Newsmakers

Three Selected for 2000 Guggenheim Fellowship

Three members of Harvard’s faculty are among the 182 artists, scholars, and scientists awarded fellowships by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Guggenheim Fellows are appointed on the basis of distinguished achievement in the past and exceptional promise for future accomplishment. They include writers, painters, sculptors, photographers, filmmakers, choreographers, physical and biological scientists, social scientists, and scholars in the humanities.

Harvard’s winners are: Howard C. Berg, professor of molecular and cellular biology; Howard Gardner, the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education; and Ewa Lajer-Burcharth, the Harris K. Weston Associate Professor of the Humanities.

Newman Wins Hillman Foundation Prize

Katherine Newman, the Ford Foundation Professor of Urban Studies at the Kennedy School of Government, has been awarded the 2000 Sidney Hillman Foundation Prize for her book No Shame in My Game: The Working Poor in the Inner City.

The Sidney Hillman Foundation has awarded annual prizes to journalists, writers, and public figures who pursue social justice and public policy for the common good. The Foundation was begun to honor the memory of Sidney Hillman, a key trade union architect of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Hillman was the first president and founder of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) and helped found the Textile Workers Union of America (TWUA), two predecessor unions to UNITE (Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees). Hillman’s vision was to build a vibrant union movement that expands beyond the shop floor to all aspects of workers’ lives.

The awards encourage a sense of social responsibility among journalists, writers, and public figures. Each award includes a $2,000 monetary award and a plaque. The Foundation also pays transportation and hotel for one night for the winner to attend the awards ceremony, which will be held this year on Tuesday, May 23. Additionally, the Hillman Foundation pays for an advertisement on The New York Times op-ed page announcing the annual winners.

Dziewonski Honored by Seismological Society

Adam Dziewonski, the Frank B. Baird Jr. Professor of Science, has been awarded the Medal of the Seismological Society of America. The medal, which is the organization’s highest honor, was presented to Dziewonski on April 11, in recognition of his many contributions to the field of seismology.

Dziewonski was recognized for his pioneering work in the field of global tomography – analyzing seismic wave patterns to determine the deep structure of the earth. He has played an important role in the key discoveries that led to the current model of earth structure, including the demonstration that the inner core is solid.

Shair Wins Unrestricted Grant

Matthew Shair, assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology, received an unrestricted three-year grant to do research in synthetic organic chemistry from Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation.

Shair’s laboratory explores various approaches to the discovery of new reactions pertinent to synthesis of complex molecules. One of his current research programs involves syntheses that can be used to study cell biology. He was formerly a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Stuart Schreiber, Morris Loeb Professor of Chemistry.

Bristol-Myers Squibb has been awarding such grants since 1998 as part of a $1 million annual program to support graduate students and young researchers in the field of synthetic organic chemistry.

Herzlinger Named Bush Adviser

Regina Herzlinger, the Nancy R. McPherson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, has been named an adviser to presidential candidate George W. Bush regarding health care issues.

Howard Receives Allerton Medal

Professor of Dendrology Emeritus and former director of the Arnold Arboretum Richard A. Howard has been named the 1999 recipient of the Allerton Medal by the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Kalaheo, Hawaii. The National Tropical Botanical Garden is dedicated to the conservation of tropical plant diversity, particularly rare and endangered species. The Allerton Medal is awarded to those who make significant contributions to the field. Dr. Howard’s citation acknowledges his decades of service in the advancement of tropical horticulture and the understanding of tropical plants.