University News

UC President Appoints George Blumenthal Acting Chancellor of UC Santa Cruz

University of California President Robert C. Dynes announced July 14 the appointment of George Blumenthal as acting chancellor of UC Santa Cruz, effective immediately. Blumenthal, a UCSC professor of astronomy and astrophysics and a former chair of the UC systemwide Academic Senate, will assume on an interim basis the responsibilities of Chancellor Denice Denton, who died tragically on June 24.

Dynes made the appointment in accordance with UC policy and after consulting with members of the Board of Regents. The president will bring a recommendation for confirmation of Blumenthal's acting appointment to the Regents at their July 19-20 meeting.

To ensure a period of continuity for the Santa Cruz campus, Blumenthal is expected to serve as acting chancellor for much or all of the 2006-07 academic year. A national search for Chancellor Denton's permanent successor will be conducted over the course of that period and is expected to begin this fall.

Blumenthal, 60, has been a member of the UC Santa Cruz faculty since 1972. He has chaired the UCSC Astronomy and Astrophysics Department and the Santa Cruz Division of the Academic Senate. In 2004-05 he served as chair of the UC systemwide Academic Senate, and he was faculty representative to the Board of Regents for the years 2003-05.

Blumenthal received his B.S. degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and his Ph.D. in physics from UC San Diego. As a theoretical astrophysicist, Blumenthal's research encompasses several broad areas, including the nature of the dark matter which constitutes most of the mass in the universe, the origin of galaxies and other large structures in the universe, and the structure of active galactic nuclei such as quasars. Blumenthal also is a co-author of the astronomy text 21st Century Astronomy.

As acting chancellor, Blumenthal will receive an annualized salary of $260,000. In addition to salary, Blumenthal will receive standard pension and health benefits in accordance with UC policy. He also will be entitled to an annual administrative fund allocation for official entertainment and other purposes permitted by university policy and procedures.

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UT System to Launch Nanoelectronics Initiative

The University of Texas System Board of Regents approved funding to help launch a $30 million nanoelectronics initiative. UT System will participate with the State of Texas, Texas Instruments and other industry partners in a proposal to create the Southwest Academy of Nanoelectronics (SWAN). The proposal, when completed, will go forward for approval to the Nano Electronics Research Corporation, a not-for-profit organization that funds nanoelectronics technology-oriented research programs across the country. Currently NERC has funded two other new nanoelectronic research centers at the University of California, Los Angeles and at State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany. If funding is approved, the Texas center, headquartered at UT Austin, would be the country's third new university-based nanoelectronic research center.

In addition to the research center in Austin, the proposal would also fund the recruitment of "top talent" in the field of nanoelectronics with research/faculty appointments to three UT institutions – U. T. Arlington, UT Austin and U. T. Dallas. The $30 million initiative will be equally supported by Texas industries, the UT System and the State of Texas. The Regents approved $10 million for funding facilities, labs and capital equipment for eight senior faculty members. Additional startup support - including salary, additional equipment and operations support - would be funded through a research superiority grant from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund (ETF). Ten million dollars would also be raised by Texas Instruments and other industry partners to fund endowments for distinguished chairs for the eight "top talent" research faculty recruited through SWAN.

The proposal, approved on July 14 by the UT regents, authorizes the Chancellor to finalize and execute the necessary documents to secure the ETF grant and present the SWAN proposal to NERC for its approval. A decision by NERC is expected later this month.

Nanoelectronics is a multi-disciplinary field that includes materials, processes, and devices for the electronics, defense, automotive, aerospace, and energy industries. Nanoelectronics is the required technology that enables the semiconductor industry to revolutionize the way it performs advanced manufacturing. SWAN will be a partnership between university-based academic researchers and private companies to collaborate in producing cutting-edge discoveries in nanoelectronics, as well as nanostructured devices and materials for electronics applications.

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University of Illinois Physicist Dr. Myron Salamon To Become Dean of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at The University of Texas at Dallas

Dr. Myron B. Salamon, professor of physics and associate dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will become dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (NS&M) at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), effective Oct. 15.  Salamon will also hold a newly endowed distinguished chair position in physics.

