those who "have demonstrated throughout his or her career an extraordinary commitment, level of service, and contribution to the application of earthquake risk reduction to public policy." The fifth person to ever receive this award, Arabasz notably expanded the capability of the seismograph stations to include real-time monitoring and notification and recording of strong earthquake motions for engineering and response purposes. He also took the lead in obtaining federal funding to develop and implement a real-time earthquake reporting system that would be in place for the 2002 Winter Olympics. In addition, he has been a leader in forming the concept, in the development, and in the implementation of the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS). (Dated: 04/28/08) Back to top

GINA M. MUSOLINO, PT, EdD and her department of physical therapy (DPT) students in the College of Health will receive a $1,000 award to launch a service-learning project for Global Youth Services, Musolino is one of 100 State Farm® Good Neighbor Service-Learning Award winners chosen by Youth Service America and funded by State Farm Companies Foundation.

The project, “Devotion to Motion,” includes four DPT student-led, service-learning projects that address health, nutrition, physical activity, and careers in physical therapy. Small group interactions and hands-on learning practice will be the focus of these events. (Dated: 04/22/08) Back to top

RICHARD A NORMANN was appointed a Distinguished Professor of Bioengineering by the Distinguished Professors at the University of Utah. The appointment was approved by the Academic Senate Executive Committee in a meeting in February. Professor Normann joins the ranks of nine other distinguished professors in the College of Engineering at the University of Utah. The University appoints distinguished professors "whose achievements exemplify the highest goals of scholarship as demonstrated by recognition accorded to them from peers with national and international stature, and whose record includes evidence of a high dedication to teaching as demonstrated by recognition accorded to them by students and colleagues." Professor Normann's ongoing research involves applied and basic studies of the central nervous system. He is the inventor of the Utah Electrode Array, a pill-sized device containing 100 tiny electrodes implanted in the brain to be used to stimulate or record from the neurons of the central nervous system. (Dated: 04/09/2008) Back to top

DR. BRIAN MCPHERSON joined the University of Utah as a USTAR professor from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology where he formed the Southwest Partnership on Carbon Sequestration, one of seven regional partnerships funded by the U.S. Department of Energy ($19 million) to evaluate the science and technology of storage of atmospheric carbon in underground geological formations and in surface soil and vegetation. Dr. McPherson will continue as Principal Investigator and Director of the Southwest Partnership here at the University of Utah, working collaboratively with New Mexico Tech. The partnership has just been selected by the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to proceed to a deployment phase ($67 million over 10 years), which will involve the injection of approximately 1,000,000 tons of CO2 into a geological formation. The purpose of the deployment phase is to assess the efficacy of geological CO2 storage, and to evaluate this as an approach for reduction of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Dr. McPherson received both his Ph.D. and B.S. in Geophysics from the University of Utah. (Dated: 03/27/2008) Back to top

DR. HAMID GHANDEHARI, an expert in drug delivery innovation, joined the University of Utah in November 2007 as a USTAR faculty member of the Colleges of Pharmacy and Engineering. He comes to Utah from the University of Maryland, Baltimore where he was Professor and Director of the Center for Nanomedicine and Cellular Delivery, member of Greenebaum Cancer Center and faculty in the Maryland Bioengineering Program.

His research, funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program and other agencies, focuses on the design and development of novel, soluble polymers for targeted delivery of bioactive agents to solid tumors. He has pioneered the use of recombinant polymers for gene delivery applications and synthesized water-soluble polymers that target tumor angiogenesis.

Dr. Ghandehari is the Executive Editor of Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, Associate Editor of Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine, and on editorial boards of several drug delivery journals. He founded one of the first multidisciplinary nanomedicine centers in the U.S. with faculty membership spanning the disciplines of engineering, chemistry, dentistry, pharmacy, and cancer research, providing expertise for the design, development, and translation into clinic of nanosystems for therapy and diagnosis. (Dated: 03/27/2008) Back to top

Tanner Humanities Center announces the awarding of two fellowships in honor of the life and work of Wallace Stegner to historian WILL BAGLEY and author and photographer STEPHEN TRIMBLE. The fellowships, awarded in conjunction with the Chevron Corporation and the University of Utah’s College of Humanities, Stegner Center of the College of Law and the Marriott Library, are for the academic year 2008-2009 and mark the Stegner Centennial Year celebration.

A native of Utah, independent historian Will Bagley attended Brigham Young University and was a President’s Scholar at the University of California, Santa Cruz. His column, “History Matters,” appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune and he has written and edited more than a dozen books, including Frontiersman: Abner Blackburn’s Narrative, which won the 1991 Evans Manuscript Prize. His most recent work is Blood of the Prophets: Brigham Young and the Massacre at Mountain Meadows (2003).

Stephen Trimble is a naturalist who received his advanced degrees from Colorado College and the University of Arizona. In 1990 he was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters. He is the author of more than a dozen books with The Sagebrush Ocean: A Natural History of the Great Basin (1989) now in its eleventh edition. In 1996, U.S. Senator Russ Feingold read Stephen Trimble’s essay “Our Gardens, Our Canyons,” on the floor of the United States Senate in his plea to save Utah wilderness.

Bob Goldberg, Professor of History and Director of the Tanner Humanities Center, remarked that, “The Center is exceptionally fortunate to have two scholars of their caliber in residence. The perspectives of Will Bagley and Stephen Trimble will shed new light on Wallace Stegner and his relationship with the land and people of Utah and the Great Basin.” (Dated: 03/21/08) Back to top

CLIFFORD J. ROSKY, a research fellow at the University of California at Los Angeles, will join the S.J. Quinney College of Law faculty as an associate professor in the fall semester, 2008.

“Cliff’s very impressive research at the Williams Institute and as the first Ribicoff postgraduate fellow at Yale Law School puts him at the forefront on issues of family law, antidiscrimination law, and criminal law,” Chodosh said. “At a time when society is reevaluating and redefining the concept of family, his research and writing on the significance of gender in family law opinions involving gay, lesbian and bisexual parents contributes significantly to our discussions and understanding of these critical contemporary issues. We look forward to his contributions as an innovative teacher and scholar.”

Rosky is a research fellow at UCLA’s Williams Institute, a think tank focused on sexual orientation law and public policy issues. While at the Williams Institute, Rosky submitted an amicus brief in the same-sex marriage cases pending before the California Supreme Court, published an op-ed on same-sex marriage in the Los Angeles Daily Journal, developed teaching materials for a casebook on sexual orientation and law, and co-authored over 30 demographic reports on lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations in the United States.

