Leslie Servi, technical staff at Lincoln Laboratory, has been named a Fellow of the Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences (INFORMS). The citation is "in recognition of outstanding contributions, achievements and service that have advanced the profession of operations research and management science."
"Aviation Week & Space Technology" magazine has selected Professor R. John Hansman Jr. of aeronautics and astronautics as a recipient of a 2004 Aerospace Commercial Air Transport Laurel. Hansman was cited for his pioneering research on vertical navigation displays. The magazine presents Laurels to individuals who "made lasting contributions to the advancement of aerospace, and to those who applied navigation or space technologies to the betterment of mankind." Hansman is director of the MIT International Center for Air Transportation.
Subra Suresh, the Ford Professor of Engineering and head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, has been elected an Honorary Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences in Bangalore. The academy, founded in 1934 by Sir C. V. Raman, the 1930 physics Nobel laureate of "Raman Spectroscopy" fame, annually elects no more than three Honorary Fellows who are citizens of foreign countries. The total number of living Honorary Fellows of the Academy currently stands at 45, of whom seven are Nobel Prize winners. Suresh also has been elected in recent years to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering (in which he currently serves as chair of the Materials Section), the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Indian National Academy of Engineering, and the Third World Academy of Sciences.
Ellen T. Harris, Class of 1949 Professor of Music, has won the 2004 Westrup Prize awarded by the British journal Music and Letters (Oxford University Press) for her article "Handel the Investor," considered the "most distinguished" among those published in the journal. Harris' article was based on extensive research in the Bank of England archives and details the bank accounts and stock holdings of George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). The abstract reads in part: "Handel kept both cash and stock accounts at the Bank of England. Never before fully examined, these illustrate in their deliberate interlocking Handel's close control over his finances, from early in his first years in London through to and including his will and the posthumous payment of his bequests." According to Harris, the accounts show that Handel passed through periods of financial difficulty, but that he died a rich man due in part to "his ability to deal conservatively in the speculative investment environment of his time."
Daniel Hastings, professor of engineering systems and aeronautics and astronautics and director of the Engineering Systems Division, has been named a 2005 Giant in Science by the Quality Education for Minorities/Mathematics, Science and Engineering (MSE) Network. The award is given to individuals who have had a significant impact on students and their participation in MSE fields; those who are outstanding mentors, teachers, and researchers; and those who are strong advocates for quality MSE education for all students, particularly those underserved by the U.S. educational system. Hastings was specifically honored because of his "outstanding contributions to research and education."
Hastings received the award at a luncheon on Feb. 26 in Washington, D.C. He then participated in an interview session with middle school students.
Institute Professor Robert Langer received the Washington Award from the Western Society of Engineers on Feb. 25. The award was created in 1916 to recognize the "devoted, unselfish and preeminent service in advancing human progress." It is conferred annually upon an engineer whose professional attainments have advanced the welfare of all peoples. Past recipients include Orville Wright (1927) and Neil Armstrong (1980). It was named the Washington Award as a reminder that the nation's first president was an engineer.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on March 9, 2005 (download PDF).
