Newsmakers
Georgi wins Dirac Medal for contributions to physics
Howard Georgi, Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics, has been awarded the Dirac Medal for his pioneering work in theoretical physics.
Georgi shares the prize with Jogesh Pati and Helen Quinn; they were recognized for their contributions to the quest for a unified theory of quarks and leptons and of the strong, weak, and electromagnetic interactions. Georgi was cited specifically for “his discovery of many of the most significant models of grand unification, including the SU(5) model (with Glashow) and the SO(10) model, as well as his role in the Georgi-Quinn-Weinberg computation showing that the natural mass scale of unification is relatively close to the Planck scale, and that the proton lifetime can naturally be extremely long.”
The award announcement was made on Aug. 8, the birthday of physicist P.A.M. Dirac, by the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, based in Trieste, Italy. The award includes a $5,000 prize.
Minow recognized for bookon aftermath of mass violence
Law professor Martha Minow has received the American Society of International Law (ASIL) Certificate of Merit for creative scholarship for her book, “Between Vengeance and Forgiveness: Facing History After Genocide and Mass Violence.”
The ASIL Committee on Annual Awards called her work “a powerful and persuasive critique of the conventional international law wisdom concerning criminal trials as the ‘optimal’ response to major atrocities.”
Each year the ASIL may award Certificates of Merit to authors of works in the field of international law published in the previous 24 months. This competition is open to all regardless of nationality or language of the work. Certificates are awarded for “pre-eminent creative scholarship” as well as “high technical craftsmanship and … high utility to practicing lawyers and scholars.”
Sevcenko earns distinction for book of essays on Ukraine
In a ceremony held in Kiev on May 26, Ihor Sevcenko, Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Byzantine History and Literature Emeritus, was made laureate of the Antonovych Foundation Literary Prize for 1999. The award was for his book of essays “Ukraine between East and West (900-1700).”
Coyle named president of American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
Joseph T. Coyle, director of the Harvard Medical School Consolidated Department of Psychiatry and professor of psychiatry at McLean Hospital, has been elected president of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the leading honorific society for psychiatric researchers. A member of the McLean attending staff, Coyle is chairman of the board of neuroscience and behavioral health at the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine.
Coyle has been the Eben S. Draper Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Harvard Medical School since 1991. In addition to his teaching appointment, Coyle conducts research in developmental neurobiology, mechanisms of neuronal vulnerability, and psychopharmacology at his McLean laboratory.
Kaufman receives Franck Award from ABA
Andrew L. Kaufman, Charles Stebbins Fairchild Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, received the 2000 Michael Franck Award from the American Bar Association (ABA) Center for Professional Responsibility.
In announcing the selection, Burnele Powell, chair of the coordinating council for the center, cited Kaufman’s long record of contributions to development of the legal profession’s understanding of issues of professional ethics. The award was presented at a reception July 7 in New York during the ABA’s 2000 Annual Meeting.
“Andrew Kaufman may very well be the only lawyer in the history of the United States about whom a state bar ethics committee has issued a formal opinion attesting to the lawyer’s brilliance,” noted Powell. The Massachusetts Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics adopted such an opinion in 1995, citing Kaufman’s unsurpassed knowledge of legal ethics, his wisdom, his willingness to serve the lawyers of Massachusetts, and his gracious leadership as chair of that committee.
Frankenburg recognized with Exemplary Psychiatrist Award
Frances Frankenburg, associate director of the McLean Hospital laboratory for the study of adult development and a lecturer on psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, was recognized by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) for her more than 20 years of work as a psychiatrist. She was presented with NAMI’s Exemplary Psychiatrist Award at the American Psychiatric Association annual convention in Chicago in June.
Frankenburg was one of only 52 psychiatrists worldwide honored with the award.