Rosky received his B.A. from Amherst College with honors in Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School. Rosky is thrilled to join his new colleagues at the S.J. Quinney College of Law. “I am honored to participate in the College’s rich intellectual environment, which brings together a broad range of expertise and experience from faculty and students,” Rosky said.
(Dated: 01/31/08) Back to top

MARY C. BECKERLE, executive director of Huntsman Cancer Institute, is one of five individuals selected to serve as members of the Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Since 1966, the ACD has advised the NIH Director on policy and planning issues important to the NIH mission of conducting and supporting biomedical and behavioral research, research training, and translating research results for the public. Beckerle earned her Ph.D. in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology from the University of Colorado at Boulder and completed post-doctoral research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She holds the Ralph E. and Willia T. Main Presidential Endowed Chair in Cancer Research and recently received the Rosenblatt Prize for Excellence at the University of Utah. (Dated: 01/31/08) Back to top

JOHN CONBOY, an associate professor of chemistry, has been selected as the recipient of the Coblentz Society's 2008 Craver Award. In 2006, The Coblentz Society created an award to recognize the efforts of young professional spectroscopists that have made significant contributions in applied analytical vibrational spectroscopy. This award is presented to Professor Conboy in recognition of his multi-disciplinary achievements involving the use of nonlinear vibrational spectroscopy as a novel analytical tool for the study of cell membrane dynamics and structure. The Craver Award is named for Clara D. Craver in recognition of her pioneering efforts in promoting the practice of infrared vibrational spectroscopy and her many years of service to the Coblentz Society. (01/31/08) Back to top

DENISE DEARING, professor, and FRED MONTAGUE, professor (lecturer), in biology; SONIA SALARI, professor, family & consumer studies; and HARRIS SONDAK, professor in management, were selected by the University Teaching Committee to receive the 2008 University Distinguished Teaching Awards.

The Distinguished Teaching Awards honor faculty with eight or more years of service at the U for outstanding teaching, innovative pedagogy, concern for students, and exemplary contributions to the educational process outside the classroom. (Dated: 01/23/08) Back to top

CHRISTOPHER L. PETERSON, an associate professor at the University of Florida, will join the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law faculty as a professor, effective fall semester 2008. Peterson, who has several articles forthcoming on the subjects of payday lending and the subprime mortgage crisis, said that he is excited and humbled by the offer and looks forward to returning to Utah to continue his teaching, research, and writing at the Quinney College. Since 2003, he has been a law professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. Dean Hiram Chodosh referred to Professor Peterson as the “Urban Meyer of consumer law.”

“I feel tremendously honored to teach and do research at the University of Utah,” Peterson said. “I’m looking forward to helping advise Utah’s leaders and the public on the many consumer protection and business law challenges our communities face.”

In the 2007-08 year, Peterson taught classes in consumer law, contract law and commercial law as a visiting professor at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law. (Dated: 01/22/08) Back to top

CHRIS IRELAND, professor and chairman of medicinal chemistry at the U., has received the Governor's Science and Technology Medal for his work in natural product drug discovery focusing on anti-tumor agents from natural sources such as marine invertebrate animals, tropical plants and fungi. The Governor’s Medal award program was initiated in 1987 to recognize those who made career achievements and/or provided distinguished service that has benefited the State of Utah in the areas of Science and Technology. (Dated: 11/15/07) Back to top

KUER’s news reporters were recently honored by the Utah Broadcasters Association with several UBEE awards. JENNY BRUNDIN won gold place for Best Feature Story or Program ("From Fries to Fuel") and silver place in four other categories. TASHA COOK won gold for Best News Reporting in a Series ("2007 Sundance Sound Series") and silver in two other categories. DAN BAMMES won gold for Best Single Event News Coverage ("Nuclear Fuel Processing") as well as two silvers, one shared with DOUG FABRIZIO and ELAINE CLARK for Best Feature Story or Program ("Convicting Polygamy"). (Dated: 11/12/07) Back to top

Three University of Utah faculty members are among 471 researchers who have been elevated to the rank of fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the nation's largest general science society. The U faculty members are: BARBARA J. GRAVES, professor of oncological sciences at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, for distinguished contributions to our understanding of what are known as DNA-binding transcription factors; JOHN MAUGER, professor and dean of the College of Pharmacy, for leadership in academic pharmacy and in world-wide health care via his contributions to drug standards for medicines used to treat neglected diseases; and DENNIS H. O'ROURKE, professor of anthropology, for distinguished contributions to physical anthropology, particularly for the development of methodology for ancient DNA analyses and its application to the peopling of the Americas. (Dated: 10/25/07) Back to top

STEVE PARKER, an assistant professor of computer science, has been selected as a member of the 2008 Computer Science Study Group by the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The program supports university researchers with research grants for up to three years, while informing them of the Department of Defense’s information technology needs and priorities. Parker will receive $100,000 the first year, and as much as another $750,000 during the second and third years. (Dated: 10/22/07) Back to top

The U.S. Geological Survey has given its John Wesley Powell Award to WALTER ARABASZ director of the University of Utah Seismograph Stations. USGS Director Mark Myers says Arabasz is being honored “for more than three decades of solid, dedicated leadership in helping the public be prepared for [earthquakes] and take measures to protect themselves from this natural hazard.” The award is named after scientist-explorer John Wesley Powell, who served as the second director of the USGS, from 1881 to 1894, and who was a pioneer explorer of the Colorado River. Arabasz has directed the Seismograph Stations since 1985, served as a member of the Utah Seismic Safety Commission since it was founded in 1994, and took the lead in implementing a real-time quake-reporting system during the 2002 Winter Olympics in the Salt Lake City area. He has worked for 20 years to develop an integrated system of national earthquake monitoring. (Dated: 10/18/07) Back to top

The Utah Geological Survey and Utah Geological Association have chosen University of Utah geophysics Professor ROBERT B. SMITH as winner of the 2007 Lehi Hintze Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Geology of Utah. The award recognizes Smith's 40 years of contributions to the understanding of earthquakes, seismic hazards, Earth's crustal structure and quake-related movements of the crust in Utah and western North America. Smith specializes in the seismology and volcanism of Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. The award, established in 2003, is named after its first recipient, Lehi Hintze of Brigham Young University. (Dated: 10/16/07) Back to top

Three University of Utah physicists have won prestigious prizes from the American Physical Society. Professors GEORGE CASSIDAY and PIERRE SOKOLSKY, who also is dean of the College of Science, will share the $10,000, 2008 W.K.H. Panofsky Prize in Experimental Particle Physics. They were cited for pioneering development of a method to study ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays by detecting faint, fluorescent, ultraviolet flashes that occur when incoming cosmic ray particles collide with gases high in Earth’s atmosphere. The method was used at the university’s now-shuttered Fly’s Eye and High-Resolution Fly’s Eye cosmic ray detectors at Dugway Proving Ground, and at the new Telescope Array cosmic ray observatory near Delta, Utah. Z. VALY VARDENY, a distinguished professor of physics, shared the $5,000, 2008 Frank Isakson Prize for Optical Effects in Solids with Joseph Orenstein of the University of California, Berkeley. The American Physical Society cited them “for pioneering contributions to the understanding of optical phenomena in complex materials, including conducting polymers, semiconductors and high-temperature superconductors.” (Dated: 10/03/07) Back to top

