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Campus Notes

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Campus Notes

Yale Medicine magazine has won four national awards for coverage during 1996. Dr. Mary Kathleen Figaro '96 received an Award of Merit from the Association of American Medical Colleges' Group on Institutional Advancement (AAMC/GIA) for her Summer 1996 article "The Beginning, Again," the final installment in her first-person series chronicling her journey though medical school. Yale Medicine editor Michael Fitzsousa received the AAMC/GIA Award for Excellence in the Robert G. Fenley Writing Awards -- Medical Science Writing competition for his Spring 1996 article "Lowly Worm, High Stakes," describing how research on hookworm disease by Yale scientist Dr. Peter Hotez and his colleagues might interrupt the cycle of infection among children in developing countries. Yale Medicine also won two Merit Awards in the National Health Information Awards Competition for the magazine's Special Reports series --the Spring 1996 report by writer Marc Wortman on Lyme disease research and treatment at Yale (where the disease was first identified in 1975) and Fitzsousa's Summer 1996 Special Report on transplantation and organ donation.

The Acoustical Society of America has presented its Silver Medal in Physical Acoustics to Robert E. Apfel, the Robert Higgin Professor of Mechanical Engineering, for his "contributions to the understanding of acoustic cavitation, acoustic radiation pressure, and the bioeffects of medical ultrasound." Apfel was president of the Acoustical Society of America in 1995-96.

Work on novel optical resonators conducted by A. Douglas Stone, chair and professor of applied physics and professor of physics, and his former doctoral student Jens Noeckel '97 Ph.D., winner of Yale's Becton Prize, was listed among the "Highlights in Optics for 1997" in the December issue of Optics and Photonics News, the official magazine of the Optical Society of America. The scientists' simulations of the light emissions from such resonators were featured on the cover of the issue.

The first recipient of an award from the new John Perry Miller Research Fund, which supports doctoral research projects of "exceptional promise," is Stefano Ugo Baldassarri, a graduate student in his third year of study in the department of Italian language and literature. Baldassarri is using the award to help fund research in Florence, Italy, where he will be investigating how 15th-century Florentines looked at their city and the ways they contributed to shape the image of Renaissance Florence. This research represents a continuation of his work with Arielle Saiber on the book, "Myth and History in Quattrocentro Florence, Selected Sources on the Image of a City," an anthology to be used as a textbook for American undergraduate students, which will soon be published by Yale University Press.

Psychologist Kelly Brownell was honored in ways both big and small during the holiday season. In their year-end roundup of 16 "Smart Ideas to Fix the World," U.S. News & World Report editors selected the professor's proposal for a "fat tax" on high-fat foods to help curb obesity. Brownell, director of Yale's Center for Eating and Weight Disorders, advocates a calorie-to-nutrient index, with low-calorie, vitamin-stocked fruits and vegetables at the low end and fat-drenched, low-nutrient fast food at the high end. Income from the fat tax could be used to subsidize healthy foods and public exercise programs. "This would be unabashed social engineering," noted the U.S. News & World Report editors. "But so is virtually anything the government does about public-health dangers. ... Slapping high-fat, low-nutrition foods with a substantial government 'sin tax' is the one step society hasn't tried," according to the editors, "and while the obstacles to its enactment are enormous, there's good reason to think it might work." Brownell, who has also written about the dangers of yo-yo dieting, was also honored by an 8th-grade health class in Snow Canyon Middle School in St. George, Utah, as part of an assignment to decorate a Christmas tree with a biography of someone in the health field. The class adorned the branches of their tree with Brownell's photo, clippings of his work and lots of yo-yos.

The fifth annual Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Benefit Auction, held recently at the School of Medicine, raised $21,000 for six local homeless shelters and food pantries. The Yale students will donate proceeds to Life Haven, FISH of Greater New Haven, Loaves and Fishes, Rachel's Table, the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen and the Community Health Care Van. "This year's auction was more successful than we had ever hoped," says Esther Choo, a second-year medical student who helped coordinate the auction. "We wanted to match last year's efforts, but we raised more than double that amount." The Medical School Committee Overseeing Volunteer Services, the Office of Medical Education and Student Affairs, Ben & Jerry's, PhyCor Inc., Baxter International, Inc. and The Wine Thief cosponsored the auction, held on Nov. 21.

Across campus, students at the School of Management (SOM) recently took home first-place honors in the pounds-per-student category in the "MBA Food Fight" food drive sponsored by the University of Michigan Business School and Second Harvest. SOM was among 18 business schools nationwide to participate in the annual drive; Yale's effort was organized by Students for Responsible Business (SRB), a student interest group. SOM students gathered 1,500 pounds of food donations and $2,400 in cash. The organizers used the money to purchase turkeys at 29 cents a pound. The combined total was 9,664 pounds, or 21.48 pounds per student. The students donated the food to the Connecticut Food Bank. "We did so well because we're a business school with a heart," says Nicole Beinstein, co-coordinator of SRB. "We care about the community, combining public, private and nonprofit efforts."

In December, the American Epilepsy Society (AES) presented its 1997 "Clinical Investigator Award" to Dr. Richard H. Mattson, professor, vice chair for academic affairs and director of medical studies in the School of Medicine's neurology department. The award, part of the AES/Milken Family Foundation Epilepsy Research Award Program, carries a prize of $33,000. Mattson is a pioneer in the use of electroencephalography (EEG) to study epilepsy, made landmark studies of antiepileptic drugs and took a leadership role in establishing a place for epilepsy surgery in the treatment of intractable epilepsy. He currently directs a five-year National Institutes of Health Epilepsy Program Project, studying the role of GABAA in the pathophysiology and treatment of epilepsy.

