A royal honor for TLO's Nelsen
Lita Nelsen, director of the Technology Licensing Office at MIT, has been named a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for her work in innovation and technology transfer in the United Kingdom.
Nelsen was cited for her talents as an internationally recognized authority in technology licensing and technology transfer, and for contributing significantly to the development of a network of trained Technology Licensing Offices in the United Kingdom.
In 2002, Nelsen co-founded Praxis Courses Ltd., a nonprofit U.K. technology transfer program, with Professor David Secher, then director of research services at Cambridge University. Praxis has played a key role in shifting the culture of U.K. universities toward commercialization.
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire was founded in 1917 and honors civilians and service personnel for public service or other distinctions. It is widely used by the queen to honor non-British subjects who have given outstanding service to the United Kingdom.
DeLong wins ASM award
The 2009 American Society for Microbiology (ASM) D.C. White Research and Mentoring Award has been awarded to Edward F. DeLong, professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Department of Biological Engineering.
DeLong was cited as one of the first marine microbiologists to apply novel molecular genetic methods to address fundamental ecological questions. The award will be presented in May during the 109th General Meeting of the ASM in Philadelphia.
Ketterle wins award for lifetime achievements
Wolfgang Ketterle, a professor in the Department of Physics, has been elected the recipient of a Humboldt Research Award after having been nominated by the German scientist Theodor W. Hänsch. The award is conferred in recognition of lifetime achievements in research. In addition, the awardee is invited to carry out research projects of his own choice in cooperation with specialist colleagues in Germany.
Buchanan wins Benjamin Siegel prize
The 2008/2009 Benjamin Siegel prize -- offered to the MIT student submitting the best written work on issues in science, technology and society -- has been awarded to graduate student Nicholas Buchanan, in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society, for his paper "Narrating Nature: Scientific Legality, Indigeneity, and Environmental Authority."
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on February 25, 2009 (download PDF).