Utah’s DR. MARILYN LUPTAK is one of only 12 health care professionals nationwide selected by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine as a College of Palliative Care Scholar. Luptak, an assistant professor of the University of Utah’s College of Social Work, will join physicians, nurses, and other social workers at the National Palliative Care Research Center’s 1st Annual Retreat and Research Symposium, September 17-19, 2007, to advance palliative care research and education. In addition to discussions of professional development and scholarship, Luptak will present a proposal for her next research project – “Caring for Elders in Their Final Years: A Family Perspective” – and receive feedback from other scholars and mentors. Luptak holds the distinction of being the only scholar from Utah selected by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. At the symposium she will be joined by colleagues from Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas. (Dated: 9/13/07) Back to top

In the Utah Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists Excellence in Journalism Context in the Television Series category, first-place honors went to Utah NOW, KUED’s weekly public affairs program produced by ELIZABETH SOUTHWELL and hosted by DOUG FABRIZIO. Utah NOW also took second place in Minority Issues Reporting. KUED swept the Television Documentary category with first place going to JOHN HOWE’s "Desert Wars: Water and the West." Second and third place awards went to LIZ SEARLES ’ "Utah WWII Stories: The Pacific" and "Utah WWII Stories: The Home Front." On a national level, KUED’s John Howe, NANCY GREEN and associates received top awards at this year’s Houston WorldFest Film Festival. KUED’s productions "Maynard Dixon" and "Desert Wars" received prestigious Special Jury Award of Excellence. This is one of the largest and most competitive international film festivals. Both of these productions will be distributed nationally this summer. (Dated: 7/16/2007) Back to top

MARCIA M. McCLURG, Ph.D. and licensed psychologist, retired June 30, 2007 after a 19-year career at the University of Utah. McClurg, an alumna of University of Utah, earned her B.A. in English (plus a secondary teaching credential), M.F.A. in Theatre (acting emphasis), and Ph.D. in Educational Psychology (Counseling Psychology) prior to joining Continuing Education in 1988 as a program coordinator in the Center for Adult Learning and Career Change. Appointed as assistant dean of Continuing Education in 1999, McClurg expanded the Lifelong Learning program; initiated the Asian Program, a program that trained Chinese professionals in the American systems of government, education, business, science, and technology transfer; and led student trips oversees as part of the program's international focus. Subsequently, McClurg joined the staff of University Neighborhood Partners (UNP) in 2003 as partnership facilitator and worked closely with the Youth Education and Success Committee to expand efforts to create and distribute information for increased awareness of higher education among Salt Lake City’s west side children and teens. (Dated: 6/30/2007) Back to top

GIAO HUYNH, a mathematical biology graduate student at the University of Utah, has been selected by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as one of 20 outstanding research participants to attend the 57th Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates and Students July 1 through 6 in Lindau, Germany. Since 1951, Nobel laureates in chemistry, physics and physiology-medicine have annually convened in Lindau to conduct open, informal meetings with students and young researchers from around the world. This year’s event, which traditionally rotates by discipline each year, will focus on physiology and medicine. NSF’s participants will join 29 other students representing the United States and more than 500 other international students at the meeting. The primary purpose of the meeting is to allow participants -- most of whom are students -- to benefit from informal interaction with the Nobel Prize winners. (Dated: 6/27/2007) Back to top

U.S. News and World Report recently updated its rankings of PA programs for its America’s Best Graduate Schools 2008 publication. The magazine ranked the PA program at the University of Iowa No.1, followed by the PA programs at Duke University and Emory University. Tied for fourth were the PA program at the University of Utah, at George Washington University, and at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center—Dallas. Rounding out the top 10 were the University of Washington; the University of Colorado—Denver and Health Sciences Center; Baylor College of Medicine; and Oregon Health and Sciences University. (Dated: 6/22/2007) Back to top

JULIE M. FRITZ, division of physical therapy, has received the 2007 College of Health Senior Researcher Award. Along with her co-investigators, she has made a significant impact on the conservative management of low back pain, creating the potential to reduce pain and disability in this huge patient population. Largely because of this work there now exists evidence of the benefits of spinal manipulation, stabilization exercise, and other intervention approaches in patients who can now be classified by examination criteria, rather than treated as a homogeneous group. Dr. Fritz consistently stays on the cutting edge of information and research in her area of expertise as is evidenced by the ten grants she has been awarded (or is co-investigator on), in the last six years. She has published (or has in press) nearly 60 peer-reviewed journal articles, and several more non-reviewed publications. Her work is found in the top tier physical therapy and rehabilitation journals as well as the Annals of Internal Medicine and Spine. Additionally, she works closely with other faculty members to help them secure research funding. (Dated: 5/30/2007) Back to top

THUNDER JALILI, professor in the division of nutrition and director of the nutrition science program, has received the 2007 College of Health New Investigator Award. Dr. Jalili studies signal transduction in cardiovascular diseases, particularly cardiac hypertrophy. His initial basic animal research on dietary means of preventing cardiac hypertrophy has led to a practical human clinical trial of a plant phytochemical as a means to reduce blood pressure in hypertensive adults. He has carefully transitioned his basic molecular biology approach of identifying important cell signaling mechanisms mediating the interaction of hypertrophy and hypertension into a promising dietary approach to treating humans with endogenous hypertension. Dr. Jalili has collaborated with other Health Science investigators to apply a team approach to the study of hypertension. He also has provided the opportunity for 6 undergraduate students from the Health Sciences LEAP program and UROP program to work in his laboratory on aspects of this study as well as involving and mentoring 8 graduate students in his research. (Dated: 5/30/2007) Back to top

SHAWNA MCMILLAN, masters degree candidate in exercise and sports science, has received the 2007 College of Health Student Research Award for research in signal transduction mechanisms and evaluating the contribution from insulin signaling in the vasculature to arterial function. She was the recipient of the ESS Outstanding Masters Student Award and the R.O. Ruhling Scholarship in 2005. Shawna was also essential in helping to obtain preliminary data that were used in proposals submitted to the American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, and the National Institutes of Health. (Dated: 5/30/2007) Back to top

The Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) has awarded its most prestigious scholarship -- worth $11,000 -- to AMIT KUMAR AGRAWAL, a University of Utah doctoral student in electrical engineering. Earlier this year, Agrawal and colleagues at the U published a study in the journal Nature showing it is possible to harness far-infrared light -- also known as terahertz radiation -- for potential uses such as much faster wireless communication and devices to detect concealed explosives and biological weapons. Far infrared light is the last unexploited portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, which also includes radio waves, TV signals, microwaves and visible light. SPIE is an international society advancing an interdisciplinary approach to the science and application of light, dealing with the fields of optics, photonics and imaging. (Dated: 5/23/2007) Back to top

