University Times

Two Pitt faculty members are among the winners of the first annual Carnegie Science Center Science Awards for Excellence.

Garry Warnock, chemistry, was the winner of the Catalyst Award for his work with the University's chemistry and physics outreach van, which takes science shows to students and teachers throughout the Pittsburgh region.

Frank Beatrous, mathematics and statistics, was recognized for his teaching abilities with the Post-Secondary Teaching Award.

The Carnegie Science Center Awards are designed to recognize recent science achievements in southwestern Pennsylvania and to emphasize the connections between schools, research, business development and jobs creation.

Each award winner received a $1,000 prize that they are required to use for a specific project or, in the case of the student award, future tuition costs.

Other awards included Student, Elementary Teaching, Secondary Teaching, Scientist and Entrepreneur.

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Rafael Quimpo, chair of civil and environmental engineering, has been invited to serve on a review panel of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to examine proposals submitted to the CAREER program of the Bioengineering and Environmental Systems of the Engineering Directorate. One of the most prestigious in the NSF, the CAREER program provides research support for young faculty nationwide to assist them in their early career development.

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Joseph Pandl, former chair of the Austrian Nationality Room Committee, was honored at the annual Austrian Nationality Room Ball. Pandl will be presented with the Golden Cross of Merit of the Republic of Austria. Edgar Braun, current committee member, was appointed Honorary Consul at the ball.

Along with corporate donations, the annual ball raised much of the money to construct the recently completed Austrian Nationality Room. Additional funds raised will go to the Austrian Nationality Room's scholarship endowment.

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David Rooney, assistant vice president for Student Affairs at California State University, Sacramento, has been appointed vice president for Student Affairs at the Johnstown campus. James Edgerton has been appointed director of Compensation and Benefits in the Office of Human Resources. Edgerton spent most of his career at Armco, Inc., where he was corporate director of Human Resources. At the University, he will be responsible for compensation and benefits.

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The American Geophysical Union has appointed associate professor William Harbert to construct and maintain the Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Section World Wide Web site. The site can be accessed at http://www.geology.pitt.edu/GP/GP.html.

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The Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), has awarded $131,855 to develop and manage an institute for environmental studies. Frederick Pohland, professor and Weidlein Chair of Environmental Engineering, will serve as the director of the project, which will provide environmental science and engineering courses and seminars to DEP personnel.

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Sherin Devaskar, chief of pediatrics at Magee-Womens Hospital and professor and director of neonatology and developmental biology at Pitt, has been elected a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ACSI). ASCI nominees are chosen based on a detailed review of their research, focus on specific research endeavors and national recognition in a particular field of study. Devaskar represents a team of researchers, clinicians and scientists studying the impact of perinatal metabolism on development. School of Information Sciences (SIS) honored one of its graduates, Barbara Spiegelman, manager of Technical Information and Communication at Westinghouse Electric Corp., with the Distinguished Alumni Award. Spiegelman is a member of SIS's Board of Visitors and previously served as president of the school's Alumni Board. She was project manager for the SIS Rogers Project, a research project to build a database containing the work of Fred Rogers of "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood." Former Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh has been inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) Society at Pitt. ODK Society is an organization that recognizes those who have attained a high standard of efficiency in college activities and work to inspire others to attain the same standards. It serves to bring together the most representative students in all phases of collegiate life and also unites faculty members and students on a basis of mutual interest and understanding.

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Katheryn Linduff, professor of history of art and architecture, and Gerald Martin, Mellon professor of modern languages, have been inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Society as honorary members.

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Patricia Bianco, professor of theatre at Pitt's Bradford campus (UPB), has been named the 1997 winner of the Bravo! Award of the Bradford Creative and Performing Arts Center (BCPAC).

The Bravo! Award was established in 1990 to honor individuals and institutions who have made substantial contributions to performing or creative arts in the Bradford area. Among her many accomplishments, Bianco founded BCPAC in 1984.

