- Email: [email protected]
Collegiate Inventors Competition
PEOPLE & PLACES
Solar energy industry Ph.D. graduate Bram Hoex and research group Plasma & Materials Processing of Eindhoven University of Technology have been awarded the Leverhulme Technology Transfer Award 2008. They receive the prize for their successful transfer of research results from academia to industry. Earlier this year Hoex’s Ph.D. research was rewarded with the SolarWorld Junior Einstein Award.
Eppendorf-Science award Memories turned on and off with a flick of a switch – the idea is the basis for the award winning research of Dr. Mauro Costa-Mattioli, assistant professor of neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Costa-Mattioli is being honored with the prestigious Eppendorf and Science Prize for Neurobiology for his work identifying a single molecule that when modified can affect memory. “This is certainly one of the first steps to one day being able to help those suffering from age-related memory loss or even the more devastating memory loss caused by Alzheimer’s disease,” Costa-Mattioli said. “It is imperative to understand how the brain’s basic molecular processes function to generate corresponding insights in cognitive disorders.”
Peer review veteran David Sahn The NIH Center for Scientific Review today awarded its top honor for extraordinary commitment to peer review to veteran reviewer Dr. David J. Sahn, a renowned expert in pediatrics, cardiology and radiology at Oregon Health & Science University. The Marcy Speer Outstanding ReviewerAward highlights the vital contributions of the 16,000 CSR reviewers who evaluate NIH grant applications. Each year, these reviewers volunteer about 150,000 days to assess the scientific merit of approximately 56,000 applications. Their scientific evaluations help NIH invest more than $20 billion yearly in the most promising research grants paving the path to biomedical breakthroughs that improve public health and save lives. “Dr. David Sahn’s enduring commitment and willingness to give much more with little notice are astounding,” said CSR Director Toni Scarpa. “He personifies all that’s great about our reviewers”
Thomas Baron Award in Fluid-Particle Systems
$100,000 prize awarded at Fusionopolis
Dr. Dilhan Kalyon, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Director of the Highly Filled Materials Institute at Stevens Institute of Technology, has won the AIChE’s Thomas Baron Award in Fluid-Particle Systems. The award, sponsored by Shell Global Solutions, Inc., recognizes an individual’s outstanding scientific/technical accomplishment which has made a significant impact in the field of fluid-particle systems or in a related field with potential for crossfertilization.
Team NUS from the National University of Singapore today clinched the top prize of US$100,000 at the Grand Finals of The StarChallenge@Fusionopolis, the competition’s sponsor and organizer, Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) announced. All five finalist teams had survived three increasingly difficult challenges that preceded the Grand Finals, and converged on Singapore for the competition.
Selection criteria include an outstanding contribution advancing fluid-particle systems, or a related field. The awardee is invited to deliver a Plenary Lecture at an AIChE Annual Meeting session and the awardee is also required to submit a written manuscript.
At the Grand Finals, which occurred during FusionFest – week-long celebration to mark the opening of Fusionopolis, Singapore’s new science and engineering powerhouse – the finalist teams engaged in a closefought battle that took them through a secret island in “Second Life”.
Biophysical Society
They had to overcome virtual obstacles to win clues that would help them solve the ubiquitous problem of multimedia search.
Jeremy M. Berg of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH, will receive the Distinguished Service Award for his active and continuous support for biomedical research in general, and biophysics in particular, and the successful and creative leadership he has demonstrated in these activities. His longstanding support stems from his deep knowledge in the sciences basic to medicine and health, anchored in his own research career and the important contributions he has made to understanding the structural and functional roles of proteins in key physiological functions. The Distinguished Service Award, established by the Biophysical Society, honors service in the field of biophysics and for contributions beyond achievements in research. Philip C. Nelson, University of Pennsylvania, will receive the Emily M. Gray Award for his far reaching and significant contributions to the teaching of biophysics, developing innovative educational materials, and fostering an environment exceptionally conducive to education in Biological Physics. The Award is given for significant contributions to education in biophysics whether by teaching, developing novel educational methods or materials, promoting scientific outreach efforts to the public or to youth, generating a track record of attracting new students to the field of biophysics, or by otherwise fostering an environment exceptionally conducive to education in biophysics. Five Biophysical Society members have been named to the 2009 class of Society Fellows. This award is designed to honor the Society’s distinguished members who have demonstrated excellence in science and to the expansion of the field of biophysics.
Collegiate Inventors Competition The National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation today announced the 2008 finalists of its Collegiate Inventors Competition. This year’s group of finalists includes undergraduate and graduate students from across the country whose inventions show practical applications to meet pressing needs in our society. The Presenting Sponsors of the 2008 Collegiate Inventors Competition are the Abbott Fund, the philanthropic foundation of the global health care company Abbott, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In celebration of Global Entrepreneurship Week (November 17 – 23), the twelve finalist teams, comprised of one to four students per team, will be hosted by the Kauffman Foundation at their headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri for the final round of judging and an Awards Ceremony on November 19, 2008. Prizes of $15,000 each will be awarded to the top undergraduate and graduate finalists, and the Grand Prize winner will receive $25,000. The academic advisors for each winning team will receive a cash prize as well.