GEORGE WHITE, JR., director of the Public Health Program in the University of Utah's School of Medicine and BRYAN ELDREDGE, associate director of the David Eccles School of Business Master's Program, have been named "Best College/University Teacher" and "Best Administrator" respectively in the 2007 Best of State competition. (Dated: 5/11/2007) Back to top

DR. DAVID J. APPLE, professor of ophthalmology and pathology, and director of the David J. Apple Center for Ocular Biodevices at the John A. Moran Eye Center, has been chosen by his peers from more than 30,000 ophthalmologists worldwide to be inducted into the prestigious Ophthalmology Hall of Fame. Apple is the youngest inductee to be so honored. The American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, which awards the honor, established the Ophthalmology Hall of Fame in 1999 to honor pioneers in an ongoing celebration of their distinguished careers and contributions. (Dated: 5/7/2007) Back to top

DR. LARRY GERLACH, faculty athletics representative at the University of Utah, has been named a co-recipient for the 2007 Dr. Albert C. Yates Distinguished Service Award, bestowed upon an individual who has successfully supported, promoted and exemplified the ideals of the Mountain West Conference or a member institution. A professor in the University of Utah Department of History, Gerlach has served as the Utes’ faculty athletics representative for 19 years. During that span, he has worked diligently with the student-athletes to address specific issues and challenges facing them on the Utah campus, including being a part of the university’s Athletics Advisory Council. Marsha Smeltzer, former associate athletics director and senior woman administrator at Colorado State University, was also awarded. Both Gerlach and Smeltzer are original members of the MWC Joint Council. (Dated: 05/06/2007) Back to top

CHRISTOPHER HACON, associate professor, Department of Mathematics, was among five mathematicians honored with Clay Research Awards, given by the Clay Mathematics Institute for "major breakthroughs in mathematics research." Hacon shared his award with James McKernan, a former University of Utah postdoctoral researcher who now works at the University of California, Santa Barbara. (Dated: 05/01/2007) Back to top

BALDOMERO "TOTO" OLIVERA, distinguished professor, Department of Biology, has been elected a member of the American Philosophical Society. Founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin for the purpose of "promoting useful knowledge," the American Philosophical Society is the oldest learned society in the United States. The Society has 960 elected members, 804 resident members and 156 international members. In addition, Olivera and BRENDA BASS, distinguished professor, Department of Biochemistry, were among 203 new fellows and 24 foreign honorary members elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, which was founded in 1780 by John Adams, John Hancock and other early American scholar-patriots. (Dated: 05/01/2007) Back to top

SUSAN BECK, professor, College of Nursing; PETER PHILIPS, professor, Department of Economics; CARL THUMMEL, professor, Department of Human Genetics have been honored with University of Utah’s 2007 Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Scholar Distinguished Mentor Award, which recognizes faculty who effectively guide graduate students and postdoctoral scholars throughout their professional training in a continuing, multifaceted partnership sustained by mutual respect and concern. The effective mentor serves as advisor, teacher, advocate, sponsor, and role model and will be honored with a formal ceremony in the fall. (Dated: 04/24/2007) Back to top

E. JAMES COMER is the 2007 John E. Willson Distinguished Alumnus Award winner. Mr. Comer graduated from the University of Utah in 1969. The John E. Willson Distinguished Alumnus Award was established in 2000 to recognize a graduate of the University of Utah’s Mining Engineering Program who has set a high standard by his or her accomplishments in the mining industry. Most recently, Jim was Mine Manager for the Coal Creek Mine, Arch Coal Inc., located near Gillette, Wyoming. He retired in January of this year after serving 38 years in the mining industry. His experience spans both underground and surface mining of metals and coal. He has extensive experience in mine operations, mine development, engineering support, and management. (Dated: 04/11/2007) Back to top

RONALD PUGMIRE, professor of chemical engineering and associate vice president for research, is the recipient of the 2007 Henry H. Storch Award in Fuel Chemistry. The award is sponsored by the American Chemical Society's Division of Fuel Chemistry and the scientific publisher Elsevier Ltd. The award recognizes "distinguished contributions to fundamental or engineering research on the chemistry and utilization of all hydrocarbon fuels, with the exception of petroleum," the sponsors said. The award includes $5,000, an engraved plaque and another $1,500 to travel to the meeting at which the award will be presented. (Dated: 03/29/2007) Back to top

KURT T. HEGMANN, University of Utah research associate professor of family and preventative medicine, was elected to serve as the first chairman of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Medical Review Board. The board was created in 2006 to update qualification regulations for drivers of commercial vehicles. Hegmann will participate on the board for two years. (Dated: 03/06/2007) Back to top

JAY A. JACOBSON, University of Utah professor of internal medicine and chief of the Division of Medical Ethics, was a finalist for a medical ethics award. Students nominated Jacobson for the 2006 Association of American Medical Colleges Humanism in Medicine Award. Jacobson is a nationally recognized medical ethicist and was recognized for his contributions to the field in 2004 by the American Medical Association. (Dated: 03/06/2007) Back to top

ROBERT PAUL HUEFNER, professor in the Political Science Department at the University of Utah and nationally recognized and respected scholar, has been honored with a proclamation from Governor Huntsman and a declaration of February 24th as Robert Huefner Day for his significant contributions in government and education. He served as director of the U's Bureau of Community Development, as the first director of Center and Public Policy and Administration and as the director of Governor Scott Matheson's Center for Health Care Studies. According to the declaration, Dr. Huefner has taught thousands of students at the University of Utah who have benefited greatly from his knowledge of public administration, inspirational teaching, and desire for academic excellence. (Dated: 02/26/2007) Back to top

JEFFREY POLLOCK, instructor in communication science and disorders at the University of Utah, participated in the 16th Winter Deaflympics. Pollock competed in the parallel giant slalom and parallel slalom competitions and won the bronze medal in both events. (Dated: 02/21/2007) Back to top

DR. PERRY G. FINE, professor in the department of anesthesiology at the University of Utah School of Medicine, was presented the Josefina B. Magno Distinguished Hospice Physician award by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine during its annual meeting. Fine is on the faculty of the Pain Research Center and is an attending physician at the Pain Management Center. He is also vice president of medical affairs of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. (Dated: 02/16/2007) Back to top

RANDY SILVERMAN, a preservation librarian at the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library, and ROBERT AVERY, a professor of Communications at the University of Utah, received the Utah Humanities Council’s 2007 Humanities Award. Silverman was honored for his work with the Council’s Road Scholars program and his hosting of a traveling Preservation Roadshow. Robert Avery was honored, along with his colleague, SueAnn Martell, for their work assisting six student film producers in the creation of a documentary film titled, Helper: People, Persistence, and Promise, that was broadcast on KUED-7. In addition, Avery presented a town hall discussion of the film in Helper, Utah. Each year the Utah Humanities Council honors and recognizes Utah citizens who have made outstanding contributions to the public humanities. (Dated: 02/16/2007) Back to top

