William H. Whyte Award: Mr. Barnett

Partners for Livable Communities presented Jonathan Barnett, director of the Graduate Urban Design Program and professor of practice in city & regional planning at PennDesign, with the William H. Whyte Award at its annual awards ceremony, A Celebration of Vision & Community Spirit.

Mr. Barnett was recognized for his pioneering work in modern city design, urban design planning and education, and suburban fringe planning.

“Jonathan’s groundbreaking work in urban planning during the Lindsey Administration of New York City set the course for urban planning and design in metropolitan areas,” said Partners President Bob McNulty. “As cities focus more on sustainable city planning, Jonathan’s work can be applied to improving communities across the nation.”

The William H. Whyte Award recognizes those individuals that have exemplified and maintained the mission and ardor of William H. Whyte, a New York City writer, anthropologist, urbanologist, social critic and long-term colleague of Partners.

Reeder Award: Dr. Bosk

Dr. Charles L. Bosk, professor of sociology in Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences and professor of anesthesiology and critical care in the Perelman School of Medicine,will receive the 2013 Leo G. Reeder Award in August, at the American Sociological Association’s annual meeting in New York City.

The Reeder Award is given annually for distinguished contribution to medical sociology and recognizes scholarly contributions, especially bodies of work displaying an extended trajectory of productivity that has contributed to theory and research in medical sociology. The Reeder Award also acknowledges teaching, mentoring and training, as well as service to the medical sociology community broadly defined.

Gies Award: Dr. Cohen

Dr. D. Walter Cohen, dean emeritus and professor emeritus of Penn Dental Medicine, is among those individuals recognized yesterday  in Seattle with a 2013 William J. Gies Award. He received the Gies Award for Outstanding Achievement-Dental Educator. Dr. Cohen first joined the Penn Dental Medicine faculty in 1951 and through his tenure built a legacy of leadership in the field of periodontics, eventually serving as professor and chairman of the department of periodontics.

The Gies Awards, named after dental education pioneer Dr. William J. Gies, honor individuals and organizations exemplifying dedication to the highest standards of vision, innovation and achievement in dental education, research and leadership.

Penn Museum's Wilton Krogman Award: Richard Dawkins

Richard Dawkins, former Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University, was presented the Penn Museum’s Wilton Krogman Award for Distinguished Achievement in Biological Anthropology on March 12. The award was presented at the 2013 Bicentennial Philomatheon Society Annual Oration.

The Krogman Award was developed in memory of Dr. Wilton M. Krogman, former professor of physical anthropology and founder of the Philadelphia Center for Research in Child Growth, now the W. M. Krogman Center for Research in Child Growth and Development at CHOP.

Scheele Award: Dr. FitzGerald

Dr. Garret FitzGerald, chair of the department of pharmacology and director of the Institute for Translational Medicine & Therapeutics at the Perelman School of Medicine, is the recipient of the 2013 Scheele Award from the Swedish Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

The Academy bestows the Scheele Award on prominent scientists in the field of drug research and development to commemorate the skills and achievements of the famous Swedish chemist and pharmacist Carl Wilhelm Scheele.

NSF Honor: Dr. Jemmott

Dr. John B. Jemmott, professor of communication in psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine and the Kenneth B. Clark Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School of Communication, has been selected as one of 60 scholars profiled by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP).

For over 20 years, Dr. Jemmott has been funded by the NIH to conduct research developing and testing the efficacy of theory-based culturally appropriate HIV/STD risk-reduction interventions for a variety of populations in the US and sub-Saharan Africa.

The list of the top 60 GRFP fellows selected was compiled in honor of the NSF’s GRFP’s 60th Anniversary.

One Health Award: Dr. Mason, Dr. Paterson

Dr. Nicola Mason, assistant professor of pathology and clinical studies at Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine and Dr. Yvonne Paterson, associate dean for research and professor of nursing in Penn’s School of Nursing are the co-recipients of the inaugural One Health Award (Almanac November 13, 2012). They received the award for their collaboration on a project to further develop cancer immunotherapies that are already showing promise in both canine and human patients.