Tyrus Miller, assistant professor of comparative literature and English, was recently a guest lecturer at the University of Haifa's departments of English language and literature, and Hebrew and comparative literature. His lecture, presented at a graduate student colloquium of the Faculty of Humanities, was titled "Mimetism and Cultural Politics: Walter Benjamin, Roger Caillois."

The next lecture sponsored by the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, a scholarly society affiliated with Yale, will be "Enlarging NATO: The Road to Growth or Paralysis?" by John O. Iatrides, professor of political science at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU). The talk, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 29, at SCSU, 500 Crescent St. in New Haven. For more information, call 432-3113, ext. 2.

The American Mathematical Society (AMS) has presented the 1998 Leroy P. Steele Prize for Lifetime Achievement to Nathan Jacobson, the Henry Ford II Professor Emeritus of Mathematics. The prize recognizes the cumulative influence of total mathematical work, high level of research over a period of time, particular influence on the development of a field and influence on mathematics through Ph.D. students. According to the AMS, "Few mathematicians have been as productive over such a long career or have had as much influence on the profession as has Professor Jacobson." Known primarily for his contributions to ring theory and to the theory of Lie and Jordan algebras, Jacobson was president of the AMS 1971-72.

Katherine D. Burgueño has joined the staff of the School of Drama/Yale Repertory Theatre as business manager. Burgueño, who holds a M.F.A. in theater arts administration from Yale, was previously employed by Mellon Bank Corporation in the Mellon Financial Group-West Coast Division.

Mark Young, head coach of women's cross country and track and field, has been named an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team for the year 2000 games in Sydney, Australia. Young will be one of five U.S. assistants who will work under head coach Karen Dennis of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.

The American Philosophical Society has presented its Henry Allen Moe Prize in the Humanities to Jaroslav Pelikan, Sterling Professor Emeritus of History. The prize is awarded annually to the author of a paper in the humanities presented at a meeting of the society. Pelikan received the award in recognition of his paper "Greek Wisdom in New Rome," which was presented in Rome in May of 1996 at the society's joint meeting with the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei.

The New Haven Arts Industry Coalition, a new organization founded to increase public interest in and awareness of the not-for-profit cultural arts and entertainment in the region, counts several Yale organizations among its founding members. They are the Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale Center for British Art, Yale Repertory Theatre, School of Music and Yale University Art Gallery. Representatives from Yale, as well as the other 12 founding organizations, will meet monthly to discuss mutual concerns and possible collaborative efforts. "The future belongs to those who can make an effective case for their role in it," says Victoria Nolan, managing director of the School of Drama and Yale Rep, and cochair of the coalition. "The coalition believes that art and culture are essential ingredients to New Haven's future, and we are excited by our collective opportunity to shape that future."

This fall, the Henry Luce Foundation, Inc. awarded a three-year grant of $175,000 to provide continued support for "The Works of Jonathan Edwards," a Yale project whose goals include publishing a letterpress edition of the theologian's writings by 2003, the tercentenary of his birth. The grant was one of 16 nationwide provided by the Luce Foundation to support programs on Asia, higher education, public affairs and theology.

The chemistry department has received the Yamanouchi USA Foundation Award for 1997 in recognition of excellence in the field of chemistry. The foundation was established in 1993 by Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., which is headquartered in Tokyo. The Yale chemistry department was recommended for the award, which carries a $100,000 cash gift, by the Drug Discovery Research Division of Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical.

Some late word on faculty receiving honorary degrees: Dr. Alvan R. Feinstein, Sterling Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, was given an honorary Doctor of Science degree by McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His citation notes that Feinstein "is recognized world-wide as one of the fathers of the burgeoning field of clinical epidemiology" and cited "his ability to 'turn on' an entire generation of clinicians to the notion that the rigours of population-based epidemiologic and biostatistical methods could be applied to the solution of important problems of clinical diagnosis, prognosis, prevention and treatment." Also, Louis Dupré, the T. Lawrason Riggs Professor of Religious Studies, received an honorary degree at the 60th anniversary celebration of Siena College in New York. Considered one of the preeminent philosophers of religion in the world, Dupré has devoted his career to an in-depth study of the foundations and principles of Catholicism and spirituality, and understanding the human condition. His sometimes-controversial books include "Contraception and Catholics," "The Philosophical Foundations of Marxism" and "Metaphysics and Culture."

In November, on the occasion of his 75th birthday, John E. Smith, the Clark Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, was presented with a collection of essays written by former students and colleagues. Titled "The Recovery of Philosophy in America," the book was edited by Robert C. Neville '60 B.A., '63 Ph.D., professor of philosophy and dean of Boston University's School of Theology, and Thomas P. Kasulis '70 B.A., '75 Ph.D., professor and chair of Ohio State University's division of comparative studies. The essays dealt with the subjects at the center of Smith's teaching and writing during his career at Yale. Each essay in the book includes an introduction by Neville and a response from Smith that ends with reflections about the future of philosophy in America.

Dieter G. Söll, professor of molecular biophysics & biochemistry and of chemistry and biology, has been elected a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. The academy, the only honorific leadership group devoted entirely to microbiologists and the science of microbiology, includes more than 1,300 members from 27 countries. Fellows are chosen for their scientific excellence, originality and leadership. Söll is a specialist in tRNA, RNA enzymology and protein biosynthesis. His work in plant molecular biology on chlorophyll biosynthesis may lead to the development of herbicides that are not toxic to animals.


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