The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) has named HONG YONG SOHN, professor of Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Utah, as the recipient of the 2007 EPD Science Award. Professor Sohn will receive the award at the TMS 2007 Annual Meeting & Exhibition in Orlando, Florida. This award, established in 1955, recognizes a paper that represents notable contributions to the scientific understanding of the extraction and processing of nonferrous metals. (Dated: 02/01/2007) Back to top

RONALD HREBENAR, professor and chair of the Political Science Department, has been selected for the Fulbright - University of Vienna. Distinguished Chair in Humanities and Cultural Studies. These Distinguished Chairs are among the most prestigious appointments in the Fulbright Scholar Program. Dr. Hrebenar will teaching three political science courses this fall at the graduate and senior undergraduate level in the University of Vienna's Institute fur Politikwissenschaften. In 1982-83, Dr. Hrebenar was a Fulbright Scholar at Tohoku University in Japan. He has also been invited to serve as a visiting professor this year at the Science University in Penang, Malaysia, and at two universities in Japan. (Dated: 01/16/2007) Back to top

MICHAEL BASTIANI, a professor of biology and member of the Brain Institute at the University of Utah, is one of six scientists honored with a 2007 Neuroscience of Brain Disorders Award from the McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience. The annual awards support research by U.S. scientists aimed at diagnosing, preventing, and treating injuries or diseases of the brain or spinal cord. They are designed to help apply the knowledge achieved through basic research to human brain injury or diseases. Like the other winners, Bastiani will receive $300,000 over a three-year period beginning in February 2007. Bastiani and colleagues plan to examine every gene in the roundworm to determine which genes are involved in regeneration. This would be the first comprehensive genetic screen for genes that allow neurons to regenerate. The identification of these genes may further development of new therapeutic agents for many diseases caused by damage to the nervous system. (Dated: 12/08/2006) Back to top

W.G. PARISEAU, a professor of mining engineering, has written a first-ever undergraduate textbook in rock mechanics for engineers. It was published in November by Taylor & Francis, London. The text, "Design Analysis in Rock Mechanics," is the culmination of many years of teaching and research concerning the engineering of surface and underground excavations in rock. It fulfills a long unmet need in an area of great importance to mining, geological and civil engineers. (Dated: 12/07/2006) Back to top

University of Utah volleyball head coach BETH LAUNIERE has been named the Tachikara/AVCA Division I West Region Coach of the Year on the heels of guiding her team to an historic finish in 2006. The honor makes Launiere eligible for the Tachikara/AVCA National Coach of the Year award. (Dated: 12/07/2006) Back to top

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) today congratulated mining engineering Professor FELIPE CALIZAYA of the University of Utah for his appointment to a national panel to explore mine safety. Calizaya will be one of six members of the panel. “As a mining engineer, Dr. Calizaya has 35 years of experience under his belt, nationally and internationally, protecting the safety of miners,” Hatch said. “His expertise, both in academia and the private sector, will be a tremendous benefit to miners in the U.S. We’re lucky to have him at the University of Utah, and the country is lucky to have him on this panel.” (Dated: 12/05/2006) Back to top

DAN JONES was honored with the first ever Civic, Character, and Service Learning Award presented by the Utah Commission on Civic and Character Education at the Dialogue on Democracy dinner earlier this month. The Hinckley Institute of Politics nominated Dr. Jones, who is an adjunct professor in the University of Utah Political Science Department. (Dated: 11/21/2006) Back to top

Professor LENORA FORD BROWN, a member of the University of Utah School of Music Piano Faculty, was recently named a Steinway Artist. As part of the Brown/England Piano Duo, she was also selected for the 2007-2008 Utah Arts Council Performing Arts Tour. This past May, Lenora Ford Brown won a first place award in the prestigious New England Conservatory International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition. She received a gold medal, a first place certificate and as part of the Brown/England Piano Duo, was awarded a performance at Carnegie Hall on Memorial Day. (Dated: 11/03/2006) Back to top

DR. MICHAEL L. HARDMAN, Chair of the Department of Special Education and the Department of Teaching and Learning in the College of Education, was awarded the 2006 Leadership Achievement Award by the Best Buddies of Utah organization held at Rice-Eccles Stadium on the University of Utah campus. The welcome address for this event was presented by Brian Mullahy of KUTV Channel 2 news anchor and remarks were also made on the program by Utah's First Lady, Mary Kaye Huntsman as well as 2002 Olympic Gold Medalists Chris Witty and Derek Parra. (Dated: 11/02/2006) Back to top

TIM SLOVER, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre, has won the Christopher Brian Wolk Award for Excellence in Playwriting for his play Treasure. The award is given by the Abingdon Theatre Company in New York, and carries a $1,000 prize. Slover's play is based on the true story of our nation's first Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton, whose affair with Maria Reynolds was used in attempts to discredit him and derail his economic policies. This tale of 18th century politics, indiscretions, and the manipulation of power brokers remains timely and compelling. Slover, who teaches dramatic literature and playwrighting, has also recently published Messiah: The Little-Known Story of Handel's Beloved Oratorio (Silverleaf Press). (Dated: 11/01/2006) Back to top

The Utah Humanities Council (UHC) is pleased to announce the appointment of five new members to its board. Accepting invitations are outstanding leaders willing to share their knowledge and experience to benefit UHC’s programs in Utah. LISA FLORES, Associate Professor in Communication and Ethnic Studies at the University of Utah and L. JACKSON NEWELL, past president of Deep Springs College in California and Professor Emeritus at the University of Utah, are two of the new members. (Dated: 10/26/2006) Back to top

JULIO BERMUDEZ, an Associate Professor at the College of Architecture + Planning, is the recipient of the ACADIA 2006 Award for Teaching Excellence. This recognition is given by the Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture, the oldest and most prestigious organization of its kind in the world. The award acknowledges distinguished contributions to pedagogy related to the digital practice of architecture. Bermudez was particularly recognized for his innovations in architectural design studio and foundation curricula, the integration of digital and analog media within design methods, and the wide impact of this work nationally and internationally. The Award citation considers “Bermudez’s trajectory and contributions of tremendous significance to a mature architectural digital pedagogy.” (Dated: 10/10/2006) Back to top

BALDOMERO "TOTO" OLIVERA, a University of Utah distinguished professor of biology who seeks new medications from the toxins of poisonous cone snails, won one of medicine's top honors Monday when he was named as a new member of the Institute of Medicine. (Dated: 10/9/2006) Back to top

JOEL S. MILLER, a University of Utah distinguished professor of chemistry who develops new magnetic materials from plastic-like organic polymers, has won the American Physical Society's 2007 James C. McGroddy for New Materials. Miller and his longtime collaborator, Arthur J. Epstein of Ohio State University share the $5,000 prize, which is meant to recognize and encourage outstanding achievement in the science and uses of new materials. The award citation applauds Miller and Epstein "for discovery and characterization of organic-based magnets, and for their observation and study of predictable and previously unknown magnetic phenomena in these fascinating materials, leading to fundamentally new science and the demonstrated potential for creative new technologies." The international prize will be presented in March 2007 when the American Physical Society meets in Denver. (Dated: 10/9/2006) Back to top