"We are delighted to have such a highly regarded scientist and administrator as Myron Salamon accept this important academic leadership position at UTD," said university President Dr. David E. Daniel.  "This is a key hire for UTD as it pursues its goal of joining the ranks of the nation's top research universities." 

Daniel and Salamon were colleagues at Illinois, where Daniel served as dean of the College of Engineering before he became the fourth president of UTD on June 1, 2005. 

"Having worked closely with Dr. Salamon, I know him to be both an expert researcher and gifted administrator," Daniel said.  "In particular, he is a very effective recruiter of academic talent, which will serve NS&M well as it continues to expand its faculty, degree programs and areas of research.  Dr. Salamon is exceptionally well prepared to make a very significant, positive impact at UTD."

Salamon received a bachelor's degree in physics from the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie-Mellon University) and a Ph.D. degree in physics from the University of California, Berkeley.  In 1966, he joined the Department of Physics at the University of Illinois, one of the top-ranked physics departments in the United States.

During 1995-96, Salamon served as a distinguished visiting professor with the Japan Ministry of Education at Tsukuba University, and in 1996 was the Matthias Scholar at Los Alamos National Laboratory.  Since 2000, he has been the associate dean and director of the Experiment Station in Illinois' College of Engineering.

He is noted for his research in experimental condensed matter physics, phase transitions, superconductivity and the properties of magnetic materials.  Salamon is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Neutron Scattering Society.

Dr. John Ferraris, professor and Department Head of Chemistry, has served as interim dean of the school for nearly three years while also continuing his active research program.  Daniel thanked Ferraris for his "outstanding leadership in the interim role, which permitted the university to conduct a deliberate, thorough and, ultimately, successful search for a new NS&M dean."

NS&M has grown dramatically in recent years and has taken an increasingly interdisciplinary approach to scholarship. Areas of focus include space sciences, nanotechnology, biotechnology and sickle cell disease research, as well as more traditional disciplines such as geosciences, chemistry, physics, biology and mathematics.  The school has two Nobel laureates on its faculty -- Dr. Alan MacDiarmid, co-winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize in chemistry, and Dr. Russell Hulse, a visiting professor and co-recipient of the 1993 Nobel Prize in physics.

The next phase in the school's expansion is expected to occur by year's end, when UTD plans to open a 200,000-square-foot Natural Science and Engineering Research Laboratory, equipped with the latest research facilities and equipment, on its campus.

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Kenneth Hepburn Joins Emory School of Nursing as Associate Dean for Research

Marla E. Salmon, ScD, RN, FAAN, dean of the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University, announced the appointment of Kenneth Hepburn, PhD, as the school's first Associate Dean for Research. In this newly created position, Hepburn will provide leadership for and further develop the school's burgeoning program of nursing research. He begins his first academic year with the school this fall, having started his appointment in February. Hepburn held a similar role at University of Minnesota where he developed a well-respected research program for the school of nursing. Supporting his leadership are his own research studies on caregivers for family members with dementia, geriatric team care, education and evaluation issues, and change of practice behavior.

Hepburn's work will focus on advancing the school's increasingly renowned research program. In addition to recruiting new and developing current research faculty, he will work with the school's research center, the Center for Research on Symptoms, Symptom Interactions and Health Outcomes, which is one of nine exploratory nursing research centers funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute for Nursing Research. The Symptom Center's purpose is to facilitate symptom-related research, including the development and testing of interventions designed to reduce negative symptomatology and improve health outcomes in clinical populations.

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Stanford’s Ann Arvin to Succeed Arthur Bienenstock as Vice Provost and Dean of Research

Ann Arvin, the Lucile Salter Packard Professor in Pediatrics and a professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University, has been appointed vice provost and dean of research, President John Hennessy and Provost John Etchemendy announced Tuesday. The appointment is effective Nov. 1.

Arvin, who is chief of the infectious diseases division of the Pediatrics Department and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, has served as associate dean of research since 2001. She will succeed Arthur Bienenstock, who will continue to play an important role in this area in the newly created position of special assistant to the president for federal research policy.

