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January 21, 1999

PEOPLE OF THE TIMES

David W. Pratt, professor of chemistry, has received the 1999 Earle K. Plyler Prize for Molecular Spectroscopy, sponsored by the American Physical Society (APS). Pratt was cited for "his pioneering research in ultra high resolution laser spectroscopy, which has elucidated the structures and dynamical behaviors of a wide range of large molecules and their clusters." The $5,000 prize, endowed by the George E. Crouch Foundation, will be presented at a session of the APS centennial meeting in Atlanta.

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Bonnie Adair-Hauck, instructor of graduate courses in foreign language theory and methodology, received the 1998 National Award in Teaching French from the American Association of Teachers of French.

In the past few years Adair-Hauck, who received her Ph.D. from Pitt, has concentrated her efforts on foreign language teaching and research. Her research interests include a story-based approach to language learning, strategies for assessing second langua ge development, and the integration of technology into the second language curriculum. She has published articles in national and international journals. Adair-Hauck helped to design French immersion programs, including a French summer camp for elementary language learners. President of the Pennsylvania Association of Teachers of French, she is working to ensure that the Pennsylvania Department of Educatio n continues to require that all Pennsylvania students graduate from high school with at least a survival level of oral proficiency in a second language.

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Dennis Looney, associate professor in French and Italian languages and literatures and associate professor of classics, was named a finalist in the competition for the Howard R. Marraro Prize and the Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for Italian Literary St udies for his book "Compromising the Classics: Romance Epic Narrative in the Italian Renaissance." Eligible books published in 1996 or 1997 competed simultaneously for both prizes. The Howard R. Marraro Prize and Scaglione Prize for Italian Literary Studies are awarded biennially for an outstanding book by a member of the association in the field of Italian literature or comparative literature involving Italian and are awarded under the auspices of the Modern Language Association's Committee on Honors and Awards.

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Lora Burke, post doctoral fellow in the cardiovascular behavioral medicine program in psychiatry, won the Martha N. Hill New Investigator Award from the American Heart Association for her behavioral intervention study on improving adherence to a cholester ol-lowering diet. For her research, which was funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research and the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, Burke counseled patients with high cholesterol over the telephone every two weeks for 12 weeks. This tel ephone contact served as a counseling session in which she discussed their eating behaviors and a daily diary the patients kept of what they had eaten. She also reviewed their daily activities, and encouraged them to adhere to their diets and helped convi nce them that they were capable of performing specific behaviors that would lower their cholesterol.

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Raman Venkataramanan, professor of pharmaceutical sciences, School of Pharmacy, received the 1997 Ranbaxy Research Award in Pharmaceutical Sciences. He will utilize his award to establish a research project in clinical pharmacokinetics in India. The Ranbaxy Science Foundation is a non-profit organization and annually recognizes Indian scientists working in India and abroad.


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