YIHUA (BRUCE) YU, Ph.D., assistant professor in the University of Utah College of Pharmacy, has received the U.S. government's highest award for promising independent researchers in the early stages of a career. Yu is one of 56 U.S. researchers to win the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), which recognizes Yu as one of the elite scientists in the nation. The PECASE award was established in 1996. Each year, nine federal departments and agencies nominate scientists and engineers, whom they fund, for the award. The National Institutes of Health nominated Yu.(Dated: 09/26/2006) Back to top

A paper by ELENA ASPAROUHOVA, assistant professor in Finance, entitled "Competition in Lending: Theory and Experiments" was awarded the Goldman Sachs Asset Management Prize (5000 euros and memento) for the best paper published in the Review of Finance between July 2005 and July 2006. The Review of Finance is considered to be one of the top 4 finance journals in the world. (Dated: 8/29/2006) Back to top

University of Utah Professor H. Y. SOHN, Ph.D. will be honored with a conference bearing his name. The “Sohn International Symposium on Advanced Processing of Metals and Materials: Principles, Technologies and Industrial Practice,” sponsored by the The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) will be held in San Diego, California, August 27-31, 2006. The symposium will focus on the thermophysicochemical fundamentals of advanced processing of metals and materials and their industrial applications, as well as the improvement in existing technologies and the development of new ones in non-ferrous, ferrous, and hydro-metallurgy; materials processing; and materials-related environmental science and energy production. Industrial practice will also constitute an important part of the symposium. Professor Sohn’s work on the theory and practice of metal extraction and processing has attracted considerable attention world-wide in terms of quality and quantity, as evinced by the awards and lecture invitations received from various international organizations and institutions. (Dated: 8/24/2006) Back to top

In celebration of the Renaissance Women and Visionaries who make a difference in Utah, the Renaissance Society, American Express and the Women’s Business Center will host a High Tea at Hotel Grand America on August 30, 2006 where Renaissance Awards will be given to outstanding business women in the community. DR. THERESA A. MARTINEZ, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies for Outreach, is one of ten Renaissance Awards recipients. (Dated: 8/14/2006)

GABRIELLE KARDON, assistant professor of human genetics, has been named a 2006 Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences, an award that means she will receive $240,000 over four years for her research. The Pew Charitable Trusts established the program to honor the nation's most promising early to mid-career biomedical researchers. Kardon is among 15 new Pew Scholars. Her research deals with the development of muscle and muscle connective tissue in the limbs of vertebrate animals.(Dated: 6/29/2006) Back to top

TED CAPENER, host of KUED’s Conversations with Ted Capener, has been selected by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for induction into the Silver Circle Society for career achievement in television. Capener has received many honors during his career for his service to his profession and his community, including his formal induction into the Utah Broadcasters’ Hall of Fame last week. “Ted’s election to the NATAS Silver Circle Society is a very fitting compliment to that induction, and honors a very noble career of service,” says KUED Director of Production Ken Verdoia.(Dated: 6/13/2006) Back to top

STEVE PARKER, a research assistant professor of computer science at the University of Utah's Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute, has been named one of 16 "People to Watch" in 2006 by HPCwire.com, an electronic publication that reports on high-performance computing. Parker creates software for computationally solving or simulating realistic problems in science and engineering. As a member of the university's Center for the Simulation of Accidental Fires and Explosions, Parker created software for simulating the complex equations that describe realistic fires and explosions using some of the largest supercomputers in the world. HPCwire said Parker focuses "on tackling the toughest multi-scale, multi-physics computational challenges." HPCwire's annual "People to Watch" feature honors educators, researchers and industry veterans the publication considers as movers and shakers in the field of high-performance computing. (Dated: 6/13/2006) Back to top

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has awarded prestigious Earth System Science Fellowships to four University of Utah graduate students. They are ERIK CROSMAN, BRANDON KERNS, and LI XU– all of whom are in meteorology – plus ELIAS DEEB in geography. Each fellowship may be renewed for three years and is worth a total of $72,000. NASA says the purpose of the fellowships is “to train a pool of highly qualified scientists in support of NASA's mission to use the vantage point of space to understand and protect our home planet.” During the fellowship period, Crosman will use data from the Terra satellite and other sources to study how the Great Salt Lake’s surface temperature affects variations in weather and climate. Kerns will study satellite data to analyze weather disturbances that precede tropical cyclones. Xu’s study will utilize data from two satellites to determine how winter snowfall on the Tibetan Plateau affects summer rainfall and monsoons in Asia, and atmospheric circulation throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Deeb plans to use satellite radar data to improve measurements of the amount of water in snow pack. (Dated: 6/9/2006) Back to top

The 2006 Recipient of the Homer Higbee Award is BILL BARNHART, Director of the International Center at the University of Utah. The Homer Higbee Award recognizes NAFSAns currently involved in associational activities who have donated at least ten years of distinguished service to NAFSA and who have acted as mentors to colleagues in all aspects of the field. Bill Barnhart has been heralded as “an unsung hero who serves selflessly.” He has worked in international education for over 25 years. He started out in 1975 at the U and is currently the Director of the International Center which he founded in 1981. Each year Bill and his staff of 22 provide services for 2,300 international students and scholars, and over 2,000 American students in over 40 study abroad programs. (Dated: 6/6/2006) Back to top

PAUL LASTAYO, PT, Ph.D., in the Division of Physical Therapy was recently presented with the New Investigator Award in the College of Health. Dr. LaStayo’s primary focus has been establishing the Skeletal Muscle Exercise Research Facility (SMERF) in the Division of Physical Therapy. Over the past 5 years, he has been awarded 14 grants totaling over $1 million from 10 different funding agencies. This includes two R21 awards from the NIH. During this same time, he has published 22 peer reviewed manuscripts, 5 textbook chapters and several commentaries/editorials related to skeletal muscle or the science of upper extremity rehabilitation. He has also contributed to 34 refereed scientific poster or platform presentations and has 5 times been awarded best paper/presentation at National and International Meetings. (Dated: 5/25/2006) Back to top

JULIE WAMBAUGH, Ph.D. with Communication Sciences and Disorders was recently presented with the Senior Researcher Award in the College of Health. Dr. Wambaugh has a long and well-established record of innovative research in the areas of aphasia and apraxia of speech. She is known internationally as an expert in aphasia treatment and has completed some of the most frequently cited research in this area. She has received funding every year since 1992 through the V.A. system, and over the past five years has served as a P.I., Co-PI, or Co-investigator on grants exceeding $3.14 million dollars. In addition, she has had 19 peer-reviewed publications in the past 5 years. (Dated: 5/25/2006) Back to top

