Candler, Sapiro named
Distinguished McKnight University Professors
Professors Graham Candler (aerospace engineering and
mechanics) and Guillermo Sapiro (electrical and computer
engineering) are among five mid-career faculty honored
with the prestigious 2004 Distinguished McKnight Professorship.
Candler
is a world leader in computational hypersonic fluid
dynamics whose work is central to important national
projects in aerospace engineering. He conducts research
on flows around bodies that fly at exceedingly high
speeds. His methods were used for the design of the
Mars Pathfinder and the Stardust Comet Mission vehicles
and now are playing a vital role in the redesign of
the space shuttle.Considered
on of the world's leading mathematicians in the area
of image-based differential equation models, Sapiro
is leading a mathematical renaissance in image processing
and computer vision. His collaborative work with biologists
is providing groundbreaking tools for processing biomedical
imagery, and the application of his techniques to image
restoration is aiding the work of artists, art restoration
specialists, and the entertainment industry.
Associate Professor Mats
Heimdahl (computer science and engineering) is one
of eight University faculty honored with the 2003-2004
Award for Outstanding Contributions to Graduate and
Professional Education. The Distinguished Teaching Awards,
which also include the Morse-Alumni Award for Outstanding
Contributions to Undergraduate Education, recognize
the significance of teaching excellence to the University's
mission. Heimdahl and 12 other award recipients will
be inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Teachers
at a ceremony and reception on Monday, April 26. Find
out more...
IT development director accepts new
post in Missouri
Phil Oswald, IT's director of development, is leaving
the college to become associate vice chancellor for
development at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
After joining IT in August 2000, Oswald led the college's
hugely successful Campaign Minnesota effort, which raised
a total of $158 million in gifts from nearly 13,000
donors.
"We're deeply grateful to Phil for all that he's
accomplished on behalf of IT," says IT dean H.
Ted Davis. "We'll also miss him as a colleague
and friend, and we wish him well in his new venture."
Former MGS director Matt Walton dies at 88
Professor emeritus Matt
Walton, Newton Horace Winchell School of Earth Sciences,
died February 26 in St. Paul. He was 88. Walton served
as director of the Minnesota Geological Survey from
1973 to 1986.
During his tenure as MGS director, Walton initiated
successful research programs focused on environmental
issues and started two programs of considerable significance
to the University. The first was the storage and ultimate
recovery of waste heat on the St. Paul campus in an
underground iron mine in Ely, Minnesota. In the second,
he obtained support from the Legislative Commission
on Mineral Resources to develop a program in the acquisition
of high-resolution, low-level aeromagnetic data, which
eventually provided aeromagnetic maps of the entire
state.
Honors
Professor Hans
Othmer (mathematics) received a prestigious Humboldt
Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation,
Germany. The award recognizes his lifetime achievements,
especially in the field of mathematical biology. The
award includes 50,000 euro and the opportunity to conduct
research projects of his choice in cooperation with
specialist colleagues in Germany.
Ann Pineles, advisor in the Office of Lower Division
Programs, has received the 2003-2004 John Tate Award
for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising. She is one
of four University employees honored with the award
this year. The Tate Award recognizes outstanding academic
advisors and their contributions to the University's
educational mission. Recipients will be honored at a
ceremony on Friday, April 23.
Events
Distinguished Women
Scientists and Engineers
Speakers Program: Why
Women Reject Majors
and Careers in Mainstream
Science
April 1: Elaine Seymour, director
of Ethnology
and Evaluation Research, Center to Advance Research
and Teaching in the Social Sciences, University of Colorado
at Boulder, will discuss studies by her research group
and offer explanations for the underrepresentation of
women in some science disciplines. She'll examine factors
that contribute to loss at opposite ends of the science,
technology, engineering, and math (STEM) pipeline: from
among able undergraduate women who enter university
intending to major in the sciences and from among doctorally
prepared women who do not elect a STEM faculty career.
Free. For more information call 612-624-2006.
3:30 p.m., 133 Physics.
April 5-6: Alexandra
Navrotsky, Edward Roessler Chair in Mathematical
and Physical Sciences, University of California at Davis,
will present two lectures as part of the Distinguished
Women Scientists and Engineers Speakers Program. Her
research interests have centered on relating microscopic
features of structure and bonding to macroscopic thermodynamic
behavior in minerals, ceramics, and other complex materials.
