September 29, 2005
Etc: campus news & notes
BEST BOOKS: Two UW professors have won Washington State Book Awards. Professor of History Nikhil Pal Singh won for Black is a Country: Race and The Unfinished Struggle for Democracy, and Professor of Geology Peter Ward won for Gorgon: The Monsters That Ruled the Planet Before Dinosaurs and How They Died in the Greatest Catastrophe in the Earth’s History. The prizes are given to books published in 2004 by authors who were either born in Washington or have been current residents for at least three years.
ELECTORAL EXPERT: The Metropolitan King County Council has recognized Professor Emeritus David Olson, former chair of Political Science, for his 31 years of service to the University and the community.
“Professor Olson took advantage of every opportunity to teach people about the importance of government and political participation in their lives — inside and outside the classroom,” said County Council member Dow Constantine, sponsor of the recognition and a UW political science alumnus. “He is a familiar figure to local newspaper readers because reporters know he can provide a fresh insight about any electoral issue.”
JOLLY GOOD FELLOWS: Carol Stoel-Gammon and Nancy Alarcon, two UW professors in Speech and Hearing Sciences, are being honored as Fellows of the American Speech Language Hearing Association. The award recognizes members for professional or scientific achievement and significant contributions to the professions related to communication sciences and disorders.
FIRE MAN: David Peterson, a professor of forest resources and a research biologist at the USDA Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station, recently received the 2005 Scientific Achievement Award from the International Union of Forest Research Organizations for his research findings and publishing achievements. He has published 160 scientific articles and three books about fire ecology, mountain ecology, and climate change
ECOLOGY STARS: Forestry Professor Linda Brubaker and her former student Daniel Gavin are winners of the William S. Cooper Award given by the Ecological Society of America in honor of one of the founders of modern plant ecology. The award is made annually for an outstanding contribution in geobotany, physiographic ecology, plant succession, or the distribution of organisms along environmental gradients. Brubaker and Gavin were honored along with co-author Kenneth Lertzman for their 2003 paper, “Holocene Fire History of a Coastal Temperate Rain Forest Based on Soil Charcoal Radiocarbon Dates,” published in the journal Ecology.
WORLD CLASS: The International Biographical Centre of Cambridge, England has named UW Professor Emeritus John Halver one of the “Leading Scientists of the World” for 2005. The certificate commends Halver’s lifetime of scientific research in nutritional biochemistry. He is a pioneering scientist in fish nutrition, physiology, cellular biochemistry, and metabolism.
KUDOS: Dave Fluharty, research associate professor of marine affairs, has been appointed by the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to NOAA’s Science Advisory Board for a three-year term.
Do you know someone who deserves kudos for an honor, award or book publication? If so, let us know at uweek@u.washington.edu.
