| Honors & Other Things |
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July 14, 2009, Volume 56, No. 01
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Penn: Leader in Green Energy
The magazine Scientific American ranked Penn No. 19 in its ranking of Top 25 Green Energy Leaders. The list included “forward-thinking” companies, universities and municipalities that find creative ways to run on renewable power. Penn uses 193 million green kWh, 46% of total power used.
Honorary Degrees: Dr. Cohen
Dr. D. Walter Cohen, dean emeritus of the School of Dental Medicine,was awarded two honorary degrees in May. Drexel University College of Medicine awarded him an honorary doctor of science. He was also awarded a doctor of Hebrew laws, honoris causa, from Gratz College in recognition of his many contributions to medicine, dentistry and the academic community.
PEN Award: Mr. Couch
Randall Couch, manager of communications design in the ISC Communications Group, was named one of two finalists for the 2009 PEN Award for Outstanding Book of Poetry in Translation. He translated Madwoman, by Gabriela Mistral, from Spanish to English.
Medicine Alumni Award: Dr. Driscoll
Dr. Deborah A. Driscoll, GM’87, HOM’98, the Luigi Mastroianni, Jr. professor and chair of the department of obstetrics and gynecology in the School of Medicine, was one of four recipients of the School of Medicine’s Distinguished Graduate and Alumni Service Awards. The other recipients are: Dr. Mark Groudine, M’74, GR’76; Dr. Nicole Lurie, M’79; and Dr. George A. Moo-Young, M’74, INT’75.
Mr. Halperin: Business Reference Excellence Award
Michael Halperin, director of the Lippincott Library of Penn’s Wharton School, is the 2009 recipient of the Gale Cengage Learning Award for Excellence in Business Librarianship, an honor sponsored by Gale Cengage Learning and administered by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA). The American Library Association (ALA) noted that Mr. Halperin was chosen for “his more than three decades of work as an innovator, teacher and mentor in the profession.” Mr. Halperin received his award yesterday—a citation and $3,000 cash prize—at the RUSA Awards ceremony and reception in Chicago, as a part of ALA’s Annual Conference events.
Wharton Dean’s Medal: H.E. Mr. Uribe
The Wharton School held a Global Alumni Forum in Bogota, Colombia in May. H.E. Mr. Alvaro Uribe, President of the Republic of Colombia, received the Dean’s Medal, the school’s highest tribute, at the forum. The Dean’s Medal recognizes outstanding leaders of private enterprise, public service and academia. Mr. Uribe has employed measures to reduce inflation and the state’s deficit, while simultaneously improving economic and social conditions for his people.
Penn: Best Place to Work in IT
For the fifth year in a row, Penn’s Office of Information Systems and Computing (ISC) has been selected for Computerworld’s list of the 100 Best Places to Work in IT. Overall, Penn was ranked first in the Mid-Atlantic region and fourth nationally. Computerworld also listed “the best of the best” in five categories, where Penn claimed the top spot for benefits and landed second place for diversity. View the full list from the June 15 issue of at www.computerworld.com.
LIFE Founders Honored
The four founding members of Penn Nursing’s Living Independently For Elders (LIFE) program were honored at a reception in May. They established the LIFE program at Penn in 1998, making it one of the first and only such models of care. It celebrated its 10th-anniversary this year.
The four founding members are Dr. Norma Lang, dean emerita of Penn Nursing; Dr. Karen Buhler-Wilkerson, professor emerita of nursing; Dr. Lois K. Evans, the van Ameringen Professsor in Nursing Excellence and chair of the Family and Community Health Division; and Dr. Mary D. Naylor, the Marian S. Ware Professor in Gerontology and director of NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health.
The LIFE program allows low-income seniors who would otherwise need nursing home care the option to remain in their home and receive all preventive, primary, acute, and long-term health services at the LIFE center.
