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People
Faculty Achievement
Our faculty continue to inspire us with their extraordinary talent in diverse
fields. UM adjunct physics professor, John
C. Mather, was co-awarded the 2006
Nobel Prize in Physics for his measurements of cosmic microwave background
radiation that provides a clearer look at the birth of the universe. Rita
Colwell was awarded the U.S.'s highest honor for science, the National Medal of Science,
for her remarkable career as a scientist, scientific leader, and humanist.
A UM professor of microbiology and biotechnology, Colwell received the award
from President Bush at a White House ceremony in July, 2007. Journalism professor
Gene Roberts won the Pulitzer
Prize for History for his 2006 book, The Race
Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation,
bringing the number of Pulitzer winners on the full-time Journalism faculty
to seven. Co-authored with Hank Klibanoff, the Roberts book analyzes press
coverage of race in America during the civil rights struggle. Katepalli
R. Sreenivasan, professor of mechanical engineering and physics, was elected to
the National Academy of Sciences for his research contributions to the fields
of fluid turbulence, complex fluids, combustion, cryogenic helium, and nonlinear
dynamics. Sreenivasan is also a member of the National Academy of Engineering
and served as the director of the Institute for Physical Sciences from 2002-
2003. Robert Mislevy was elected to the National Academy of Education for his
application of cognitive science to educational assessment. Mislevy is a professor
of measurement, statistics, and evaluation in the College of Education.
Two more University of Maryland professors were honored this year for their
work mentoring students and promoting interest in math and science. Mathematics
professor Raymond Johnson received the 2006 American Association for the Advancement
of Science (AAAS) Mentor Award for Lifetime Achievement for his diligent efforts
to help underrepresented students earn doctoral degrees in the sciences. A
former chair of Maryland's mathematics department, he has mentored 23 students
who have received Ph.D.'s in mathematics, 22 of them African Americans. Physicist S.
James Gates, Jr. won the AAAS 2006 Public Understanding of Science and Technology Award for his outstanding contributions to the popularization of science. Gates is a leading string theorist with a gift for explaining difficult physics concepts in clear language in formats such as the popular 2003 PBS documentary "The
Elegant Universe."
Several new administrators have joined our team this year, bringing even more innovation and talent to the pool. Doug
Duncan, the new Vice President of Administrative Affairs, became the Chief Administrative and Finance Officer of the campus. Duncan brings decades of experience in local Maryland government, including three terms as county executive for Montgomery County and three terms as Mayor of the City of Rockville (1987-1993). In addition to overseeing seven departments on campus, Duncan is leading the East Campus development initiative on Route One.
Also joining the administration is a new provost. Nariman
Farvardin has replaced William Destler as Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. Destler was named president of the Rochester Institute of Technology in July. Previously the Dean of the A. James Clark School of Engineering, Farvardin is also a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and a widely respected researcher in communications and information theory.
New Faculty
UM continues to attract scholars who are drawn to the vitality of our campus. Their expertise is taking the University in exciting new directions. In the new School of Public Health, one of several emerging themes is the health care of underserved populations. Three new hires are tackling this topic from distinct perspectives. Edmond
Shenassa works on maternal and child health, childhood injury and low income families, Olivia
Carter-Pokras specializes in health initiatives for underserved populations, particularly Latinos and children, and Dushanka
Kleinman studies disparities in dental health in diverse populations.
A range of scientific disciplines is bringing outstanding new faculty on board:
Christopher Monroe, director of the National Science Foundation's Physics Frontier Center, FOCUS, is joining our Physics Department. Ross
Salawitch, an internationally recognized authority on atmospheric chemistry, will be working in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, as a Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry. Thomas
Kocher, former co-director of the Hubbard Center for Genome Studies, was appointed as Professor of Biology this year, and Giovanni
Forni, an expert in using geometric techniques in the analysis of dynamical models, was appointed as a Professor of Mathematics. Vadim
Kaloshin will also join the Math Department as Michael Brin Chair of Mathematics, bringing with him a remarkable record of accomplishment for such a young mathematician. Two Geology professors were recruited from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: Laurent
G. J. Mont�si, an expert on the mechanics of Earth's lithosphere, and Wen-lu
Zhu who specializes
in rock physics, particularly the physical properties and deformation of rocks.
