Awards

16 January 2002 |

Armen Der Kiureghian
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Armen Der Kiureghian was awarded the Movses Khorenatsi medal from the government of Armenia in October. Der Kiureghian was named for educating high-caliber specialists and fostering educational and scientific collaborations between Armenia and the U.S. The occasion of the award was the 10th anniversary of the founding of the American University of Armenia.

Douglas Fuerstenau
The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology recently created a distinguished professorship in honor of its alumnus Douglas Fuerstenau, professor emeritus of materials science and engineering at Berkeley. Fuerstenau received a B.S. degree in metallurgical engineering from the school in 1949. Fuerstenau also was recently appointed honorary professor in the Huainan Institute of Technology in China.

David Jenkins
Professor in the Graduate School in Civil and Environmental Engineering David Jenkins received the first Ardern-Lockett Award from the International Water Association this summer. Jenkins was honored for his outstanding contribution in activated sludge population dynamics over the last 30 years.

Robert Leachman
The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences has honored Robert Leachman, professor of industrial engineering and operations research, with a second-place award in the 2001 Franz Edelman Competition for Achievement in Operations Research and the Management Sciences. A total of six finalists received the honor.

Two Berkeley faculty win MacArthur Foundation grants
Michael Burawoy, a professor of sociology, and Kiren Chaudhry, a professor of political science, are among 37 winners of this year’s John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in research and writing. The awards are part of the foundation’s Program on Global Security and Sustainability.

Eligible projects in this year’s competition were those that illuminated the dynamics of international security, sustainability and cooperation.

Burawoy and colleague Pavel Krotov, director of the Institute for Regional and Social Studies of Komi, are co-researchers on a project entitled “Urban Inequities after Socialism: The Case of a Provincial Russian Capital,” for which Berkeley received $76,000 in support over one year.

Professor Chaudhry also received $75,000 in support, for her project entitled “Economies and Identities.”

MacArthur Foundation grants support the development of healthy individuals and effective communities, peace within and among nations, responsible choices about human reproduction, and a global ecosystem capable of supporting healthy human societies.

L&S honors five outstanding mentors
Nominations sought for mentoring, advising awards

The first recipients of the new Letters & Science Award for Distinguished Research Mentoring of Undergraduates were honored in December for their outstanding work as mentors, a faculty service that has been largely unrecognized on campus.

The awardees — Elizabeth Abel (English), Tyrone Hayes (integrative biology), Renate Holub (interdisciplinary studies), Robert Lin (physics/Space Sciences Laboratory), and Beth Simmons (political science) — were chosen for excellent work in encouraging undergraduate inquiry, creativity and the acquisition of research skills.

Elizabeth Abel works with small teams of undergraduate research apprentices who help with her project on Jim Crow in the American South. Students describe her as a thoughtful mentor who helps them develop their skills and stimulates them to discover their own research interests.

Scientist Tyrone Hayes trains the students in his developmental biology lab to develop skills far beyond those normally expected of undergraduates. Urging them to become fully functioning scientists, he helps them to build on their laboratory, grant writing, publication and presentation skills.

Renate Holub’s research apprentices work on a project called Multicultural Europe. Holub inspires students with exciting departmental colloquia, weekly meetings to share research strategies and compare findings, and dinners with famous people.

Robert Lin takes care to create opportunities for undergraduate researchers in the Space Sciences Laboratory that he directs so they can participate in challenging research at the forefront of their fields.

Political scientist Beth Simmons mentors students in the Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program, the Haas Scholars Program, and the Summer Research Opportunity Program. Students say they find their assignments difficult, but that she offers continual support and feedback and teaches them the skills for success.

The December award ceremony marked the start of a new round of nominations for the research mentoring award. Anyone on campus — faculty, staff or student — may nominate a faculty member for 2001-02 by sending a letter to the chair of the person’s department, or to Terry Strathman (Undergraduate and Interdisciplinary Studies), who coordinates the award process. The deadline is Feb. 8. Nomination guidelines are posted on the web at research.berkeley.edu/DRM/.

L&S advising award
Another new award also honors faculty service to undergraduates through academic advising.

The L&S Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Faculty Advising honors faculty who bring students into the intellectual life of their discipline and guide their undergraduate progress. This award is an opportunity to recognize faculty labor that is not required but that makes the undergraduate educational experience richer.

Only one advising award is offered each year. Further information is available at research.berkeley.edu/DFA/.