As dean and vice provost, Arvin will oversee university research issues, interdisciplinary initiatives and independent labs, and the offices of Technology Licensing, Environmental Health and Safety, Sexual Harassment Policy and Research Compliance.

Arvin said the university's interdisciplinary centers and institutes provide tremendous opportunities for the faculty to identify new research directions and explore common research interests that extend beyond traditional academic disciplines.

She also cited her longstanding concern for the challenges faced by women in academia in general and for those who want to pursue university research careers in particular. She has participated in informal and formal initiatives to improve gender and ethnic diversity since her appointment at Stanford as an assistant professor.

The search committee was chaired by Malcolm R. Beasley, the Theodore and Sydney Rosenberg Professor of Applied Physics. Beasley said Arvin "is the kind of thoughtful and experienced person who will make a great vice provost and dean of research."

Arvin holds a bachelor's degree from Brown University and a master's degree in philosophy from Brandeis University. She received her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1972. She completed her pediatrics residency at the University of California-San Francisco and subspecialty training in infectious diseases at UCSF and Stanford. Her principal research interests are the human herpes viruses and childhood viral diseases and vaccines.

Arvin was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies in 2003. She has received numerous honors and awards for basic and translational research, including the E. Mead Johnson Award for Research in Pediatrics and the John Enders Award in Virology, and has served on many advisory panels and initiatives for the Institute of Medicine as well as the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Howard Hughes Research Institute, the American Society of Virology, the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the National Vaccine Advisory Committee.

Bienenstock, a professor at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory and a professor of materials science and engineering and of applied physics, was appointed vice provost and dean of research and graduate policy in 2003. In 1997, he was nominated by President Clinton to become associate director for science of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. As associate director he filled one of the administration's key positions in the area of science. In that role, he was a strong advocate for federal research funding and provided guidance on complex scientific and policy issues.

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U-M International Institute Units Awarded $7.7 Million in Grants

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded more than US$7.7 million in four-year grants to the University of Michigan International Institute area studies units.

The awards were made following competitive peer review of proposals submitted to the Department of Education's National Resource Centers and Foreign Languages and Area Studies Title VI Programs.

The NRC Program provides grants to higher education institutions for area studies centers that serve as national resources for research, training and outreach related to specific world regions. The FLAS Program provides grants for graduate-level academic year and summer fellowships to support foreign language and area studies training.

Both programs serve as anchors for extended and enduring regional studies across disciplines at U-M and other selected U.S. universities. The awards for the International Institute include:

• East Asia units: Center for Chinese Studies, Center for Japanese Studies and Korean Studies Program received an NRC award for $234,600 for 2006-2007. The project director is history professor James Lee.
• Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program received an NRC award for $220,896 and an FLAS award of $167,500 for 2006-2007. The project director is history professor Sueann Caulfield.
• Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies was awarded $242,513 in NRC grants and $248,500 in FLAS funding for 2006-2007. The center is directed by Marcia Inhorn, professor of health behavior and health education, women's studies and anthropology.
• Center for Russian and East European Studies received an NRC award of $231,494 and an FLAS award of $221,500. The center is directed by Michael D. Kennedy, professor of sociology.
• Center for South Asian Studies was awarded $154,500 in FLAS funding. The center is directed by history professor Barbara Metcalf.
• Center for Southeast Asian Studies was awarded $208,500 in FLAS funding. The center is directed by Linda Lim, professor of corporate strategy and international business.

The U-M International Institute is dedicated to research, education and service in international and area studies. The Institute sets priorities and creates opportunities for supporting faculty, student and public engagement with a diverse and inter-connected world. It promotes education in the world's languages, societies and environments and organizes public programs on international issues. It supports collaborative projects with partners around the globe and helps recruit international faculty, visiting scholars and students to the University.

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University of Chicago and Hospitals Announce Three Child Care Providers to Receive Funding as Part of Pilot Program

Three South Side child care providers have been named recipients of more than US$400,000 in grant money through a first-time child care initiative of the University of Chicago and its Hospitals.

Baby Ph.D., Centers for New Horizons and Chicago Child Care Society were selected from a group of seven child care centers and home-based facilities that submitted proposals of expansion in an effort to increase local child care options for infants and toddlers.