Michael A’Hearn wins Astronomer Michael A’Hearn has won the 2008 Kuiper Prize in recognition of his seminal contributions to, and leadership of, the study of comets. Awarded by the American Astronomical Society’s Division of Planetary Science (DPS)
Please send details of new appointments, honors, and awards to [email protected]
OCT-DEC 2008 | VOLUME 3 | NUMBER 5-6
43
Solar energy industry Ph.D. graduate Bram Hoex and research group Plasma & Materials Processing of Eindhoven University of Technology have been awarded the Leverhulme Technology Transfer Award 2008. They receive the prize for their successful transfer of research results from academia to industry. Earlier this year Hoex’s Ph.D. research was rewarded with the SolarWorld Junior Einstein Award.
Eppendorf-Science award Memories turned on and off with a flick of a switch – the idea is the basis for the award winning research of Dr. Mauro Costa-Mattioli, assistant professor of neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Costa-Mattioli is being honored with the prestigious Eppendorf and Science Prize for Neurobiology for his work identifying a single molecule that when modified can affect memory. “This is certainly one of the first steps to one day being able to help those suffering from age-related memory loss or even the more devastating memory loss caused by Alzheimer’s disease,” Costa-Mattioli said. “It is imperative to understand how the brain’s basic molecular processes function to generate corresponding insights in cognitive disorders.”
Peer review veteran David Sahn The NIH Center for Scientific Review today awarded its top honor for extraordinary commitment to peer review to veteran reviewer Dr. David J. Sahn, a renowned expert in pediatrics, cardiology and radiology at Oregon Health & Science University. The Marcy Speer Outstanding ReviewerAward highlights the vital contributions of the 16,000 CSR reviewers who evaluate NIH grant applications. Each year, these reviewers volunteer about 150,000 days to assess the scientific merit of approximately 56,000 applications. Their scientific evaluations help NIH invest more than $20 billion yearly in the most promising research grants paving the path to biomedical breakthroughs that improve public health and save lives. “Dr. David Sahn’s enduring commitment and willingness to give much more with little notice are astounding,” said CSR Director Toni Scarpa. “He personifies all that’s great about our reviewers”
Thomas Baron Award in Fluid-Particle Systems
$100,000 prize awarded at Fusionopolis
Dr. Dilhan Kalyon, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Director of the Highly Filled Materials Institute at Stevens Institute of Technology, has won the AIChE’s Thomas Baron Award in Fluid-Particle Systems. The award, sponsored by Shell Global Solutions, Inc., recognizes an individual’s outstanding scientific/technical accomplishment which has made a significant impact in the field of fluid-particle systems or in a related field with potential for crossfertilization.
Team NUS from the National University of Singapore today clinched the top prize of US$100,000 at the Grand Finals of The StarChallenge@Fusionopolis, the competition’s sponsor and organizer, Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) announced. All five finalist teams had survived three increasingly difficult challenges that preceded the Grand Finals, and converged on Singapore for the competition.
Selection criteria include an outstanding contribution advancing fluid-particle systems, or a related field. The awardee is invited to deliver a Plenary Lecture at an AIChE Annual Meeting session and the awardee is also required to submit a written manuscript.
At the Grand Finals, which occurred during FusionFest – week-long celebration to mark the opening of Fusionopolis, Singapore’s new science and engineering powerhouse – the finalist teams engaged in a closefought battle that took them through a secret island in “Second Life”.
Biophysical Society
They had to overcome virtual obstacles to win clues that would help them solve the ubiquitous problem of multimedia search.
Jeremy M. Berg of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH, will receive the Distinguished Service Award for his active and continuous support for biomedical research in general, and biophysics in particular, and the successful and creative leadership he has demonstrated in these activities. His longstanding support stems from his deep knowledge in the sciences basic to medicine and health, anchored in his own research career and the important contributions he has made to understanding the structural and functional roles of proteins in key physiological functions. The Distinguished Service Award, established by the Biophysical Society, honors service in the field of biophysics and for contributions beyond achievements in research. Philip C. Nelson, University of Pennsylvania, will receive the Emily M. Gray Award for his far reaching and significant contributions to the teaching of biophysics, developing innovative educational materials, and fostering an environment exceptionally conducive to education in Biological Physics. The Award is given for significant contributions to education in biophysics whether by teaching, developing novel educational methods or materials, promoting scientific outreach efforts to the public or to youth, generating a track record of attracting new students to the field of biophysics, or by otherwise fostering an environment exceptionally conducive to education in biophysics. Five Biophysical Society members have been named to the 2009 class of Society Fellows. This award is designed to honor the Society’s distinguished members who have demonstrated excellence in science and to the expansion of the field of biophysics.
Collegiate Inventors Competition The National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation today announced the 2008 finalists of its Collegiate Inventors Competition. This year’s group of finalists includes undergraduate and graduate students from across the country whose inventions show practical applications to meet pressing needs in our society. The Presenting Sponsors of the 2008 Collegiate Inventors Competition are the Abbott Fund, the philanthropic foundation of the global health care company Abbott, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In celebration of Global Entrepreneurship Week (November 17 – 23), the twelve finalist teams, comprised of one to four students per team, will be hosted by the Kauffman Foundation at their headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri for the final round of judging and an Awards Ceremony on November 19, 2008. Prizes of $15,000 each will be awarded to the top undergraduate and graduate finalists, and the Grand Prize winner will receive $25,000. The academic advisors for each winning team will receive a cash prize as well.
Michael A’Hearn wins Astronomer Michael A’Hearn has won the 2008 Kuiper Prize in recognition of his seminal contributions to, and leadership of, the study of comets. Awarded by the American Astronomical Society’s Division of Planetary Science (DPS)
Please send details of new appointments, honors, and awards to [email protected]
OCT-DEC 2008 | VOLUME 3 | NUMBER 5-6
43