The Smith School of Business attracted nine new faculty members, including
Shijun Cheng who holds two Ph.D.s, one in accounting and the other in engineering.
The College of Chemical and Life Sciences has hired 16 faculty members in 2006—2007,
with specific focus on our strategic research initiatives: nanoscience/biomaterials,
host-pathogen interactions; sensory neuroscience; comparative and functional
genomics.
Donna L. Wiseman has been named Interim Dean of the College of Education effective July 1. Prior to this appointment, Wiseman was a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and the Associate Dean for Academic Programs responsible for student services and advising, international activities, outreach, teacher education and accreditation. Herb
Rabin has also been named Interim Dean of the A. James Clark School of Engineering, his second term in this capacity. Rabin was previously Associate Dean of the Clark School, Director of the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (MTECH), and is a professor of electrical and computer engineering.
Among our new faculty diversity continues to rise, with 32% of new hires identifying themselves as other than white. Female faculty continue to increase on campus, making up 41% of newly hired faculty this year. Geology Professor Roberta
L. Rudnick became the first woman to receive the Norman L. Bowen Award of the American Geophysical Union. Rudnick was honored for her contributions to the understanding of the chemical composition, formation mechanisms and physical properties of the continental lithosphere. Patricia
Hill Collins also accomplished a first, being elected as the 100th President of the American Sociological Association (ASA). Collins will be the first African American woman to serve as president of ASA, and was awarded the 2007 ASA Distinguished Book Award for Black
Sexual Politics: African Americans, Gender and the New Racism. Harriet
Presser from Sociology was honored by the American Association of University Women with the 2007 Founders Distinguished Senior Scholar Award. NASA also finalized its Title
IX Compliance Report of UM's Aerospace Engineering Program, citing the program as a "model for gender equity, particularly regarding its aggressive outreach and recruitment efforts" towards women.
Staff Awards
University Relations also showed its
true colors this year, winning eight awards at the national level (four gold,
two silver, two bronze) from the Council for the Advancement and Support of
Education (CASE). The UM awards were given for a variety of marketing and publication
projects, many of them related to UM's programming around the 150th anniversary.
UM won the highest award possible —a Grand Gold medal—for its programming
around the University of Maryland's year long 150th birthday celebration.
Student Awards
UM had 42 winners of prestigious national awards this year, improving on our 32 awards last year. Among these were four Fulbright winners, seven Gates Millennium Scholarship winners, and five National Science Foundation winners. Our students continue to be drawn to the national laboratories that surround UM, with four NASA Graduate Student Research Fellows funded this year along with scholarships from NOAA, the National Consortium of Measures and Signatures Intelligence (DIA), the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the National Security Education Program, and the National Defense, Science and Engineering Fellowship program. UM continues to have the highest number of awardees for the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship in the nation, adding another this year. Internationally, multiple study-abroad scholarships are allowing more UM students to have experiences beyond U.S. borders.
Athletics continues to be a place for celebration and community building. This
past year UM athletics captured two national championships in competitive cheer
and field hockey. Incredibly, each team won for the second year in a row. According
to Sports Illustrated On Campus All Sports Rankings, Maryland Athletics
finished the 06-07 school year ranked as the 17th top program in the country.
The 76% athlete graduation rate has risen 25% since 1998 and is ranked the
highest among the eight ACC public institutions. For the second year in a row one
half of student-athletes were on the honor roll, making UM 2nd among public
institutions in the ACC for having 261 All-ACC Academic performers. In another
example of leadership among student athletes, the Student Athlete Advisory
Council introduced a new Student Athlete Honor Code which commits athletes
to high standards in terms of academics, sportsmanship, and leadership. The
Code was initiated by athletes who hope to inspire integrity in several important
areas of student life.
Rankings
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