Honors and Other Things

Dr. Nathans: Koret Award

Dr. Benjamin Nathans, assistant professor of history, has received the Koret Jewish Book Award in the History Category for his book Beyond the Pale: The Jewish Encounter with Late Imperial Russia (University of California Press). His book is a major reassessment of Jewish life in the capital of Imperial Russia, a community of mostly Russian-speaking Jews who were drastically different from the bulk of Russian Jewry at the time.

Dr. Seligman: Book Award

Dr. Martin E. P. Seligman, professor of psychology, has received the Best Psychology Book of 2002 award from Books for a Better Life for his book, Authentic Happiness. The award was presented by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Dr. Seligman is the founder of the positive psychology movement and author of 20 books. He serves as director of the Positive Psychology Network and was president of the American Psychological Association in 1998. Dr. Seligman had developed self-tests, exercises and a web site, www.authentichappiness.org to help people focus on their strengths rather than their weaknesses. He counsels that happiness can be cultivated using traits readers already possess and that by calling upon "signature strengths" readers can develop natural buffers against misfortune and negative emotion.

Dr. Burbank: NFL Special Master

Dr. Stephen B. Burbank, the David Berger Professor of Law, has been appointed special master to resolve designated disputes between the National Football League Management Council and the NFL Players Association. Dr. Burbank will have exclusive jurisdiction to enforce various provisions of the collective-bargaining agreement. Among the issues Dr. Burbank may be called upon to decide are appeals from the NFL commissioner's disapproval of player contracts, alleged violations of provisions concerning guaranteed league-wide salary, salary cap and minimum team salary and claims of prohibited collusion.

Dr. Berman: Hower Award

Dr. Peter H. Berman, professor of neurology and pediatrics, has been awarded the 29th Annual Hower Award in pediatric neurology. Dr. Berman held the position of director of the Division of Neurology at CHOP for 25 years. The Hower Award is named for the late John B. Hower, and is presented to a physician who has made a significant contribution to pediatric neurology. The Child Neurology Society, an organization of the nation's top pediatric neurologists, selects the recipient.

Dr. Bashaw: Sloan Fellowship

Dr. Greg J. Bashaw, assistant professor of neuroscience, has received a Sloan Foundation Fellowship. Dr. Bashaw is one of 117 scientists and scholars to receive awards in the 2003 Sloan Foundation Awards cycle. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation awards are given annually to recognize and support young scientists and scholars. The awardees receive grants of $40,000.

Dr. Rozmyslowicz: amfAR Award

Dr. Tomasz Rozmyslowicz, research associate in pathology and laboratory medicine, received a targeted basic research fellowship from the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR). He received $99,000 to test the role of microparticles in HIV-1 infection.

Dr. Percec: Fellow Polymeric Materials

Dr. Virgil Percec, the P. Roy Vagelos professor in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has been elected a Fellow of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering, a division of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. Fellowship is granted to members who have made significant contributions to the science and engineering of polymeric materials. He is one of six fellows to be inducted during ACS's meeting in New Orleans on March 24.

Dr. Kumanyika: Russell Award

Dr. Shiriki Kumanyika, professor of epidemiology, senior scholar in the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics and associate dean for health promotion and disease prevention, director of graduate program in public health studies and senior fellow of the Institute on Aging, will be awarded the Louis B. Russell, Jr., Memorial Award of the American Heart Association on April 28. Dr. Kumanyika will receive this award in recognition of her outstanding service to minority and under-served communities and enhancing their relationship with the Association. In particular, it was noted that she has been effective in advocating for and articulating minority health research and policy issues.

Dr. McGovern: Education Award

Dr. Patrick E. McGovern, adjunct associate professor of anthropology and research investigator, senior scientist at the Museum's Applied Science Center for Archaeology (MASCA), has received an Education Award from the American-Turkish Council. Dr. McGovern received his award for the chemical research on the ancient organic residues inside Tumulus MM (‘Midas Mound') at Gordion.

Dr. Sutton-Smith: Senior Fulbright

Dr. Brian Sutton-Smith, professor emeritus of education, has received a Fulbright Senior Specialists grant to lecture and consult for two weeks at the Australian Centre of the University of Melbourne and at the Museum Victoria. Dr. Sutton-Smith is a child-development expert and directed a child culture group during his tenure at Penn. He had a secondary appointment in the folklore department at SAS and taught here for 20 years before his retirement.

Dr. Chinburg: Robinson Prize

Dr. Ted C. Chinburg, professor of mathematics, has received the 2002 G. de B. Robinson Prize from the Canadian Mathematical Society. The prize, which recognizes outstanding publication in the Canadian Journal of Mathematics or the Canadian Mathematical Bulletin, was awarded to Dr. Chinburg, along with Victor Snaith of the University of Southampton, and Manfred Kolster of McMaster University for their paper, Comparison of K-theory Galois Module Structure Invariants.