University Times

Don Plazek, professor emeritus, materials science and engineering, has been awarded the 1995 Bingham Medal by the Society of Rheology in recognition of his outstanding scientific contributions to the field of rheology, especially the measurement of polymer viscoelasticity and its relation to molecular structure.

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Ronald D. Neufield, professor of civil and environmental engineering, has been appointed to the Department of Environmental Protection's Cleanup Standards Scientific Advisory Board. The 13-member board will help to develop statewide health standards under the state's Land Recycling Program.

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Alice Smith, assistant professor of industrial engineering, has been appointed as associate editor of the Operations Research Society of America's Journal of Computing. Smith will serve as associate editor in the area of heuristic search and learning.

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James T. Cobb, assistant professor of chemical and petroleum engineering and director, Energy Resource Program, has developed "Consequences of Operating Decisions," a set of instructional materials for the Center for Chemical Process Safety of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Cobb serves as a member of the center's undergraduate education committee.

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Gerald Holder, who had served as chairperson of the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering since 1987, has been named associate dean for Research in the School of Engineering. Alan J. Russell, associate professor and Fulton C. Noss Faculty Fellow, has been named to succeed Holder as chairperson of chemical and petroleum engineering. George S. Berger, Johnstown campus associate professor of economics, has been appointed head of the UPJ economics department.

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The Johnstown campus has named Joseph J. Parker, formerly a Public Safety officer at UPJ, as purchasing manager. Parker's duties will include procuring supplies, materials and equipment, and also evaluating annual service contracts and negotiating contracts with suppliers.

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University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) honored five individuals for excelling in civic leadership, scientific leadership and patient care. Thomas A. Detre, senior vice chancellor for Health Sciences, and George Taber, chair of the board of directors for the medical center, received the Arthur F. McNulty Civic Leadership Award; Candace S. Johnson, professor in the Department of Otolaryngology and UPCI's experimental therapeutics program, received the UPCI Scientific Leadership Award; Joshua T. Rubin, assistant professor in the Department of Surgery, received the Leo H. Criep, M.D., Excellence in Patient Care Award; and Judy Paulina, a collaborative practice nurse, received the UPCI Excellence in Patient Care Award.

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The 1995 Henry Kunkel Young Investigator Award from the American College of Rheumatology was given to Pitt's Christopher H. Evans, Henry J. Mankin professor of orthopaedic surgery and professor of molecular genetics and biochemistry. The annual award is given to a scientist who is a member of the college, is under the age of 45 and who has made important scientific contributions to the field of rheumatology.

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The Board of Directors of the Johnstown Educational Foundation at the Johnstown campus has elected E. Jeanne Gleason as president. UPJ President Albert L. Etheridge has been elected to serve as vice president of the foundation.

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Marwan Simaan, professor and chairperson of electrical engineering, received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the application of signal processing methodologies in seismic exploration and for his contributions to engineering education and to the general engineering profession.

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Paul Maciejewski, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, has been elected vice chair of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Performance Test Codes Committee 19.25, which is developing standards for determining uncertainties in transient measurements.

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Patrick Smolinski, associate professor of mechanical engineering, has been recognized as a founding member of the United States Association for Computational Mechanics. The objective of the association is to promote and organize activities concerning computational mechanics in the U.S.

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Johnstown campus assistant professor of geography Steve E. Cook has been awarded a Fulbright Grant to lecture at the University of Gjirokaster, Albania, from January through June.

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Carlo Rovelli, professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, was given the Xanthopoulos Award for his work on gravitational theory. The Xanthopoulos Award is given in memory of a young Greek relativist, Bassilis Xanthopoulos, and is accompanied by a $10,000 cash award. The international award is given every three years to a physicist under 40 who has made a significant contribution to the field of gravitational theory.

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Ten University of Pittsburgh students were awarded scholarships named after three prominent African-American alumni. Anita Hariston, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and Rasheed Clark, Pittsburgh, were the recipients of the Donald Henderson scholarship. Hen-derson served as provost from 1989 until his retirement in 1993. The Lavelle scholarship, named for Robert Lavelle, was awarded to Juliet Florine Hite Philadelphia. Lavelle is executive vice president of Dwelling House Saving and Loan and president of Lavelle Real Estate Corp. and serves on the board of business at the Katz Graduate School of Business. Christine J. Davis, Hartford, Conn.; Iris D. Gill, Toms River, N.J.; Major K. Lee, Dayton, Ohio; Carmen Lennon, Philadelphia; Sarudazayi Matam-banadzo, Slippery Rock; Paki Reid-Brossard, Pittsburgh, and Rod Roscoe, Columbus, Ohio, were given the Helen Faison scholarship award. Faison currently serves as an emerita member on the University's Board of Trustees. She is a former deputy superintendent of the Pittsburgh public schools.

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Sandra Jordan, associate dean of the School of Law, has been appointed to the Judicial Conduct Board of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. She will serve a three-year term.

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The Kuntu Repertory Theatre has established the "Woodie King Professional Director-Producer Series," after the noted African-American producer, actor and director, Woodie King Jr. In this, the inaugural year of the series, Eileen J. Morris, artistic director of The Ensemble Theatre of Houston, Texas, directed Kuntu's first production of the 1995 season, "Flyin' West," by Pearl Cleage.