HONORS & Other Things
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New Sloan Research Fellows
Only 100 Sloan Research fellows are chosen each year from throughout the nation, and two of those named this year are on the Penn faculty. When this program was set up by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in 1955, awards were limited to physics, chemistry and pure mathematics. In 1972, neuroscience was added to the eligible disciplines and since 1980, applied mathematics and economics have also been included.
The two new fellows are:
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Dr. Sanjeev Khanna, the Skirkanich Assistant Professor in the department of computer and information science in SEAS, whose primary research interests are in the design and analysis of algorithms for combinatorial optimization and in complexity theory. His recent research has been on approximation algorithms, constraint satisfaction problems/structure in approximation classes, information dissemination and retrieval, network design and routing, and space-time trade-offs. |
| Dr. Mark Devlin, assistant professor of physics and astronomy in SAS research concentrates mainly in the fields of experimental astrophysics and cosmology. His main focus has been on the search for anisotropy in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) on degree and subdegree angular scales. By measuring the very small temperature fluctuations in the CMB (about one part in a million) on different angular scales, we can infer the mass distribution in the very early universe. With this information we can speculate how the universe we see today came into being. |  |
Four Women of Color Award Winners
At the thirteenth annual Women of Color luncheon on March 3, four Penn women were cited for their personal and public achievements to enhance the community:
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This year's winner of the prestigious Helen O. Dickens Lifetime Achievement Award is Dr. Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum, Vice Provost of University Life, " for her leadership in advocating the inclusion, success and perpetuity of people of color at Penn." In the 23 years she has served Penn, Dr. Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum has served on many University committees; she has mentored, nurtured and supported numerous women of color in their intellectual, political and personal endeavors. As the first woman president (though in an interim capacity) of Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, she was credited for "rescuing the first, historically black college from the brink of fiscal and academic disaster." She has also worked with the homeless and women survivors of domestic abuse. |
Other award recipients are:
Afi Roberson, a staff assistant at the African American Resource Center (AARC) and executive board member of Penn VIPS (Volunteers in Public Service) and University Council Committees, was the Faculty/Staff Honoree. She was recognized for her work mentoring 8th graders in the Philadelphia Public School System through Penn VIPS, for leading the Alliance and Understanding Program-an effort to embrace diversity and encourage inter-racial dialogue and understanding-at the AARC, and for her service in numerous University committees.
Yoonmee Chang, a graduate student in the English department, was the Graduate Student Honoree for her role in organizing Asian American graduate students, and graduate students interested in Asian American studies, in order to empower them and help them develop a voice. She was also recognized for her work with GAASAM (Graduate Association for Asian American Studies) and her participation in organizing the 16th National Conference of the Association of Asian American Studies.
Stephanie Maldonado, C '00, a math major who is also a sub-matriculant
in the Graduate School of Education, was the Undergraduate Student Honoree
for her work as a facilitator in Summerbridge Germantown designing an after
school curriculum for 7th & 8th graders, her academic achievements and
her commitment to the community.
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Left to right: Yoonmee Chang, Afi Roberson and Stephanie Maldonado |
JCO Editor: Dr. Haller
Dr. Daniel G. Haller has been appointed the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO). Dr. Haller is a professor of medicine at the Penn Cancer Center, and is a practicing oncologist specializing in gastrointestinal cancer.
"Dr. Haller's medical publications, including his position as the
associate editor for Hematology-Oncology for Annals of Internal Medicine,
made him the ideal candidate to maintain the high standards established
for JCO. His ability and foresight to lead the journal in the electronic
age was also an important factor," said Dr. Joel Tepper, the chair
of the JCO Search Committee. Dr. Haller will serve a five year term beginning
May, 2001.
IEEE Medal: Dr. Ku
Dr. Yu H. Ku, professor emeritus of electrical engineering and
systems engineering at Penn, has been awarded the IEEE Third Millennium
Medal and IEEE's Circuits and Systems Society's Golden Jubilee Medal for
outstanding achievements and contributions. In 1972 he received the IEEE
Lamme Medal and an Honorary Doctor of Law (LL.D.) Degree from Penn.
Smith/Buegher Grants: Dr. Kahn
Dr. Mark Kahn, assistant professor in the Cardiology Division at the School of Medicine was recently named the recipient of the W.W. Smith Charitable Trust Research Grant for Cardiology as well as being the recipient of the AHA Buegher Stroke Grant. Dr. Kahn will receive $90,000 for two years to study Collagen Signaling in Platelets. The AHA Buegher Stroke Grant will give Dr. Kahn $90,909 over three years to study Identification and Characterization of the Signaling Receptor for Collagen on Human Platelets. Dr. Kahn joined the faculty in 1999.
Dr. Kahn received his bachelors and MD from Brown University and completed
his residency at Oregon Health Science University. He was a medical staff
fellow NHLBI at the National Institutes of Health and a clinical fellow
in cardiology at the University of California at San Francisco. He was a
post-doctoral fellow at the Cardiovascular Research Institute at UCSF.
Almanac, Vol. 46, No. 25, March 21, 2000