Bianco, who founded UPB's theatre program, has produced, directed or designed more than 50 plays at UPB, including "Mother Courage," "The Glass Menagerie" and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Bianco has performed professionally with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, in "The Showoffs" and the one-woman plays "Shirley Valentine" and "Love Letters." She also appeared as a dress extra in the Robert Redford movie "The Natural." Bianco has written a play, "In My Father's House," and stage adaptations of the medieval play "Abraham and Isaac," "Fragments of a Greek Trilogy" and "The Vigil." She currently is working on a play called "Shakespeare's Lost Years." Bianco is a founder of BCPAC, the Bradford Little Theatre and the Arts for Ellicotville Association, and is a charter member of the Olean Community Theatre. Edgar Berkey, president of the Center for Hazardous Materials Research and an adjunct Pitt faculty member, has been appointed to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Science Advisory Board, where he will serve on the Environmental Engineering Committee. n By mid-June, after all the confetti and silly string have been swept away, Pitt will have conferred about 6,750 degrees and certificates this year to students at the University's five campuses.

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An estimated 2,000 students attended and received their undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees at Pitt's 1997 Commencement, April 27 at the Civic Arena. Allan Bromley, Yale University dean of engineering and former Assistant to the President of the United States for Science and Technology, was the main speaker.

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Several Pitt schools and regional campuses will honor their graduating students at upcoming ceremonies:

* The Bradford campus will hold its convocation ceremony May 3 at 11 a.m. in the Tom L. McDowell Sports Center. The speaker will be John Rigas, founder, CEO and president of Adelphia Communications Corp. and principal owner of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres.

* Dennis Roddy, a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette staff writer and 1976 Johnstown campus alumnus, will deliver the main address at the campus's commencement ceremony, May 3 at 2 p.m. in the Pitt-Johnstown Sports Center.

* The School of Medicine diploma day ceremony is set for May 19 at 10 a.m. at Carnegie Music Hall.

* U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno is scheduled to address graduating Pitt law students at the School of Law's commencement ceremony, May 24 at 2 p.m. in Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall.

* The School of Dental Medicine will hold its diploma ceremony June 6 at 2:30 p.m. in Soldiers and Sailors. Following the ceremony, the school's alumni association will sponsor a reception on the Cathedral of Learning lawn.

* Speaking at the Katz Graduate School of Business graduation ceremony will be Jerry Kalov, president and CEO of Cobra Electronics Corp. The event is scheduled for June 15 at 2 p.m. at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

The Titusville campus held its first-ever graduation ceremony April 26. The featured speaker was Yolanda G. Barco, a former member of the campus advisory board and a charter member of Pitt's Board of Trustees. Board chairperson J. Wray Connolly spoke at the Greensburg campus graduation ceremony, also on April 26.

Other Pitt schools honored their graduates at a variety of receptions, breakfasts, luncheons, brunches and diploma-awarding ceremonies last weekend.

Yale engineering dean Allan Bromley was the main speaker at last weekend's Pitt Commencement. Chancellor Mark Nordenberg (top of page, right) and Provost James Maher presented Bromley with an honorary degree. Among the other Commencement participants were, at left, University Senate President Keith McDuffie and General Counsel Lewis Popper.Commencement '97Committee engineering advice to the EPA Administrator on the technical basis for EPA regulations. Members of the SAB are scientists, engineers and economists who are recognized as non-governmental experts in their respective fields.

Berkey is a nationally recognized expert on environmental issues with more that 25 years of experience in developing, applying and commercializing environmental technolgies. He co-founded CHMR in 1986. In addition, he is an adjunct associate professor in Pitt's environmental engineering programs and director of the EPA-funded Ground-Water Remediation Technologies Analysis Center.

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Christopher H. Evans, Henry J. Mankin Professor of orthopaedic surgery and professor of molecular genetics and biochemistry, was awarded the 1997 Osteoarthritis Research Award of the Osteoarthritis Research Society. This is an international prize awarded biannually. His major contributions have been in showing the role of cytokines and nitric oxcide in osteoarthritis.