The Air Force Office of Scientific Research, World Gastroenterology Organization, and National Academies of Practice are honoring Rochester faculty.
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University of Rochester faculty regularly earn regional, national, and international awards and honors for their professional contributions to research, scholarship, education, and community engagement.
As part of an ongoing series, we’re spotlighting their accomplishments.
Bryan Frantz bestowed Gold Medal Award from American Academy of Periodontology
The American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) has presented Bryan Frantz, a clinical assistant professor with the Department of Dentistry at the School of Medicine and Dentistry, with the Gold Medal Award, the academy’s highest honor. The AAP annually honors members whose service, dedication, and accomplishments have made a significant impact on the field of periodontics.
- Learn more about Frantz.
Christopher Kanan named senior member by AAAI
Christopher Kanan, an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science, is one of five scholars named a senior member by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI). Senior member status recognizes AAAI members who have achieved significant accomplishments within the field of artificial intelligence. Kanan will be recognized at the annual AAAI conference and in AI Magazine.
- Read more about how Kanan is using the “temporal scaffolding” hypothesis to improve AI.
Vivek Kaul appointed as secretary general of the World Gastroenterology Organization
Vivek Kaul, a professor of medicine, was elected by the World Gastroenterology Organization (WGO) Governing Council as its new secretary general, where he will also serve on the Executive & Finance committees. The WGO is a global federation of 119 countries and their leading GI societies, and has active collaborations in place with the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE). The WGO represents over 60,000 members worldwide.
Prior to his current appointment, Kaul served as the immediate past chair of the WGO endoscopy committee and also cofounded the Emerging Leaders Mentorship Program that pairs renowned mentors worldwide with interested mentees (especially from low-resource environments) for their professional development. He also serves on the WGO climate change working group and is a member of the WGO “Green Endoscopy” task force.
- Read what Kaul had to say about the honor. (URMC Intranet login required)
Alayna Loiselle receives Orthopaedic Research Society’s Boskey Award
Alayna Loiselle, an associate professor in the Department of Orthopaedics, has received the Orthopaedic Research Society’s Adele L. Boskey, PhD Award for her contributions to musculoskeletal research and mentorship of next-generation scientists. She leads the Loiselle Lab in the Center for Musculoskeletal Research, where her team’s work focuses on defining the fundamental cellular and molecular mediators of tendon homeostasis, tendinopathy development, and the tendon response to injury.
With 3,200 members worldwide, including engineers, biologists, clinicians, and students, ORS is the only international research society focused on orthopaedics and musculoskeletal care. The annual Boskey Award recognizes a mid-career member who has made significant contributions to the mentorship of rising scientists, engineers, and/or clinician/scientists in the fields of orthopaedics and musculoskeletal science and engineering. Awardees also have made significant research contributions and have demonstrated leadership.
- Learn more about what sets Loiselle apart. (URMC intranet login required)
Jeremy Pigeon receives Young Investigator Research Program award
Jeremy Pigeon, a scientist in the Plasma and Ultrafast Laser Science and Engineering Division at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, has received a 2024 Young Investigator Research Program (YIP) award. Awarded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), the honor spans three years with funding of up to $450,000. Individuals must have received their PhD in the last seven years and show exceptional ability and promise for conducting basic research for the Department of the Air Force. This award will fund the development of a TW-class mid-IR (2400-nm) laser system built using chirped-pulse amplification. The primary application of this new laser will be for laser–plasma experiments at the wavelength frontier in support of the High-Energy Matter Systems Program at the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
Marc Porosoff designated a Scialog Fellow
Research Corporation for Science Advancement, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and ClimateWorks Foundation have announced that Marc Porosoff, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, is taking part in one of seven cross-disciplinary teams of early career scientists awarded in the fourth and final year of Scialog: Negative Emissions Science (NES). Scialog—short for “science + dialog”—supports research by stimulating intensive interdisciplinary conversation and community building around a scientific theme of global importance. The NES initiative aims to advance the underlying science needed to make technologies to capture and utilize greenhouse gases globally scalable. Porosoff, who also participated as a Scialog NES fellow in 2022, is one of 19 researchers from a variety of institutions in the United States and Canada to receive the award.
- Discover Porosoff’s work developing catalysts to turn seawater into fuel.
Three nursing faculty named distinguished fellows of the National Academies of Practice
Three School of Nursing faculty members have been recognized as distinguished fellows of the National Academies of Practice (NAP): Erin Baylor, Luis Rosario-McCabe, and Tara Serwetnyk. The associate professors will be inducted at NAP’s annual awards and induction ceremony in March. The distinguished fellowship honors individuals who have made significant, enduring contributions to health care practice, research, education, and public policy. The non-profit organization founded in 1981 to advise governmental bodies on health care, foster collaboration, and advance patient-centered care. Distinguished practitioners and scholars are elected by their peers from multiple different health professions to join the interprofessional group.
- Read more about what distinguishes these faculty members.
