Dr. R. John Hansman Jr., associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics and director of his department's Aeronautical Systems Laboratory, has been selected to receive the Losey Atmospheric Sciences Award for 1994 from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
The award is presented for outstanding contributions to the atmospheric sciences as applied to the advancement of aeronautics and astronautics. It is named for Captain Robert M. Losey, a meteorological officer who was the first US officer to die in World War II.
Professor Hansman is being honored "for outstanding scientific, engineering and leadership contributions over a broad range of aviation-related disciplines which have contributed substantially in the mitigation of aviation weather hazards."
Professor Hansman's research has focused on understanding and detecting aviation hazards such as low-altitude wind shear and the buildup of ice on aircraft surfaces.
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The Pilgrim Theater Research and Performance Collaborative of Newton, founded by two lecturers in the Music and Theater Arts faculty-Kim Mancuso and Kermit Dunkelberg-has received a regional award for achievement in theater from the New England Theatre Conference.
NETC was established in 1952 to "develop, expand and assist theater activity on the community, educational and professional levels." The regional award recognizes Pilgrim Theater's "contributions as collaborators with multicultural artists and... innovative work for diverse audiences in New England."
Pilgrim Theater was founded in 1987 in Poland by Ms. Mancuso and Mr. Dunkelberg, both Americans. The troupe came to Boston in 1990, where it has performed original works including the current Nada Brahma at the Boston Center for the Arts Black Box Theater.
In January, Pilgrim Theater will collaborate with the MIT Office of the Arts and a Peruvian theater group to exchange training methods and develop a work in progress with diverse artists from the Boston and Cambridge communities.
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Three faculty members in the Department of Chemical Engineering have recently won major awards.
Dr. Robert S. Langer, Germeshausen Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, has been selected to receive the 1993 Distinguished Scientist Award of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists. The award is the group's most prestigious scientific recognition.
Professor Langer was cited for his discoveries of how polymers can be used to slowly release drugs, in particular macromolecules such as peptides and proteins.
Dr. Adel F. Sarofim, Lammot du Pont Professor of Chemical Engineering and director of the Center on Airborne Organics, is co-recipient of the 1993 Walter Alhstrom Prize by the Finnish Academies of Technology.
The prize was established to promote technological innovations that improve industrial applications in the use of energy and raw materials-or in minimizing environmental impact. Professor Sarofim was honored for his research in reaction kinetics of combustion processes, with special reference to emission generation and pollution control.
A co-recipient last year was MIT Professor Norman C. Rasmussen of the Department of Nuclear Engineering.
Dr. Edward W. Merrill, Carbon P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering, will receive the Charles M.A. Stine Award in Materials Engineering and Sciences from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
The author of 226 technical publications and holder of 32 patents, Professor Merrill specializes in polymers and biomedical engineering and biomaterials.
The award is presented each year to recognize "outstanding contributions... to scientific, technological, educational or service areas of materials engineering and science."
A version of this article appeared in the December 1, 1993 issue of MIT Tech Talk (Volume 38, Number 16).
