University Times

Adolf Grünbaum, Andrew Mellon Professor of Philosophy of Science, research professor of psychiatry and chair, Center for Philosophy of Science, recently was given two awards by the University of Parma, Italy.

The university awarded him a silver medal in recognition of his prestigious career.

Grünbaum also received the Rector's Award, which was conferred upon him when he delivered the inaugural lecture of the university's Interdisciplinary Series in the Philosophy of Science. Grünbaum offered "A Critique of Freud's Notion of Mental Illness."

************

Carolyn Beck, associate professor of electrical engineering, has been named a recipient of a Faculty Early Career Development Program grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The four-year grant provides $200,000 in support of Beck's research in modeling and control methods for complex and uncertain engineering systems.

Beck, in collaboration with Marc Bloom, assistant professor of anesthesia and director of neuroanesthesia at UPMC, also was awarded a $74,000 NSF Professional Opportunities for Women in Research and Engineering grant. The grant supports the study of multivariate modeling and control methods for intravenous anesthetic pharmacodynamics.

************

David Y. Miller, former director of management and budget for the city of Pittsburgh, has been named associate dean of Pitt's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA). He also will join the GSPIA faculty as professor of public and urban affairs.

Miller earned a Ph.D. in public policy research and analysis at GSPIA in 1988. He holds a master's in public affairs from Kent State University and a bachelor's in political science from Syracuse University.

************

Robert Glaser, founder of Pitt's Learning Research and Development Center (LRDC), is the 1998 winner of the Franklin V. Taylor Award presented annually by the American Psychological Association's (APA) Division of Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology.

A scholar in the psychology of learning, cognition and instruction, Glaser received the lifetime achievement award at the APA annual meeting held Aug. 14. Glaser, a member of Pitt's Department of Psychology since 1956, founded LRDC in 1963 and served as its director until 1997. His work focuses on problem solving in instruction, the nature of expertise, the assessment of subject-matter learning and the relation between cognitive science and educational measurement.

************

Judith Vollmer, director of the writing program at the Greensburg campus, won the 1997 Cleveland State University Poetry Center Prize for her collection of poems, "The Door Open to the Fire." The award includes publication of the volume by the poetry center.

************

Jim Menegazzi, director of the office of research at Pitt's Center for Emergency Medicine, was honored this summer at the National Association of Emergency Medicine Physicians Scientific Assembly for his pediatric CPR presentation.

The presentation compared a new two-thumb technique with the two-finger method recommended by the American Heart Association. Menegazzi also won the best scientific presentation award at the assembly in 1993 and 1994.

************

Engineering professor Joel Falk has been named chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering. Prior to the appointment, Falk served as director of the Engineering Physics Program.

************

Dave Morton, STAT MedEvac 1 pilot at Pitt's Center for Emergency Medicine (CEM), and Dave Gallagher, CEM STAT MedEvac 1 flight nurse, were honored with safety awards at the annual CEM Stat MedEvac employee of the year award ceremony, which was held last month. Communications specialist Steve Kapa, mechanic Chuck Horgan, flight paramedic Ron Walters and flight nurse Ralph Travis were named CEM employees of the year. The winners each received a plaque and funding to attend the Air Medical Transport Conference in Albuquerque this fall.

************

Poet Toi Derricotte, associate professor in the Department of English, was named winner of the Harry Schwalb Excellence in the Arts Award in the literature category by Pittsburgh Magazine. The awards honor local artists who are living and excelling in the region.

************

Jerome Schultz, professor of chemical engineering and professor of medicine, has been elected a fellow of the American Association of the Advancement of Science, the world's largest society of scientists and engineers.

Schultz serves as director of the Biotechnology and Bioengineering Center and is chair of the newly established Department of Bioengineering.

************

Scott Lephart, director of Pitt's Neuromuscular Research Laboratory and the Graduate Sports Medicine Program, won the inaugural Kevin P. Speer, M.D., New Investigator Award from the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA). Lephart received the award, which carries a $2,000 cash prize and a medal, at the NATA annual meeting held in Baltimore. He is an athletics trainer/sports medicine researcher in the Department of Health, Physical and Recreation Education, School of Education. Three members of the Pitt community were named to the 1998 awards committee of the Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives.

************

Janet A. Barlett, director of development, School of Nursing; Suzanne W. Broadhurst, University Board of Trustees member, and Dee Jay Oshry, associate vice chancellor and campaign director, Institutional Advancement, will help determine individual honorees for the National Philanthropy Day Celebration in November.

************

Anne Robertson, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, has been awarded two grants.

A three-year grant from the Whitaker Foundation will provide $200,000 in funding for Robertson's theoretical and clinical study of the initiation, development and rupture of cerebral aneurysms. Additionally, Robertson has received a NATO collaborative research grant to support her study of the theoretical and numerical analysis of viscoelastic fluids in pipes.

************

Christopher H. Evans, Henry J. Mankin Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, director of UPMC's Ferguson Laboratory for Orthopaedic Research and professor of molecular genetics and biochemistry at UPMC, has been awarded the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine 1998 Cabuad Award.

The award is given for the scientific paper that best exemplifies clinically relevant, hypothesis-driven basic science research. Evans was honored for writing on how the molecule nitric oxide contributes to healing injuries of different ligaments in the knee.

Collaborating on the paper were UPMC specialists M. Cao, M. Stefanovic-Racic, H.I. Georgescu and F.H. Fu.

Evans also won the 1988 Cabuad Award for his article on the effects of wear particles on the joints. Associate professor of electrical engineering Patrick Louglin received the U.S. Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award for his research in new techniques for analysis and characterization of acoustic waves.

************

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford has appointed Lorraine Mazza director of athletics and recreational sports. Mazza assumed her duties on July 13.

Prior to her appointment, Mazza was director of athletics and chair of the health and physical education department at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia.

She holds a bachelor's degree from Lock Haven University and a master's degree in physical education from East Stroudsburg University.

************

William W. Clark, associate professor of mechanical engineering, was honored with the engineering school's annual Beitle-Veltri Memorial Award. The award recognizes a faculty member who has made a significant impact on the educational experience of the student body through a demonstrated dedication to teaching. David I. Cleland, Roth Professor of Industrial Engineering, received two awards from the Project Management Institute (PMI): a presidential citation for his work on the organization's executive search committee and the David I. Cleland Excellence in Project Management Literature Award, which was created in his honor.

PMI is a global, not-for-profit professional organization dedicated to building professionalism in project management.