Wharton Business Plan Competition
Managed by Wharton Entrepreneurial Programs, the Wharton Business Plan Competition is open to all Penn students. The 2009 winners:
Michelson Grand Prize: $20,000 to NIR Diagnostics (developers of InfraVue wound assessment device)
Second Prize: $10,000 to CuddleBots (creators of programmable robot toys and online communities for kids)
Third Prize: $5,000 to Realistic Eye, which is the highest ranked team ever formed from Wharton’s San Francisco MBA for Executives program (patented techniques providing more natural appearance to artificial eye patients)
Gloeckner Undergraduate Award: $5,000 for the highest ranking Wharton undergraduate team to StealthRowing (proprietary system for rowers that affords year-round training on indoor swimming pools)
People’s Choice: $3,000 to NIR Diagnostics
APS Fellow: Dr. Barber
Dr. Jacques P. Barber, professor of psychology in psychiatry, has been appointed a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science (APS), in recognition of “sustained and outstanding distinguished contributions to psychological science.”
Medical Emergency Response Honored
At the National Collegiate EMS Foundation conference, the Penn Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) won the following awards:
Campus EMS Provider of the Year: Kevin Smith, C’09, MERT’s operations captain and disaster response team coordinator, received this award for his service to Penn and the greater University City community.
George J. Koenig, Jr. Service Award: Lieutenant John Washington of the UPPD received this award for his service to MERT in the role as an adviser and for his dedication to the University City community.
Web Site of the Year: Of the 88 universities who attended the conference, MERT’s new web site, under the design of Jenny Liang, C’12, was awarded top honors for its design and information availability.
Urban League’s Vision Award
The Urban League of Philadelphia has honored Penn with the inaugural Vision Award for its commitment to workforce diversity and business-inclusion programs. Penn was recognized for its commitment to workforce diversity and economic inclusion as the impact the University has had on the West Philadelphia community, and the entire region. “Penn takes pride in our ongoing commitment to diversity in contracting, purchasing and workforce development and in our core belief that the University’s success is inextricably linked with the economic vitality of this great city,” Penn President Amy Gutmann said. Visit www.hr.upenn.edu/Jobs/VisionAward.aspx for more information and photos.
Gilder Lehrman History Scholars: Mr. Augenbraun and Mr. Klitzman
Penn seniors Eric Augenbraun and Zach Klitzman have been accepted to the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s History Scholars Program this summer, where they are participating in programs with historical research, seminars, and tours of archives and museums. Mr. Augenbraun was named a 2009 Gilder Lehrman History Scholar. Mr. Klitzman was named a 2009 Gilder Lehrman One-Week History Scholar.
Penn IUR Honors Urban Leaders
Each year the Penn IUR Urban Leadership Award Forum honors public servants who have excelled in a particular area of urban leadership. This year’s focus was sustainable cities. The awardees are: Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, G’69; Parris Glendening, founder and president of the Smart Growth Leadership Institute; and Bruce Katz, founding director and vice president of Brookings’ Metropolitan Policy Program.
Institute of Aging Grants
The Institute of Aging (IOA) in the School of Medicine awarded eight pilot research grants in support of aging and aging-related research. Awardees receive a one-year grant of $50,000. The awardees are as follows:
Dr. Carlo Ballatore, School of Medicine—“Investigation of Structure-Activity Relationship of Noverl 2-Aminobenzothiazoles Inhibitors of Tau Fibril Formation”
Dr. Joseph A. Baur, School of Medicine—“Mitochondria as Mediators of the Protective Effects of Caloric Restriction”
Dr. Eric J. Brown, School of Medicine—“A Critical Role for p53 in Facilitating Tissue Regeneration and Suppressing Age-Related Diseases”
Dr. Aureo De Paula, SAS—“Overconfidence and Decision Making in Aging”
Dr. Ravishankar Jayadevappa, School of Medicine—“Behavioral Treatment for Prostate Cancer Care”
Dr. Yuko Kimura, School of Medicine—“Role of Properdin and Complement Activation in Alzheimer’s Disease”
Dr. Ling Qin, School of Medicine—“Osteoblastic Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Signaling and Osteoporosis”
Dr. John H. Wolfe, School of Veterinary Medicine—“iPSCs and NSCs from Alzheimer’s Disease Patients”
Plaque Dedication: Penn Medicine
The American Society for Microbiology has recognized the School of Medicine with a plaque dedication ceremony celebrating the designation of its third Milestones in Microbiology site. Built in 1892, the Laboratory of Hygiene, was the first of its kind to be built specifically as a bacteriology laboratory. Now, the Vagelos Laboratories keep that tradition alive.