Free. For more information contact Professor Renata
Wentzcovitch (chemical engineering and materials
science, Professor Emi
Ito (geology), or Assistant Professor Lee
Penn (chemistry). April 5, 3:30–4:30 p.m.,
105 Pillsbury
Hall; April 6, 1:25 p.m., B75 Amundson
Hall.
April 15-16:Vasu
Varadan, Distinguished Professor of Engineering
Science and Electrical Engineering, Pennsylvania State
University, will present two lectures during her visit
to campus. Her research interests include modeling and
numerical simulation techniques for acoustic and elastodynamic
scattering and propagation problems; effective medium
simulations for engineered composites for tailored mechanical,
electrical and magnetic properties; and the emerging
field of metamaterials. Varadan developed the MS WIZ
program, one of the first early intervention programs
to attract girls ages 11-14 to science and engineering,
and served as a U.S. delegate at the U.S.-China Workshop
for Women in Science and Technology at the United Nations
Conference on Women at Beijing in 1995. Free. For more
information contact Assistant Professor Rhonda
Drayton or Professor Mos
Kaveh (electrical and computer engineering). April
15, 3:35 p.m., 112 Mechanical
Engineering; April 16, time and location TBA, "Engineering
Is a Woman's 'Best Friend.'"
Young Inventors Fair
April 3: Students in grades 4-9 display
their inventions to the public during the Young Inventors
Fair on Saturday, April 3, at St. Paul's Landmark Center.
IT Alumni Association members were among the generous
volunteers who evaluated kids’ original inventions
at judging sessions last month. Now you can help us
honor the accomplishments of 100 young inventors by
volunteering at the fair. For more details or to volunteer
call 612-638-1516 or email
cmac@ecsu.k12.mn.us.
Find out more...
IT Week
April 5-9: Celebrate the IT community
by participating in the 2004 IT Week festivities. Major
events include the Technology Fair (April 7-8) on Northrop
Mall and IT Olympics (11 a.m., April 9, courtyard between
Lind Hall and EE/CSci).
For more information call 612-626-1552 or email plumbbob@umn.edu.
Design of Medical Devices Conference
April 7–9: Minnesota designers,
manufacturers, researchers, and public sector representatives
come together to discuss technology and issues related
to medical device design. Program
includes a student
poster session. Register
by April 1. Special rates for University faculty and
full-time students. For more information call 612-625-2596
or email aburger@me.umn.edu
S&T Banquet
April 14: Charles
McQueary, Under Secretary for Science and Technology,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) , will speak at
the 2004 Science & Technology Banquet. The banquet
begins at 5:30 with a reception, followed by the program
and dinner. Preregister
for preferred seating. For more information call 612-626-1802
or email stbanquet@umn.edu.
5:30-8:30 p.m., Minneapolis Hilton.
Looking ahead
Distinguished Teaching Awards ceremony
April 26: All members of the University
community are invited to a special ceremony and reception
to honor 13 faculty who have received the 2003-2004
Distinguished
Teaching Awards. These outstanding teachers will
be inducted in to Academy of Distinguished Teachers
for their contributions to undergraduate, graduate,
and professional education. Among those being honored
is Associate Professor Mats
Heimdahl (computer science and engineering,) who
received the Award for Outstanding Contributions to
Graduate and Professional Education. For more information
call 612-625-9180 or email gaude004@umn.edu.
UMAA 100th Anniversary Gala Finale
and Celebration
May 6: Internationally acclaimed contemporary
musician Yanni
(Psychology ’76) will receive an honorary Doctor
of Humane Letters at the University of Minnesota Alumni
Association's 100th anniversary gala finale and annual
celebration, "Changing
the World One Graduate at at Time." The gala
event includes a reception and dinner on Northrop Mall
followed by a program in Northrop Auditorium. The program
also features a keynote address and multimedia presentation
by Yanni and musical performances by University students.
5:30 p.m. reception, 6:30 p.m. dinner, 8 p.m. program.
Group sales for parties of 10 or more are on sale now
and will receive a $50 discount if ordered by April
2. For information on group sales call 612-625-8878.
Tickets go on sale to the general public March 22. Order
online or call 612-624-2345.
Candler