ACCOLADES :: ACHIEVEMENTS :: AWARDS

Robert Gilbert

Robert Gilbert, professor of civil engineering, has been honored by the U.S. Army with its Outstanding Civil Service Medal for his guidance to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in its assessment of levee-failure risks and human safety concerns related to New Orleans’ hurricane-protection system. He was also awarded Civil Engineer of the Year by the Austin branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers

Darlene Grant

Ellen Spiro

University faculty members Darlene Grant and Ellen Spiro were recognized by the Texas Legislature for their involvement with Girl Scout Troop 1500, a program for women in prison and their daughters.

Wanda Davis-Watkins

Child Development Center teacher Wanda Davis-Watkins received the Sallie Beth Moore Award from the Austin Association for the Education of Young Children for her demonstrated excellence in her field.

Rachel Martin, assistant dean for student affairs in the College of Fine Arts, has been selected as a 2007 National Academic Advising Association Outstanding Advising Certificate of Merit recipient in the Advising Administrator category.

Nicholas Peppas

Nicholas Peppas, professor of biomedical and chemical engineering and pharmaceutics, received this year’s University Co-op Career Research Excellence Award for maintaining a superior research program across many years.

Tony Amos, director of the Marine Science Institute’s Animal Rehabilitation Keep, received the 2007 SEASPACE/PADI Environmental Awareness Award.

Benny Freeman

Benny Freeman, the Kenneth A. Kobe Professor in Chemical Engineering, won this year’s University Co-op Best Research Paper Award with a paper published in Science magazine on a rubbery material that can purify hydrogen efficiently for fuel cells and oil refining.

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Professor Alan Cowley has been selected as a corresponding member of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences.

Peter Stone

Peter Stone, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Sciences, received the 2007 Computers and Thought Award from the International Joint Conferences on Artificial Intelligence.

Stefanie Petermichel has been awarded the 2006 Salem Prize, awarded every year to a young mathematician judged to have done outstanding work in the field of interest of Raphael Salem.

Frederick R. Chang

Department of Computer Sciences Research Professor Frederick R. Chang, has been appointed to the National Academies Computer Science and Telecommunications Board.

Jan Austin-Scott has joined the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs as the assistant to Vice President Juan Gonzalez.

Michael Krische

Michael Krische was selected to serve as a member of the Synthetic and Biological Chemistry B Study Section at the National Institutes of Health Department of Health and Human Services, for a term from July 2007 to June 2011.

Graeme Henkelman

Maxim Tsoi

Andrew Dunn

Graeme Henkelman, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, Maxim Tsoi, assistant professor of physics, and Andrew Dunn, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, each received a Faculty Early Career Achievement Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the most prestigious award the NSF offers in support of early career development.

Ellen Rathje

Department of Civil Engineering Associate Professor Ellen Rathje has been named the 2006 recipient of the Shah Innovation Prize from the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.

George Georgiou

George Georgiou, the Cockrell Family Regents Chair in Engineering, has been honored with the 2007 Amgen Biochemical Engineering Award for his impact on protein therapy and other protein research.

Professor Emeritus Ronald Hudson was named a distinguished graduate from the Texas A&M University Department of Civil Engineering for his teaching and research in pavement and infrastructure management systems, which have been adopted worldwide by transportation agencies at all levels of government.

Sheldon Landsberger

Sheldon Landsberger, professor and coordinator of the Nuclear and Radiation Engineering Program in the Mechanical Engineering Department, received the Arthur Holly Compton award from the American Nuclear Society for outstanding achievements in education in nuclear science and engineering for designing and implementing “one of the most advanced distance learning programs in the nation” for nuclear engineers.

Ted Rappaport

Ted Rappaport, professor of electrical engineering and an expert in wireless communications, was elected to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. Communications Society Board of Governors by the society’s 42,000 members to serve as a Member at Large for a three-year period.

Mark Milliron

Mark Milliron, director of the College of Education’s National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development and Suanne Davis Roueche Endowed Fellow, received the 2007 National Leadership Award from the American Association of Community Colleges. The award recognizes one person each year who has made exceptional professional contributions to community college administration and teaching over an extended period of time and who has an outstanding record of leadership.

Victoria Rodriguez

Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Victoria Rodriguez has been named one of the Top 20 Elite Hispanic Women in the Country by Hispanic Business Magazine. She is listed in the magazine among some of the country’s most influential Hispanic women and has been added to the magazine’s list of outstanding women to watch this year. She also received the Margaret C. Berry Award at the Student Affairs Leadership Awards given by The Eyes of Texas. She was chosen by students who made nominations based on faculty they thought made significant contributions to campus life.

Dave Allen

Chemical Engineering Professor Dave Allen has been named the 2007 Distinguished Lecturer by the Association of Environmental and Engineering Science Professors, chosen for his engaging speaking skills and distinguished achievements as a researcher and educator.

The Guggenheim Foundation has awarded fellowships to four College of Liberal Arts professors - Diana Davis, Neil Foley, A. Van Jordan and Cynthia Talbot. The professors are among 189 artists, scholars and scientists selected from 2,800 applicants for awards totaling $7.6 million.

Steven Weinberg

Judy Ashcroft

Judy Ashcroft, dean of continuing and extended education, is being honored as a Distinguished Alumna in the College of Education at Texas Tech University. Steven Weinberg, professor in the Physics and Astronomy departments, has been elected an honorary member of the Royal Irish Academy. This academy was founded in 1785, and continues to serve as the national academy of arts and sciences for both the Republic of Ireland and the Province of Northern Ireland.

Chris Brownson

Chris Brownson, who since September has been interim director of the Counseling and Mental Health Center, has been appointed director of the center.

Erle Janssen, director of Environmental Health and Safety, retired from the university on March 31 after 32 years.

Clayton Shorkey

Clayton Shorkey, the Josleen and Frances Lockhart Professor of Direct Practice in Social Work, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Austin branch of the National Association of Social Workers.

Bridget Scanlon

The Geological Society of America has selected Bridget Scanlon, senior research scientist at the university’s Bureau of Economic Geology, as the 2007 Birdsall-Dreiss Distinguished Lecturer. As the 2007 lecturer, she will make public presentations at about 50 institutions across the U.S., Canada and Australia.

Do you have an accolade, achievement or award to submit? Send items and photos to tarachandler@mail.utexas.edu