J. PARRY GERBER, Doctoral Student in Exercise and Sport Sciences was recently presented with the Student Researcher Award in the College of Health. Parry’s primary scholarly home has been in the Division of Physical Therapy, making him an influential liaison between the Physical Therapy and Exercise Science branches of the College of Health. He has contributed to several grant proposals within the Division of Physical Therapy, the direct costs of which exceed $2,000,000 with approximately 50% of that awarded in project and career awards. His peer review publications (where he is the primary author) are now coming out with 1 manuscript in press, 1 in review and 2 others in preparation. He is also a co-author on 2 papers in review and 2 in preparation. (Dated: 5/25/2006) Back to top

The Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) has awarded former University of Utah President CHASE N. PETERSON the 2006 Harvard Medal. First given in 1981, the principal objective of awarding of the Harvard Medal is to recognize extraordinary service to Harvard University. President Lawrence H. Summers will present the medals during the annual meeting of HAA on Commencement afternoon, June 8. (Dated: 5/18/2006) Back to top

JOHN NILSSON, Academic Advisor, University College at the University of Utah has been selected to receive an Academic Advising Summer Institute Scholarship. The Institute is sponsored by the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA). Nilsson will attend the Institute this summer for a week-long intensive program that helps advising administrators, faculty, professional advisors, and advising program directors develop specific strategies for improvement of advising at institutions of higher learning. Nilsson is one of six individuals honored with this scholarship award in nation-wide competition this year. (Dated: 5/15/2006) Back to top

The Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah is pleased to announce that KANG ZHANG, M.D., Ph.D., has been elected to the prestigious American Society of Clinical Investigators (ASCI). Doctor Zhang is only the second ophthalmologist in this prestigious organization's 98 year history to be honored with membership. (Dated: 5/11/2006) Back to top

BETH KRENSKY, Assistant Professor from the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Utah, has been selected for the Rocky Mountain Biennial 2006 at the Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art in Fort Collins, Colorado. Krensky is one of 23 artists from the seven Rocky Mountain states selected for the exhibition, which provides a signpost of new directions in regional contemporary art. She is the only Utah artist who has been selected. Her piece that has been selected by juror William Wylie is Sefirot. The piece is an installation consisting of copper spheres, gold leaf and salt. This exhibition runs from May 30 through August 19. The opening will take place on Friday June 2nd. For more information about the Rocky Mountain Biennial exhibition, go to FMOCA’s website at www.fcmoca.com. (Dated: 5/10/2006) Back to top

University of Utah biology Professor PHYLLIS "LISSY" COLEY has been elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, a group started in 1780 by some of America's founding fathers.Coley was among 175 new fellows and 20 new foreign honorary members elected to membership, the Cambridge, Mass.-based academy announced earlier this week. She is an evolutionary and population biologist and ecologist whose research focuses on how tropical trees defend themselves against insects and disease. (Dated: 4/26/2006) Back to top

SRIRAM THIRUMALAI, Ph.D., a new Assistant Professor of Operations Management in the David Eccles School of Business, received the IBM Best Paper Award for 2006 from the Production and Operations Management Society, the international professional organization for production and operations management faculty. The IBM Best Paper Award recognizes research contributions in "Service Science," a new area of study at the interface of business management and engineering technology. This award is given annually to one paper submitted to the POMS annual conference. The paper, co-authored with K K Sinha (Curtis L. Carlson Family Foundation Professor of Management Science, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota) is entitled "Customization Strategies in Electronic Retailing: Self-selection and Performance Implications." Professor Thirumalai presented the paper in Boston on May 1. (Dated: 4/24/2006) Back to top

PERRY G. FINE, M.D., professor of anesthesiology at the University of Utah's School of Medicine in Salt Lake City, was elected director-at-large of the American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM), at the Academy's annual meeting in San Diego, Calif. Dr. Fine serves on Utah's faculty in the Pain Research Center and is an attending physician in the Pain Management Center. He teaches first and second year medical school courses in social medicine and the fourth year medical school course in medical ethics. (Dated: 4/13/2006) Back to top

The National Psoriasis Foundation has awarded a $30,000 seed grant to KRISTINA P. CALLIS, M.D., an instructor at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center. Dr. Callis received a grant award for a research project that focuses on understanding the complex genetics of psoriasis using a genealogic database, genetic material and clinical information from patients in Utah. Genetics play an important role in the development of psoriasis. (Dated: 4/13/2006) Back to top

LEWIS CHARLES MURTAUGH, assistant professor of Human Genetics and cancer researcher, has recently been awarded a one-year $100,000 grant from the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research for his "Interdependence of Notch and K-ras Signaling in Pancreatic Tumorigenesis" research. The grant will help explore cutting edge technology to improve the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of this disease. (Dated: 4/12/2006) Back to top

JANIS LOUIE, associate professor of chemistry, recently received the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award. The $75,000 grant attached to this award is intended to strengthen the teaching and research careers of talented faculty in the chemical sciences by discretionary funding at early stages of their careers. Only fifteen awards are given each year. Professor Louie also received the Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship intended to enhance the careers of the best young faculty members in specified fields of science. (Dated: 4/12/2006) Back to top

EDWARD B. CLARK, M.D., chair and professor of pediatrics, recently received the 2006 American Medical Women's Association (AMWA) Gender Equity Award. The award acknowledged Clark for demonstrating a commitment to create an environment that promotes respect and sensitivity among future physicians, staff, colleagues, health professions, and patients in both his professional demeanor and teaching activities. Clark is the medical director of Primary Children's Medical Center, he joined the University in 1996. (Dated: 4/12/2006) Back to top

KOJO ELENITOBA-JOHNSON, M.D., associate professor of pathology and director of Molecular Hematopathology at ARUP Laboratories, has received the Ramzi Corran Young Investigator Award for 2006 for the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP). The award, which is named after a former USCAP president, is given to an individual under the age of 45. The award recognizes a USCAP member who has contributed significantly to the diagnosis and understanding of human disease. (Dated: 4/12/2006) Back to top

RODNEY MILES, M.D., Ph.D., chief resident in the Department of Pathology, has been awarded a $25,000 fellowship from the College of American Pathologists Foundation (CAPF) Scholars Research Fellowship Program. The annual award is given to three medical investigators who are beginning research and academic careers in pathology. Miles plans to continue his research of aberrant cells in non-Hodgkin lymphoma. (Dated: 4/12/2006) Back to top

RONALD L. WEISS, M.D., M.B.A., professor of pathology, president and chief operating officer of ARUP Laboratories, has been named chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA). The ACLA represents the nation's leading clinical laboratories on key issues of common concern including federal and state government reimbursement and regulatory policies. Weiss will serve in the voluntary position for two years. (Dated: 4/12/2006) Back to top

PAMELA GEBER HANDMAN, assistant professor of modern dance and ERIC HANDMAN, assistant professor-lecturer of modern dance, received the Boekelheide Creativity Award from the University of Oregon. This award is for excellence in creative work in teaching, choreographing and performing. (Dated: 4/12/2006) Back to top

