Charles M. Oman, director of the Man Vehicle Lab in MIT's Center for Space Research, has been elected a Corresponding Member of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA). Oman, who is a senior lecturer and senior research engineer in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, has served as the principle investigator for shuttle/spacelab and International Space Station projects, headed the neurovestibular research section of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, and chairs the NASA Advisory Council Space Station Utilization Advisory Subcommittee. He is one of only 11 individuals worldwide elected to IAA Life Science Section membership this year. IAA fosters the development of astronautics for peaceful purposes and enables its members to contribute to international endeavors and cooperation in the advancement of aerospace science.
The Sloan School of Management Buck Weaver Award was presented on Sept. 11 to David Aaker, professor emeritus at the Hass School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, at a conference at MIT in his honor. The award, which is sponsored by General Motors Corp., was established last year to honor individuals who have made important contributions to the advancement of theory and practice in marketing science. Aaker is the author of 13 books and 100 articles, focusing primarily on the field of branding.
"David Aaker has been a pioneer in preaching the doctrine of brand equity. He has brought a rare blend of analytical thinking and practical insight and recommendations to the field of marketing strategy," said Professor Glen Urban of Sloan. Members of the selection committee also noted his leadership in the marketing community.
Professor Stanford Anderson, head of the Department of Architecture, was presented the 2004 Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architecture Education by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. The Topaz Medallion honors an individual who has made outstanding contributions to architectural education for at least 10 years. Anderson founded the Ph.D. program in architecture and has taught for more than 40 years, concentrating on history and architecture. The AIA cited Anderson's "intellectual and institutional leadership. He has made history and theory relevant to practice and education. Graduates of the MIT program practice, teach and govern all over the world."
Cisco Systems presented the Cisco Achievement Program Award to Varun Parmar, a graduate student in the Systems Design and Management program. Parmar, who has an internship at the company while conducting his thesis research, received the award for his contribution to the re-design of Cisco's optical technology supply chain. "Varun has gone way beyond the level of performance expected of an intern by challenging the status quo of our business and initiating fundamental changes in the way we do business in the optical networking group," said Andrew Buckley of Cisco. "Cisco could not have made many of these mental leaps without his tremendous understanding of supply chain principles and his outstanding ability to influence."
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on September 29, 2004 (download PDF).
