February 6, 2003
Etc.
PUBLICITY’S GLARE: A UW alumnus has become a familiar face to Americans across the country who are following the aftermath of last Saturday’s tragic destruction of the space shuttle Columbia.
Ron D. Dittemore, NASA’s space shuttle program director and spokesman during the agency’s televised press updates, graduated from the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics with a bachelor’s degree in 1974 and a master’s in 1975.
Reporters with the national news media have given Dittemore high marks for his openness and compassion in handling the chaotic aftermath of the accident. New York Times reporter David Barstow wrote on Tuesday that Dittemore “displayed a blend of measured grief and steely resolve” to become “the face of the nation’s newest shared trauma.”
Other reporters added their praise.
“He’s been very up-front, very candid,” said Tom Kenworthy, a USA Today reporter in Houston.
Kristin Hays, a reporter with the Associated Press Houston bureau, added that the emotional bond Dittemore felt for the lost astronauts comes through in his briefings.
“You can tell how hard it is for him,” she said. “At times, it’s almost painful to watch.”
FLYING HIGH: UWTV Production won seven Cine Golden Eagle Awards for television and video productions featuring some of the UW’s research, services and accomplishments. In the category of Business — Internal Audiences, producer Timothy Lorang and director Carol Geertsema won for The Convergence Zone. In the Education category, producer/director Christopher Redner won for Contextual Teaching and Learning: Washington State Consortium. In the category of Motivational and Public Affairs, producer/director Geertsema won for Bioengineering: Inventing the Future of Medicine and producer/director Charlie Hinckley won for Taking Charge: Stories of Success and Self Determination. In the category of Public Service Announcements, Advertisements and Promotions, producer/director Redner won for two Student Voices segments — Johnny Grady and Kimberly Gustafson. Redner was also producer of a third award-winning Student Voices segment — Christine Palermo, directed by Corinne Balisky. Founded in 1957 by a consortium representing business, education, and government dedicated to depicting American life and thought realistically for a global audience, CINE continues to recognize and foster the highest quality of non-theatrical film and video production.
DISTINGUISHED ALUMS: Art Professor Emeritus Patti Warashina is among four UW graduates named Distinguished Alumni by the College of Arts and Sciences. Warashina earned both BFA and MFA degrees from the UW and taught at the School of Art. Others named Distinguished Alumni include Washington State Supreme Court Justice Charles W. Johnson, environmental scientist and marine ecologist Jane Lubchenco, and Ambassador to Thailand Darryl N. Johnson.
KUDOS: Industrial Engineering Professor Richard Storch will receive the Engineer of the Year Award from the Puget Sound Engineering Society Feb. 21 . . . Bioengineering Professor Viola Vogel is one of only two U.S. representatives named to serve on the Council of Scientists for the Human Frontiers Program, which supports basic research focused on complex mechanisms of living organisms.