Two members of the University Faculty will be recognized by the Utah System of Higher Education at a luncheon Friday April 14 for their exemplary use of technology in teaching. MATT JAMESON, Department of Special Education in the College of Education, will receive an Award of Merit in Distance Education and STACY NIX, Division of Nutrition in the College of Health, will receive an Award of Merit in Increasing Access to Higher Education. (Dated: 4/11/2006) Back to top

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation United States and Canadian eighty-second annual competition has awarded ELLEN BROMBERG, assistant dean for research, College of Fine Arts assistant professor, Department of Modern Dance, one of the 187 coveted Guggenheim Fellowships for 2006. Fellowship winners include artists, scholars, and scientists selected from almost 3,000 applicants for awards totaling $7,500,000. Bromberg will create an interactive video installation, designed to give voice to mature female dance artists. Her piece will address the concepts of identity, presence, embodiment, waning physical strength but waxing inner vitality and humor. In the piece, she seeks to represent real women, not the artificially constructed women who proliferate in commercial media. (Dated: 4/11/2006) Back to top

The University of Utah has been awarded a grant of just over $500,000 from FEMA to develop an institutional pre-disaster mitigation plan. The University has agreed to provide a demonstration of matching effort up to $200,000 for a total project budget of just over $700,000 and to complete the work during the next 3 years. This is very exciting news! For additional information about the University's planning activities, contact Environmental Health and Safety at 581-6590. (Dated: 4/6/2006) Back to top

The David Eccles School's American Marketing Association case team returned today with a third place trophy won at the National AMA Collegiate Case Competition in Orlando, Florida. The David Eccles School team's advertising campaign for Kwik Trip, a Midwest convenience store chain, was judged by company executives and representatives of the company's advertising agency. The David Eccles School was one of only eight schools invited to a national championship round that included teams from Wharton, the University of Arizona, and the University of British Columbia. This was the third consecutive year the David Eccles School's AMA team made the Elite Eight national championship final competition, and we are the only school to ever appear in three successive Elite Eight competitions. The faculty advisor is PAUL DOWLING. (Dated: 3/28/2006) Back to top

A David Eccles School team that includes Professor GARY GRIKSCHEIT, SCOTT NEWMAN, who is an adjunct professor, VIVEK MALAPATI, a MBA student, and Professor ROHIT VERMA were just notified their case, "eBay Customer Support Outsourcing," was given the Centers for International Business Education and Research International Case Writing Award for 2006 by the Production and Operations Management Society, the academic professional association for operations and production management scholars. This award recognizes the outstanding case written in the prior year that deals with international production and operations management issues. They will be recognized and given a cash prize at the POMS national meetings in Boston this summer. (Dated: 3/28/2006) Back to top

David Eccles School Lassonde Center teams were also recently named finalists in the Case Western, Wake Forest, and University of Oregon business plan competitions., and three Lassonde Center teams were among the twenty semifinalists in the Utah Entrepreneur Challenge. These competitions will name winners in April. (Dated: 3/28/2006) Back to top

LEONIDAS RALPH MECHAM, a College of Social and Behavioral Science "Distinguished Alumnus," has been awarded a 2006 National Public Service Award. This award recognizes individuals who exhibit the highest standards of excellence, dedication, and accomplishment over a sustained period of time and who are creative and skilled career managers at all levels of public service. (Dated: 3/23/2006) Back to top

The Presidential Commission on the Status of Women and Women's Week Celebration Committee are pleased to announce that ELIZABETH TASHJIAN, Associate Professor of Finance, has been selected to receive the 2006 Linda K. Amos Award. This award recognizes a female staff or faculty member at the University of Utah who has selflessly given time and energy to improve the educational and/or working environment for women at the University. (Dated: 3/6/2006) Back to top

CHRISTOPHER HACON, an associate professor of mathematics, has been awarded the American Mathematical Society's prestigious Centennial Fellowship for the 2006-2007 academic year. The fellowship is presented annually to outstanding mathematicians who have held the doctoral degree for between three and 12 years and who have demonstrated excellence in research achievement. The stipend for the 2006-2007 Centennial Fellowship is $64,000, plus an expense allowance of $3,250. Hacon's research is in the field of algebraic geometry. (Dated: 3/1/2006) Back to top

College of Architecture + Planning Associate Professor JULIO BERMUDEZ has received the Premio a la Trayectoria Creativa Arturo Montagú. This prize, the highest honor awarded by the Sociedad Iberoamericana de Grafica Digital (SIGraDi), recognizes high and sustained creative accomplishment in digital graphics and design throughout the recipient’s career. SIGraDi is the largest Latin-American association of digital graphics in design that allows people from that region and the rest of the world to meet, publish, and share their knowledge and experiences. Dr. Bermudez received this award during the last Annual Meeting that took place in Lima, Peru in late November 2005. (Dated: 2/13/2006) Back to top

Four more outstanding researchers have been named to hold prestigious H.A. and Edna Benning Presidential Endowed Chairs in the U School of Medicine.The new chair holders are JERRY KAPLAN. Ph.D., assistant vice president for basic science, associate dean for research, and professor of pathology; WESLEY I. SUNDQUIST, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry; J. MICHAEL DEAN, M.D., MBA, professor of pediatrics; and GERALD G. KRUEGER, M.D., professor of dermatology. (Dated: 2/07/2006) Back to top

The Spencer S. and Cleone P. Eccles Health Sciences Education Building has been recognized with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Utah 2005 Award for Excellence in Architecture. LINDA AMOS, Ed.D., former associate vice president for health sciences and former dean of the College of Nursing, also was recognized by AIA Utah for her leadership role in the construction. Amos retired in June. The $40 million, 158,000-square-foot teaching facility, which opened in September, was selected by an AIA jury for the top prize for the building's sensitive design, aesthetics, and landscaping. (Dated: 2/07/2006) Back to top

University Health Care's Stroke Center recently received the American Stroke Association's "Get With the Guidelines-Stroke (GWTG-Stroke) Initial Performance Award." The honor recognizes the Stroke Center's commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations. (Dated: 2/07/2006) Back to top

RANDALL BURT, M.D. will be one the 2005 “Sword of Hope” Honorees at the American Cancer Society's annual “Mardi Gras Hope Ball” on Saturday February 25, 2006 at the 23rd Floor of the Wells Fargo Center in downtown Salt Lake City beginning at 7pm. Dr. Burt is serving as interim director and senior director for Prevention and Outreach at Huntsman Cancer Institute. He’s also a co-director of the Family Cancer Assessment Clinic. His main area of research has been in finding colon cancer genes and in 1987, he was part of a group of researchers that found the gene for familial adenomatous polyposis or FAP. Because of this research genetic testing is now available to identify individuals with this syndrome. Dr. Burt is a Past President of the Utah Division of the American Cancer Society. (Dated: 1/18/2006) Back to top