Awards

10 July 2002 |

Top 100 innovators
“Technology Review” magazine has named three Berkeley faculty members — chemist Jeffrey Long, chemical engineer David Schaffer and materials scientist Vivek Subra-manian — among its 100 top young innovators of the year. The magazine’s June issue, praises the 100 young scientists and engineers for their “contribution in transforming the nature of technology in industries such as biotechnology, computing, energy, medicine, manufacturing, nanotechnology, telecommunications and transportation.”

Math, physics professors receive Sloan Fellowships
Two Berkeley professors, Thomas Scanlon of mathematics and Eliot Quataert of physics, were among 104 outstanding young scientists and economists named to receive Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowships for exceptional promise to contribute to the advancement of knowledge. They will receive grants of $40,000 for a two years, to pursue whatever lines of inquiry will best further their research aims.

Microbiologists honor two at Berkeley
Mary K. Firestone, professor of environmental sciences, and Lisa Alvarez-Cohen, Sauer Professor of Environmental Engineering, have been elected Fellows in the American Academy of Microbiology.

Materials work cited
Gareth Thomas, professor of materials science and engineering, was awarded the Gold Medal for 2003 by Acta Materialia. The award honors contributions and leadership in materials research . . . Thomas, Paulo J. Monteiro, professor of civil and environmental engineering, and former graduate student David Trejo were honored by the American Society of Civil Engi-neers with the Charles Pankow Award for Innovation, citing their development of the corrosion-resistant MMFX microcomposite steel rebar.

Fiona Doyle
The National Research Council has invited Fiona Doyle, professor of materials science and engineering, to serve a three-year term on the National Materials Advisory Board. The board examines national issues in materials science, provides a public forum for the field, and coordinates with the activities of the national academies in education and innovation.

Melvin Eisenberg
Melvin Eisenberg, Koret Professor of Law, has received the 2002 Rutter Award for Teaching Distinction. The award recognizes excellence and innovation in teaching at the Boalt Hall School of Law.

Carl Heiles
Professor of astronomy Carl Heiles has been honored with the 2002 Donald Sterling Noyce Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. Students in his undergraduate radio astronomy course constructed and operated their own radiotelescope to measure our galaxy’s speed of rotation. A former student called Heiles a role model in combining teaching excellence with innovation in research.”

Vaughan Jones
Vaughan Jones, professor of mathematics, was honored by Queen Elizabeth II in her Golden Jubilee celebration, and named a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. The honor is the functional equivalent of a knighthood. Jones’ work is being used to understand the complex “knotted” configuration of DNA.

David Milnes
The San Francisco Contem-porary Music Players, one of the nation’s largest and most active contemporary chamber music ensembles, has named David Milnes as its music director. Milnes is music director of the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra.

Per Peterson
Per F. Peterson, chair and professor of nuclear engineering, was elected a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society in recognition of his contributions to the advancement of nuclear science and technology.

James Robinson
Carnegie Corporation of New York has selected 11 researchers at American universities and colleges for this year's class of Carnegie Scholars. Among them is James A. Robinson, professor of political science, who will receive up to $100,000 for research. His work explores why some countries are rich while others are not.

Zack Rogow
School of Education senior editor Zack Rogow is a 2002 inductee into the Poets’ Greatest Hits National Archiving Project. Each year 24 poets are invited to submit their signature poems for publication for scholars, researchers, and collectors. Rogow’s poems are available through Pudding House Publications.

Steven Segal
The National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression has awarded a Distin-guished Investigator grant to Steven Segal, professor of social welfare. Segal will receive the $98,972 grant for his study, “Management of Chronic Brain Disease Under Alternative Schemes of Involuntary Outpatient Civil Commitment.” The alliance says it hopes the project will help understand the causes of mental illness and help develop new treatments, possibly even cures.

T. Don Tilley
T. Don Tilley, professor of inoganic chemistry, has won the American Chemical Society’s Award in Organometallic Chemistry for his commitment to the advancement of chemistry and the chemical sciences.

Richard Van Sluyters
The California Society for Biomedical Research has named Richard Van Sluyters, professor of optometry, as the 2002 recipient of the Biomedical Research Leadership Award. He is honored “for his stewardship of organizations that support and defend biomedical research” and for his support for science education in California, and his leadership of the California Biomedical Research Association.