June 26, 2009

Appointments, honors and activities

— Lindi Smedberg is the new assistant director of fraternity and sorority life in the Student Activities and Organizations area within the Office of the Dean of Students. Smedberg, who will begin Aug. 3, most recently served as the assistant director of fraternity and sorority life at Central Florida University.

• Faculty and staff honors

— David Blakesley, professor of English and director of professional writing, received the Computers and Composition Charles Moran Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Field. The award was given to him at the Computers and Writing 2009 conference at the University of California at Davis.

— Albert Overhauser, professor emeritus of physics, has received the 2009 Russell Varian Prize for his contributions that laid the groundwork for the development of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance technology. Overhauser's findings in 1953 led to two important techniques in modern Nuclear Magnetic Resonance: the Nuclear Overhauser Effect and Dynamic Nuclear Polarization. The award ceremony will take place on July 5 at the EUROMAR 2009 meeting in Goteborg, Sweden. Overhauser, the Stuart Distinguished Professor of Physics, has been a member of the National Academy of Sciences since 1976 and was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1994.

— Terry West, professor of earth and atmospheric sciences, has received the Karl and Ruth Terzaghi Outstanding Mentor Award from the Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists for his achievements as a mentor throughout his career.  The award recognizes individuals who have made lifelong efforts in providing professional, ethical and technical mentoring for environmental and engineering geologists. The award will be presented Sept. 24 at the annual meeting in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. M/p>

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

To the News Service home page