July 17, 2009

Appointments, honors and activities

— The College of Liberals Arts has named Christopher Agnew as head of the Department of Psychological Sciences, Harry Bulow as head of the Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Visual and Performing Arts, and JoAnn Miller as interim head of the Department of Sociology. Agnew, who specializes in social psychology, has been at Purdue since 1995. Bulow, who focuses on music theory and composition, most recently served as chair of the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. Miller also is the associate dean for interdisciplinary programs and engagement. The appointments were effective July 1.

— Charles Watkinson, director of publications for the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (Greece), will become director of Purdue University Press, effective Sept. 1. Watkinson will lead the Purdue Press in identifying and establishing a niche within the scholarly publication field. Together with colleagues at the American School for Classical Studies, Watkinson recently coordinated a $1.2 million digital library and electronic publishing initiative funded by the Mellon Foundation and European Union. He received a Hons Archaeology and Anthropology bachelor's degree at Pembroke College, the University of Cambridge, and an MBA from Oxford Brookes University.

• Campus

— The Purdue Cancer Center has changed its name to the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research. The name change reflects the function of the center and differentiates it from clinical cancer centers that see patients.

• Faculty and staff honors

— Gerhard Klimeck, professor of electrical and computer engineering, is among 88 engineers chosen for the National Academy of Engineering's 15th annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering symposium. The engineers, ages 30-45, come from industry, academia and government. They were nominated for their exceptional engineering research and technical work. The symposium will be Sept. 10-12 at the University of California, Irvine.

— Andrew Weiner, the Scifres Family Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer  Engineering, is serving as chair of the National Academy of Engineering's 15th annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering symposium. Eighty-eight engineers ages 30-45 have been chosen to attend the symposium on Sept. 10-12 at the University of California, Irvine.

— Luis M. Kruczenski, assistant professor of physics, has been awarded a 2009 Sloan Research Fellowship. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation selected 118 early career scientists, mathematicians and economists as research fellows this year. The fellowship includes a grant of $50,000 for a two-year period. Kruczenski's research interests include string theory and the physics of black holes.

— Tiffany Mousel, an academic adviser in the School of Pharmacy, has been selected as an Outstanding New Adviser by the National Academic Advising Association. The award is given to individuals who have demonstrated qualities associated with outstanding academic advising of students and who have served as an adviser for a period of three or fewer years. Mousel is one of eight award recipients this year. She will receive the award this fall in San Antonio during the National Academic Advising Association annual conference.

— R. Graham Cooks, the Henry Bohn Hass Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, has been given the Ralph N. Adams Award from Pittcon. The award honors leaders in the fields of analytical chemistry and applied spectroscopy. The award was presented at Pittcon, the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy, which is co-sponsored by the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh and the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh.

— Shuang Liu, associate professor of health sciences, is first on the list of the Bioconjugate Chemistry top 20 most prolific authors. The journal provides the international scientific community with research covering all aspects of the joining of different molecular functions by chemical or biological means. Liu's research focuses on radiopharmaceuticals, or radioactive pharmaceuticals, which are widely used in the diagnosis and treatment of disease.

• Student honors

— Shun Zhang, a graduate student in applied mathematics, received the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Student Paper Prize. Zhang is one of three applied math graduate students to receive the prize this year and was recognized for contributions to the paper "Recovery-Based Error Estimator for Interface Problems: Conforming Linear Elements." The prize is given based on the merit and content of the student's contribution to the paper and recognizes outstanding scholarship by students in applied mathematics and computational science who do not yet hold their doctorate. Zhiqiang Cai, professor of mathematics, co-authored the paper.

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