Author: Jessica Daues

Dennis Barbour, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of biomedical engineering, has received a two-year, $236,000 grant from the Coulter Foundation for research titled “Improvement of Noisy Signal Representation in Auditory Prostheses via Biologically Inspired Spectral Contrast Shaping.” … Christopher R. Carpenter, M.D., assistant professor of emergency medicine, received the Dennis W. Jahnigen Career Development Scholars award from the American Geriatrics Society. The award, funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation and Atlantic Philanthropies, provides two-year grants of $200,000 to help young faculty initiate and sustain a career in research and education in the geriatrics aspect of his or her discipline. … Raj Jain, Ph.D., professor of computer science and engineering, is co-author of a paper that has received the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Data Communication (SIGCOMM) Test of Time Award. The award recognizes a paper published 10 to 12 years ago in Computer Communications Review or any SIGCOMM-sponsored or co-sponsored conference, the contents of which are still deemed to be a vibrant and useful contribution today. The paper, “A Binary Feedback Scheme for Congestion Avoidance in Computer Networks with Connectionless Network Layer,” appeared in ACM Transactions on Computer Systems in May 1990 and was reprinted in the 25th Anniversary Special Issue of Computer Communication Review in January 1995. … Adam S. Kibel, M.D., associate professor in the Division of Urologic Surgery, received the Young Investigator Award from the Society of Urologic Oncology. The award is given to the physician/scientist who has made the most outstanding contributions to the field of urologic oncology within 10 years of completing urology residency. … James E. Koch, affiliate faculty member in the Department of Civil Engineering and past director of the Master of Construction Management Program, has been named Hill International’s 2005 Project Manager of the Year. The award recognizes his leadership of Hill’s team in Iraq, which is supporting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ efforts to manage the $12 billion Iraq Reconstruction Program. … Robert Pless, Ph.D., associate professor of computer science and engineering, has received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award for research titled “Passive Vision—What Can Be Learned by a Stationary Observer.” The five-year award totals $500,000. … Kenneth F. Wong, Ph.D., senior research associate in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, has received the 2006 Big Fish Award from the Association of Graduate Engineering Students. The award recognizes excellence in teaching and mentoring.

The following are among the new faculty members at the University. Others will be introduced periodically in this space. Robert E. Blankenship, Ph.D., joins the departments of Biology and Chemistry in Arts & Sciences as professor. He earned a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley and a bachelor’s from Nebraska Wesleyan University. Blankenship spent the past 21 years at Arizona State University and was chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry from 2002-06. His research interests center on the molecular mechanisms of energy storage in photosynthesis. Blankenship and his group investigate this process using an interdisciplinary approach that emphasizes studying the complete range of types of organisms that do photosynthesis, with the goal of discovering the essential aspects of how light energy is stored, as well as elucidating the origin and early evolutionary development of photosynthesis. Herman Pontzer, Ph.D., joins the Department of Anthropology in Arts & Sciences as assistant professor. He earned a doctorate in 2006 from Harvard University and a bachelor’s (with highest honors) from Pennsylvania State University in 1999. Herman is interested in linking functional morphology to ecology, and his research uses a combination of modeling and experimental approaches to test hypotheses linking limb design, locomotor performance (especially locomotor energetics) and ranging ecology. He is participating in ongoing excavations at the lower Paleolithic site of Dmanisi in the Republic of Georgia, where fossils dated to 1.8 million years provide evidence of the earliest human ancestors outside of Africa. Alicia Walker, Ph.D., joins the Department of Art History and Archaeology in Arts & Sciences as assistant professor of medieval art and architecture. She earned a doctorate and master’s from Harvard University and a bachelor’s from Bryn Mawr College. From 2004-06, she was a Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Art and Architectural History at Columbia University. At WUSTL, Walker will teach courses about Byzantine, medieval Islamic and Western medieval art. Her primary fields of research include cross-cultural artistic interaction in the medieval world from the ninth-13th centuries and gender issues in the art and material culture of Byzantium. She recently completed articles on the material and intellectual culture of divination in medieval Byzantium and the expression of romance culture in works of middle Byzantine courtly art. She is working on a book-length study of Islamic impact on middle Byzantine imperial imagery and is co-editing a volume of essays titled “Negotiating the Secular in Medieval Art.”

Register to win a PassPort, which consists of five ticket vouchers redeemable at any time during the 2007 season.

Women’s cross country finishes fourth at the NCAA tournament, backed by Beth Herndon’s fifth-place finish in her final WUSTL meet.

A 1993 graduate, Wild says he is “thrilled” about the new opportunity to work with Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton, effective Jan. 1.

Active in health policy and education, Michael M. Karl, M.D., professor of clinical medicine, embodied “the finest ideals of medicine.”

Photo by David KilperA tower crane offers an overview of construction on the Danforth Campus.

Vladimir B. Birman, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences, has received a two-and-a-half-year, $35,000 grant from the American Chemical Society for research titled “Total Synthesis of Kinamycin Antibiotics.” … Roberto Civitelli, M.D., the Sydney M. and Stella H. Schoenberg Professor of Medicine, professor of orthopaedic surgery and of cell biology and physiology, was elected to the board of counselors of the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research, and Keith Hruska, M.D., professor of medicine, of cell biology and physiology and of pediatrics, was elected secretary-treasurer. Both started serving three-year terms in September. … Gruia-Catalin Roman, Ph.D., chair and the Harold B. and Adelaide G. Wedge Professor of Computer Science, has received a three-year, $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for research titled “NeTS-NOSS: Fluid Software Infrastructure for Wireless Sensor Networks.” In addition, he has another NSF grant, for three years and $754,000, for research titled “Adaptive Systems for Collaboration in Multi-mode Mobile Environments.” … Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert, Ph.D., assistant professor of biomedical engineering, has received a two-year, $240,000 grant from the Coulter Foundation for research titled “Rationally Designed Delivery Systems for Nerve Injury.”

Nov. 15-28 Nov. 15 8:23 p.m. — A student reported the theft of his iPod and several DVDs from his locker in his workspace in Givens Hall. The incident occurred over the weekend. Total value is estimated at $470. Nov. 16 9:18 a.m. — A contractor working in the Stix International H ouse reported that a finish nail gun was taken from the basement between 3 p.m. Nov. 15 and 8:30 a.m. Nov. 16. Totall value is estimated at $350. University Police also responded to two assaults, two auto accidents, two reports of larceny and one report each of trespassing and drug possession.

Photo by Mary ButkusThe campus Knit-In brings together knitting enthusiasts from across campus and the community.