February 5,
2007
University research cited as best of 2006
Three University achievements have made Discover magazine’s Top 100 Science Stories of 2006. At Number Discover magazine
list is the FDA approval of the vaccine for cervical cancer. Though the
article doesn’t mention the University by name, research done more
than a decade ago by a trio of University virologists—Richard
Reichman, William Bonnez, and Robert Rose—is integral to the
vaccine.
The journal Science has released its top ten breakthroughs of 2006, and two
University biology projects on evolution made the list at number seven. H.
Allen Orr, professor of biology, along with graduate student J. P. Masly,
were cited for their September Science paper on how gene transposition can cause sterility in
certain fruit fly species hybrids, and Daven Presgraves, assistant
professor of biology, was noted for his research in Molecular Biology and Evolution about a similar gene that causes hybrid lethality and
promotes speciation. According to the journal, the results speak to the
power of genomics in helping evolutionary biologists understand one of
biology’s most fundamental questions: how biodiversity comes about.
Awards and Honors
Laura Ballou ’97,
assistant director of student activities, has been elected a regional
director of the Association of College Unions International. Ballou will
oversee programming and professional development activities for the
organization’s Region 2, which encompasses most of New York as well
as the province of Quebec and eastern Ontario in Canada.
Diane Dalecki, associate
professor of biomedical engineering and expert on the interaction between
ultrasound and biological systems, has been appointed the new director of
the Rochester Center for Biomedical Ultrasound. Created in 1986, the
center provides a unique environment where researchers from many
institutions can join together to investigate the use of very high
frequency sound waves in medical diagnosis and therapy.
Professor of English Morris
Eaves was one of seven task force members who
spent two years researching and writing the report on “Evaluating
Scholarship for Tenure and Promotion” for the Modern Language
Association. The group conducted surveys of more than 1,300 language and
literature departments, interviewed senior administrators, received
comments from association members, and consulted with other committees and
organizations. The report can be found online at www.mla.org/tenure_promotion.
Two University and Eastman School professors have
received prestigious awards from the American Musicological Society.
Ralph Locke received
the H. Colin Slim Award for his article “Beyond the Exotic: How
‘Eastern’ is Aida?” and Honey Meconi was named a recipient of the Noah Greenberg Award for
her two-part project titled “Extreme Singing,” which focuses on
Renaissance music composed and performed in very low registers. Locke is
professor of musicology at the Eastman School, and Meconi is professor
of music in the College and professor of musicology at the Eastman
School.
Chuang Ren, assistant
professor of mechanical engineering and physics, has won a U. S. Department
of Energy award—and with it a chance to conduct his fusion research
on a supercomputer. Between now and January 9, 2008, Ren will use 2 million
hours’ worth of computing time on the NERSC HPC high performance
computer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to run large-scale
simulations of fast ignition, a new method to achieve fusion as a
long-term, environment-friendly energy source.
The Association for Computing Machinery has honored Michael Scott, professor of
computer science, for his contributions to system software for parallel and
distributed computing, naming him a Fellow for 2006. Scott will be
formally recognized at the association’s annual awards banquet on
June 9 in San Diego.
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