NEWS BRIEFS
Five MIT professors designated fellows in American Association for the Advancement of Science
According to an MIT News Office press release, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) included five MIT professors in the group of 388 scientists it named as fellows last Tuesday.
According to its website, the AAAS, publisher of the journal Science and self-described “World’s Largest General Scientific Society” bestows the award for “meritorious efforts to advance science or its applications.”
According to the MIT News Office, Robert Langer ScD ’74, professor of Chemical Engineering and Biological Engineering, received the award for drug release system and biomaterial inventions.
Thomas A. Herring, a geophysics professor in Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, was recognized for his work in geodetic measurements systems, which, according to his department website, include GPS and Satellite Laser Altimetry.
James M. Utterback PhD ’69, a Professor of Management and Innovation at the Sloan School of Management researches product development in corporate strategy according to his Sloan website.
Charles E. Leiserson, a professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and another new fellow, researches parallel computing theory according to his department website.
Wayne O’Neil, a professor in the Department of Linguistics, was recognized for research in the history of Germanic languages and scientific linguistics in education according to the press release.
David J. Perreault new EECS associate department head
The Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) Department announced Nov. 27 that David J. Perreault PhD ’97 would take over as associate EECS department head according to a press release from the MIT News Office. This follows the news that Munther A. Dahleh, who held the associate EECS department role since July 2011, would begin a new role as the acting director of the Engineering Systems Division (ESD) on Dec. 1.
According to the press release, Perreault is most well known for high frequency power converters, and three startups have emerged from his research group. He has also been a member of and held managerial roles in the Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE) and Microsystems Technology Laboratories (MTL).
Collier Medal created in memory of fallen officer
On Nov. 25, MIT Executive Vice President and Treasurer Israel Ruiz SM ’01 announced to the MIT community the creation of the Collier Medal. The award, provided for by the Sean A. Collier Memorial Fund, will be given each year “to an individual or group that embodies the character and qualities that Officer Collier exhibited as a member of the MIT community and in all aspects of his life,” according to Ruiz’s letter.
The letter also announced that nominations would be accepted through Jan. 10, 2014 for the award, to be given out at the MIT Excellence Awards ceremony on Feb. 25, 2014.
Ruiz said work was underway to design a permanent memorial to Collier to be located in a garden between the Koch Institute and Stata Center and announced that a groundbreaking for its construction would occur on April 18, 2014, the first anniversary of his death.
—Austin Hess