Provost Joel Moses has announced the appointments of Professors Jianzhu Chen and Amos Lapidoth and Assistant Professor Lawrence J. Stern to named professorships.
Professor Chen of the Center for Cancer Research in the Department of Biology has been named the Latham Family Career Development Professor for three years beginning July 1. The chair was established by Allen Latham Jr. (SB '30) and his wife Ruth.
Professor Chen's research focuses on the development and function of the immune system, particularly on the immunological memory, which is the basis of vaccination. He received the BS degree in 1982 from Wuhan University in Wuhan, China, and the PhD in 1990 from Stanford University. He was also trained at Harvard Medical School before coming to MIT.
Professor Amos Lapidoth in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science has been named to the KDD Career Development Professorship in Communications and Technology. The chair was established in 1983 by the Kokusai Denshin Denwa Co., Ltd., of Tokyo to promote teaching and research in communications and technology, and to increase cultural and intellectual exchange between Japan and the United States.
Professor Lapidoth, a member of the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems, is an expert on communications theory and information theory. He arrived at MIT in 1995, and his research has involved fundamental limits on reliable communication under channel uncertainty. He recently was awarded an NSF career grant.
Professor Lapidoth received the BSc in electrical engineering and the BA in mathematics (both summa cum laude) in 1986, and the MSc in electrical engineering (1990) from Technion University in Israel. He received the PhD in 1995 from Stanford University.
Assistant Professor Stern of chemistry has been appointed to the Pfizer-Laubach Career Development Professorship, created by Pfizer Inc. to honor Dr. Gerald D. Laubach (SB '50, PhD), former company president.
Professor Stern and his research team study the structure and function of proteins, especially those which are involved in the body's immune responses. They are also investigating mechanisms of recognition and activation in the immune system. He received the BA degree cum laude from Cornell University in 1983 and the PhD in biochemistry from MIT in 1989.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on October 8, 1997.
