At Brown

Graduate School Commencement honors

Peder Estrup, dean of the Graduate School and Research, the Newport Rogers Professor of Chemistry, and professor of physics, received the Wilson-Deblois Award during Graduate School Commencement ceremonies May 27. The award, named for the University’s first two Ph.D. recipients, is presented by the Graduate Student Council for outstanding contributions to the Graduate School.

Estrup was honored for his service as a “persistent advocate for the graduate student” – particularly for plans that ultimately were incorporated into the Initiatives for Academic Enrichment, for the individual support he has provided countless graduate students, and for his “gentle sense of humor.”

Four graduate students received the Joukowsky Family Foundation Outstanding Dissertation Award during Graduate School Commencement. They are:

• Jae-Hun Jung, applied mathematics, for “Multi-domain Spectral Penalty Method for Hyperbolic Systems: Theory and Application”

• Robert Henry Moser, Portuguese and Brazilian studies, for “The Carnivalesque Defunto: Death and the Dead in Modern Brazilian Literature”

• Khuong Ba Nguyen, pathobiology, for “Coordination of NK and T Cell Responses to Viral Infections by Type 1 Interferons”

• James Terence Sparrow, history, for “Fighting Over the American Soldier: Moral Economy and National Citizenship in WWII”

Honorable mentions were given to: Briann Greenfield of American civilization, Caroline Johnson Hodges of religious studies, Nelson Maldonado-Torres of religious studies, and Weifeng Xu of neuroscience.

Three faculty members receive teaching awards from graduating classes

Graduating seniors and Medical School students honored three faculty members with Hazeltine Citations and the Medical School Senior Citation.

This year's recipients of the Barrett Hazeltine Citation, named for the engineering professor who received the award 13 times, are Sheila E. Blumstein, the Albert D. Mead Professor of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences, and Barrymore Anthony Bogues, associate professor of Africana studies. They were selected by the Class of 2002. The winner of the Medical School Senior Citation is Associate Professor Mark Fagan, M.D.

The citation for Blumstein reads, in part:

“You have spent your academic career studying the inner workings of the human mind, but you have also said that your passion is to shape individual minds in the classroom. With warmth and a lively sense of humor, you have led us through the intricacies of linguistics and cognitive science, always remembering our names and making each one of us feel special and important…. We want you to know that … most of all, we love the way you have cared about us and about this University.”

The citation for Bogues reads, in part:

“Your courses on Caribbean history and society, on Africa and the West, and on Africana political thought have opened our minds to new ways of viewing our world and its peoples. Just as important, you always added that personal touch that makes learning more than just lectures and readings. You were generous with praise and patient with those who needed help, and you spent individual time with us to make sure we understood the concepts in your courses.”

The citation for Fagan reads, in part:

As an instructor on the wards, in the clinics, and in the classroom, you have inspired us to reach further than our own expectations. You have demonstrated the highest level of commitment to your students' well-being, professionally and personally, and we are indebted to you for your tireless efforts to teach beyond the textbook. We thank you…for your munificence, your humility, and your professionalism.”

Awards and Honors

Peter M. Monti recently received the Musiker-Merenda Award for outstanding contributions to mental health and psychology from the Rhode Island Psychological Association (RIPA). Monti is professor and director of the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies. The award is presented annually for outstanding contributions to mental health and psychology in Rhode Island. RIPA cited Monti’s research programs on the mechanisms of addiction, in particular his focus on applying social and coping skills training to addiction treatment. In addition, under Monti's leadership, “the Brown Clinical Psychology Internship Program has significantly impacted the training and education of many psychologists, and has helped to maintain a bridge between the academic and clinical psychology communities,” noted RIPA.

On the Road

Mark Bearand Justin Fallon, professors of neuroscience, were among 13 presenters at a conference on Perspectives on Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, hosted at Brown May 16 and 17. The two-day event brought together leading researchers from different areas of developmental neuroscience to contribute to the understanding of human cognitive and language development. Bear’s presentation was titled “How Nascent Synapses in the Developing Brain are Modified by Experience." Fallon’s presentation was titled "Local Protein Synthesis in Dendrites and the Alchemy of Experience-driven Synaptic Plasticity." The conference was sponsored by the National Science Foundation, Brown's Center for the Study of Human Development, Brain Sciences Center, and IGERT.

On June 1, the Medical School will cosponsor a national meeting at the Westin Providence about managing patients with severe sepsis (sepsis with acute organ dysfunction). This continuing medical-education event is designed for critical care specialists, infectious disease specialists and hematologists. Among the speakers will be Mitchell Levy, M.D., associate professor of medicine. Residents, fellows and medical students may attend at no charge. For others, there is a $25 registration fee, which includes breakfast, lunch, a 200-plus-page curriculum with updated reference materials, and a CME certificate. For a program agenda or to register, call 877-251-0931.

Off the Shelf

Phil Brown’s newest book is “In the Catskills: A Century of Jewish Experience in the Mountains.” Brown edited the compilation, which includes fiction, memoir, music, photography and art that highlight the Catskills experience. He also assesses the Catskills’ impact on American music, comedy, food, culture and religion. Brown is professor of sociology and environmental studies and co-founder and president of the Catskills Institute, a historical preservation society.

People

The Board of Governors of the Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory at Brown University (LAB) recently appointed Mary-Beth Fafard its executive director. Fafard has been the interim executive director of the LAB since April 2001, shortly after the LAB was awarded its second five-year contract from the U.S. Department of Education. The LAB, a program of Brown's Education Alliance, is one of 10 federally funded labs performing applied research and development to improve teaching and promote effective school reform in grades K-12. The LAB's region covers New England, New York, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.