NSF Career Award: Dr. Mangharam, Dr. Roth

Dr. Rahul Mangharam, the Stephen J. Angello Term Assistant Professor of Electrical and Systems Engineering, is the recipient of an NSF CAREER award for his proposal, “Foundations for Modeling and Verification of Medical Cyber-Physical Systems.”

Dr. Mangharam’s research goal is to merge computing communications and the physical world into integrated cyber-physical systems, enabling seamless communication with and control of objects such as energy-efficient buildings, the human body and automobiles in the physical world.

Dr. Aaron Roth, the Raj and Neera Singh Assistant Professor in the department of computer and information science, is the recipient of an NSF CAREER award for his proposal, “The Algorithmic Foundations of Data Privacy.”

Dr. Roth studies algorithm design in settings in which either the data belongs to other self-interested parties, or the computation is to be performed by other self-interested parties. This requires studying the algorithmic foundations of data privacy and game theory. In particular, he is interested in what kinds of computations can be performed while satisfying strong information-theoretic privacy constraints and in how selfish agents can be incentivized by these strong privacy protections to allow their data to be used.

The CAREER award is the NSF’s most prestigious award in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations.

W.W. Smith Charitable Trust Award: Dr. Voight

Dr. Benjamin F. Voight, assistant professor of pharmacology and genetics at the Perelman School of Medicine, has received an award for over $100,000 from the W.W. Smith Charitable Trust to study the complex patterns of genetic inheritance and environmental factors that underlie cardiovascular disease, specifically in type-2 diabetics.

The W.W. Smith Charitable Trust has historically made and continues to make its greatest investment in medical research. Even with impressive gains, there are still a number of diseases for which there are no cures, requiring more research to understand their origins and progression. The Trust continues to fund basic medical research in the areas of heart, cancer and AIDS.

Penn Selected as Best Workplace for Commuters

Best Workplaces for Commuters, a National Transit Research Center program designed to encourage sustainable innovation, singled out 23 employers nationwide in January during the annual “Race to Excellence” Virtual Awards Ceremony. Penn was one of this year’s recipients to be recognized for its sustainable transportation initiatives and practices. The awards recognize organizations who have taken exemplary steps to offer transportation options such as vanpool and transit benefits or telework and compressed workweek for their employees.

Team of Distinction: HUP's Clinical Nutrition Support Team

The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP)’s Clinical Nutrition Support Services team was one of the inaugural recipients of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition’s (ASPEN) 2012 Clinical Nutrition Team of Distinction award.

Clinical Nutrition Support Services at HUP is a professional clinical department of 27 people, most of whom have advanced practice specialty certifications in nutrition support or sub-specialties including oncology, renal or diabetes management. The team provides clinical nutrition care to in-patients at HUP and Penn Medicine Rittenhouse, completing over 36,000 patient interventions annually and receiving approximately 850 consult requests monthly.

This award identifies and elevates the stature of interdisciplinary nutrition care within an institution or agency and externally in local communities. Clinical nutrition teams, as defined for this award, consist of an identified interdisciplinary group of practitioners with a member from each of four disciplines: dietetics, medicine, nursing and pharmacy.

Rabinowitz Award: Dr. Ali, Dr. Walter

The Joseph and Josephine Rabinowitz Award for Excellence in Research was presented this year to two Penn Dental Medicine faculty members who will be working on projects with colleagues from other Penn schools. Dr. Hydar Ali, professor in the department of pathology, and Dr. Ricardo Walter, assistant professor of restorative dentistry, are this year’s recipients.

Dr. Ali and his collaborator, Dr. Emer Maria Smyth, research associate professor of pharmacology with Penn’s Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, were selected for their proposal “Cross-Regulation of G Protein Coupled Receptor Signaling in Human Mast Cells.” Dr. Walter and his collaborators, Dr. Vergil Percec, the P. Roy Vagelos Professor of Chemistry, and Dr. Andrew E. Feiring, adjunct professor of chemistry, both in Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences, received the award for their proposal “Development of a Novel Bisphenol A-Free Composite Resin Restorative Material.”

The Rabinowitz Award was established in 2002 through the generosity of the late Dr. Joseph Rabinowitz, an active member of the school’s biochemistry faculty for 29 years and his wife, Josephine. The Rabinowitzes endowed this award to promote independent research among Penn Dental Medicine faculty members.