Erez Lieberman, a graduate student in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology; and Ankur Moitra, a graduate student in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, have both been awarded Hertz Fellowships from the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on empowering young scientists and engineers. Valued at more than $250,000, Hertz Fellowships are unique no-strings-attached fellowships allowing exceptional applied scientists and engineers the freedom to pursue their own ideas with financial independence under the guidance of the finest professors at the country's top universities.Â
The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation recently selected Dr. Mohammad Movassaghi, a professor in the MIT Chemistry Department, as a 2008 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar. The $75,000 unrestricted award will support Movassaghi's research program.
MIT professors Daniel Roos, Dava Newman, David Marks and Richard de Neufville have all been appointed as professors at Portugal's Instituto Superior Técnico. The four are currently involved with the MIT Portugal Program, and their new assignments will strengthen the relationships between MIT and Portugal and facilitate the development of courses and the conduct of research programs.
Cecilia Scott, a sophomore in mechanical engineering, is the first MIT student to be named a Udall Scholar, which is awarded to students who are committed to environmental careers or Native American and Alaska Native tribal public policy or health care. Winners receive a $5,000 stipend for tuition.
The Merage Foundation, established by immigrants to the United States, announced that Brain and Cognitive Sciences senior Rany Woo has been named a Merage Foundation fellow. The foundation awards $10,000 stipend annually for two years toward the efforts of fostering education, traveling and learning, securing mentors and supporting internship opportunities.
Fabiola Lopez-Duran, a doctoral candidate in architecture, has been named one of 29 Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellows for 2008. The 2008 Newcombe Fellowship, a highly competitive national award, provides $23,000 for 12 months of work on a dissertation in the humanities or social sciences that addresses questions of religious or ethical value.
Noubar Afeyan, a senior lecturer in the MIT Sloan School of Management, was honored recently in New York City as one of the 2008 Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipients. The award recognizes Noubar's contributions to the local community, as well as his extensive role in supporting long range visions for the country of Armenia, its business environment and culture, and world-wide understanding and awareness of Armenian issues.
Chemistry Professor Richard R. Schrock is among the eight new foreign members elected to Britain's Royal Society. Schrock is distinguished for his seminal contributions to synthetic and mechanistic inorganic and organometallic chemistry.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on May 21, 2008 (download PDF).