Baby Ph.D. will receive $200,000; Chicago Child Care Society will receive $113,197; and Centers for New Horizons will receive $110,000.

The grant money will fund a variety of items for each provider, including an expansion of playground equipment and enhancement of outdoor space at Centers for New Horizons; the renovation of a kitchen at Chicago Child Care Society; and the start-up costs for creating additional South Side day care homes at Baby Ph.D.

Seventy additional infant and toddler slots will also be made available at the selected facilities: 12 at Centers for New Horizons; 12 at Chicago Child Care Society; and 46 at Baby Ph.D.

A 2002 survey of University and Hospital employees determined that most were satisfied with child care options for their 3-to-5-year-olds, but that they felt their care options for infants and young toddlers were too limited. But according to providers, child care for these younger children requires extra staffing and a more customized space, making it difficult to afford the added expense of including those children in their programs.

Sarah Diwan, Owner and Director of Baby Ph.D., received her Master's Degree and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, both in social work, before opening Baby Ph.D.

During and after working on her Ph.D., Diwan was employed as a researcher in the Department of Psychiatry, a position she left in order to open her own day care home after experiencing a "lack of high-quality day care options for parents living in this community," she said.

Deborah Hagman-Shannon, Interim Assistant Director of Chicago Child Care Society, said the grant money will fund the addition of a classroom, a music program, additional sessions with a storyteller and hire a social worker.

Joe Green, Director of External Affairs at Centers for New Horizons, said that it is a very exciting time for Centers for New Horizons.

Centers for New Horizons is located in North Kenwood; Chicago Child Care Society is located in Hyde Park; and Baby Ph.D., now based in Hyde Park, will be using the grant money to add home-based care centers in Woodlawn, Kenwood and Bronzeville.

A committee composed of faculty and staff advised on the initiative's development with guidance from the Illinois Facilities Fund, a nonprofit corporation that provides real estate financing, development and research for nonprofits in Illinois.

The remaining money from the $1 million allocated by the University and its Hospitals is available for future grants to child care providers.

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Oxford Professor Receives International Award

Professor George Smith has received an international award for his outstanding contribution to the field of materials science.

Professor Smith, from the Department of Materials, won the Platinum Award at the 2006 Medals and Prizes ceremony staged by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3).

This award, from the professional body for the international materials community, was for his success in transferring atom probe technology to industry. Professor Smith and his group developed the world's first 3D position-sensitive atom probe, which allows scientists to see the nanometer-scale structure of materials. The 3D atom probe is able to map out with near-atomic resolution, the elemental distributions within a sub-micron volume of a conducting specimen.

His work has had an international impact with the technology now available worldwide. The award also recognized his assistance in founding the UK Materials Congress and the IOM3 Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology Committee.

Smith's research interests include atom probe analysis and phase transformations; studies of the role of alloy elements and trace additions on the microstructure, heat treatment and properties of steels and non-ferrous alloys.

The Institute was formed from the merger of the Institute of Materials and the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy in June 2002, and is the professional body for the international materials, minerals and mining community. The annual award is for significant involvement in materials science, technology and industry, whether nationally or internationally, or for notable service to the IOM3.

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A Note From Da Hsuan Feng on the Passing of Lorenzo Narducci

Dear Friends:

I learned this morning that my life long friend Lorenzo Narducci, the Francis K Davis Professor of Drexel University passed away recently.

While I am deeply saddened by his departure (because he is one of my dearest friends,) I want to say that he was truly an inspiration to me from day one when I met him in the fall of 1976!  Quite remarkably, he and I came to Drexel almost on the SAME DAY!

Let us "rejoice" that what Lorenzo had done in his life far exceeded most, if not all, of us.  He was a man of great honor, a man of great humor (even in pain and sometimes pain-in-the-you-know-what,) a man of great intellectual depth, and a man of supreme energy. 

Let us take this moment to reflect on his greatness and not his demise.  After all, we all will face the same some day, and we should be proud that amongst us, there was once a great human being!

Da Hsuan Feng
Vice President for Research and Economic Development and Professor of Physics
The University of Texas at Dallas