Joseph Sussman, the J.R. East Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and of Engineering Systems, has won the 2003 CUTC Award for Distinguished Contribution to University Transportation Education and Research. The award is given by the Council of University Transportation Centers. Sussman, who was director of MIT's Center for Transportation and Logistics from 1986-91, has made important research contributions in railroad service reliability, operations and risk assessment.
An MIT graduate student and two recent alumni have been awarded Hertz Foundation fellowships for graduate work leading to a Ph.D. in applications of the physical sciences. The winners are Christopher Loose, a graduate student in chemical engineering; Alexander Wissner-Gross, who earned S.B.s in 2003 in physics, electrical engineering and mathematics and is now a graduate student in physics at Harvard; and Keith Fife (S.B. and M.Eng. 1999), now a graduate student in electrical engineering at Stanford.
Frank R. Field III has received the first annual Joseph Nemec ESD Educational Excellence Award, presented by MIT's Engineering Systems Division. He was recognized for "excellence in classroom teaching, curriculum design and development, academic administration, and providing an effective and nurturing environment." Field is affiliated with the Materials Systems Laboratory and is also associate director of education of ESD's Technology and Policy Program. He is a senior research engineer, senior lecturer in engineering systems, and senior research associate in ESD's Center for Technology, Policy and Industrial Development.
Gerald Dionne, a Lincoln Laboratory retiree now working as a resident consultant at Lincoln Lab's Group 86 (the Analog Device Technology group), has been elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society. He was cited for contributions to the understanding of magnetic and electronic interactions in solids and for the design of novel magnetic materials and devices. He retired in 1995 after 29 years at Lincoln Lab.
Professor Alan Willsky of electrical engineering and computer science has received the Donald G. Fink Prize Paper Award for his paper titled "Multiresolution Markov Models for Signal and Image Processing" from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The award is given to the outstanding survey or tutorial paper in any IEEE publication.
The U.S. Department of Energy will present its Homer H. Lowry Award to János Beér, professor emeritus of chemical and fuel engineering. This is the highest honor given by the energy department for outstanding contributions to fossil energy science and technology. Beer's research leading to commercial burners that control the fuel/air ratio and temperature during combustion to minimize nitrogen oxide emissions while maintaining high combustion efficiency has revolutionized many aspects of the technology. He directed MIT's Combustion Research Facility from 1976-93. This is the seventh time the Energy Department has presented the Lowry Award since it was established in 1985.
Professor Emeritus Eugene Skolnikoff of political science has received a Fulbright Senior Specialists grant in sociology at the Institute of Malaysian & International Studies, at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. The program offers two- to six-week grants to leading U.S. academics and professionals to support curricular and faculty development and institutional planning at academic institutions in 140 countries. MIT is hosting 11 Fulbright Scholars in 2003-04.
Ayalet Maor-Shoshani has been awarded a three-year Damon Runyan postdoctoral fellowship by the Damon Runyan Cancer Research Foundation. Recipients are young scientists conducting research relating to the search for cancer causes, mechanisms, therapies and prevention. Maor-Shoshani is working in the lab of Professor Leona D. Samson, director of the Center for Environmental Health Sciences, on the role of 3-methyladenine DNA glycosylase in the repair of cross-links in DNA.
Former director of real estate and associate treasurer Philip Trussell has received the BOMA Industry Leadership Award from the Building Owners and Managers Association. In his role of managing, developing and administering MIT's investment real estate holdings, he was involved in the purchase and development of several Cambridge properties, including 640 Memorial Drive and One Broadway, as well as the University Park development partnership. Trussell retired in 1999 after 22 years at MIT.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on January 28, 2004.
