Newsmakers

Tuskegee University awards Gomes honorary degree

The Rev. Professor Peter J. Gomes, the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, was awarded an honorary doctor of humane letters degree on April 2 by Tuskegee University, where he delivered the Founder’s Day Address during the 125th anniversary of the school’s founding by Booker T. Washington. Gomes began his teaching career at Tuskegee in 1968 as an instructor in history and director of freshman studies.

Hubel to be inducted into Medical Hall of Fame

Harvard Medical School’s David Hunter Hubel, the John Franklin Enders Professor of Neurobiology Emeritus, will be inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame on April 26 at a ceremony in Edmonton, Alberta. A co-winner of the 1981 Nobel Prize in medicine for his groundbreaking research of the visual cortex, Hubel (who was born in Windsor, Ontario) will join four other health scientists to be inducted into the hall of fame for “innovation and dedication to advancing the well-being of people everywhere.”

Harvard takes first at annual Putnam math competition

A team made up of Harvard sophomores Tiankai Liu, Alison Miller, and Tong Zhang took first place out of 349 competing collegiate teams from across the United States and Canada in the 66th annual William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition. Held Dec. 3, 2005, on campuses throughout North America, the results for the prestigious competition, administered by the Mathematical Association of America, were announced at the beginning of April. Each team member will receive $1,000.

Additionally, Harvard’s Ricky Liu ’06 and Tiankai Liu were among the top six individual finishers out of 3,545 participants from 500 colleges and universities. Finishing in the top 16 were Steven Byrnes ’07 and Alison Miller, who was also awarded the Elizabeth Lowell Putnam prize for her achievements in the competition. Jae Bae ’08, Joel Lewis ’07, Tong Zhang, and Yan Zhang ’07 received honorable mentions.

Harvard’s first-place team finish marks the University’s 25th since the competition began. The California Institute of Technology is the next closest competitor with nine all-time first-place finishes.

– Compiled by Andrew Brooks