American Academy of Microbiology: Drs. Hoxie and Hunter
Dr. James A. Hoxie, professor of hematology-oncology in the School of Medicine; and Dr. Christopher A. Hunter, professor and chair of pathobiology, in the School of Veterinary Medicine, were named Fellows in the American Academy of Microbiology. These two are in addition to the four Penn professors originally published in Almanac February 24, 2009. Fellows are elected annually through a highly selective, peer-review process, based on their records of scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced microbiology.
Penn Medicine Top Race Participant
A team of Penn Medicine participants gathered in May along with thousands of others for the 19th running of the Komen Philadelphia Race for the Cure®. The Penn Medicine team topped the list of participating hospitals and cancer centers with over 80 team members who ran or walked to raise money for breast cancer research, treatment and education. By raising over $2,000 the Penn Medicine team is in the top 20 corporations raising funds for Komen. The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® supports the Abramson Cancer Center by providing grant funding for breast cancer research and programs.
“Great Philadelphia Doctors” at Penn
Fifteen Penn Medicine doctors were highlighted in Philadelphia magazine’s “Next Generation of Great Philadelphia Doctors.” The doctors featured include 64 of the region’s top doctors, age 40 and under. For the complete list of Penn’s 2009 Next Generation of Great Philadelphia Doctors, visit www.uphs.upenn.edu/about_uphs/next-generation.html.
Teaching Excellence: Ms. Guidera
Penn Nursing Midwifery Lecturer Mamie Guidera was awarded an Excellence in Teaching Award by the American College of Nurse Midwives. She was nominated by her students in the Midwifery program at the School of Nursing.
Honors for Penn-Sayre Partnership
The Penn Nurse Practitioner/Sayre High School partnership was honored with a Proclamation from Mayor Michael Nutter, stating
“It is fitting and appropriate, therefore, that the City of Philadelphia officially recognize with this Citation—University of Pennsylvania Pediatric Acute Chronic and Pediatric Oncology Nurse Practitioner Students and Sayre High School Students and congratulate them on their outstanding work: Academically Based Community Service—educating and assessing children in the community for risk factors of diabetes.”
In addition, each student received a personal citation from City Council. Through the Penn-Sayre program, nurse practitioner students assessed and gathered research from elementary-school aged children in the Sayre Beacon After School Program to prevent obesity and diabetes in children.
Penn VIPS Scholarship Winners
Six college-bound students from West Philadelphia have been awarded scholarships from Penn Volunteers in Public Service (Penn VIPS) and the Business Services Division at Penn. Honorees are chosen based on their community service and academic excellence. The recipients are:
Dennis Robinson, Bartram High School
Teria Fennell, Overbrook High School
Tyrik Thorn, Sayre High School
Tanzin Fatima and Samuel Felli, University City High School
Eric Yates, West Philadelphia High School
PennMOVES raises $30,000 to help Local United Way Charities
Over 3500 people attended the two day event to take advantage of the opportunity to purchase items students were unable to take with them when they left campus. Images of the event are captured at www.business-services.upenn.edu/newsletter.
The proceeds from the sale will be given to United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania to support their affiliate organizations located in West Philadelphia. In addition, 45 boxes of food were donated to local food banks and emergency shelters. For information about PennMOVES 2010 visit www.upenn.edu/housing/pennmoves.
S.T.E.P.-U.P. at FRES
Facilities and Real Estate Services announces their Recognition and Rewards program called S.T.E.P.-U.P. For information about this program, that recognizes above and beyond behaviors of FRES staff, please visit their new website at www.facilities.upenn.edu/about_mis.php
The Wonders of Radio
The Wonders of Radio mural (at left) is the result of a collaboration between WXPN-FM radio and the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, marking the 20th anniversary of ’XPN’s Kids Corner program—a live, interactive radio show for kids. Part of the Sounds of Philadelphia mural series, it is the final installation of the partnership. The mural—at 43rd and Locust—showcases Philadelphia’s musical legacy, and depicts how a person would visualize music. Muralist David McShane worked with students from five schools around the city, including Penn Alexander, to solicit ideas and help paint the artwork. The mural dedication held last month can be viewed at www.kidscorner.org/html/mural.php.
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