Notables

Nell I. Mondy, professor emerita of nutritional sciences, received the National Award of Recognition from Sigma Delta Epsilon/Graduate Women in Science at its 80th annual national conference at Chapman University in Orange, Calif., June 9. She was cited for her contributions to science, both nationally and internationally. A member of the organization for 55 years, Mondy served as its national president in 1983-84. In 1986, she was awarded honorary life membership, the organization's highest honor at that time. Mondy is the first recipient of the National Award of Recognition, a new and higher level of award. GWIS originated at Cornell in 1921 and later extended to other universities throughout the country. It includes both men and women in the mathematical, physical, biological and social sciences.

Arch Dotson, professor emeritus of government and past chair of the government department and of the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs (CIPA), which he founded, was honored by his alma mater, Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky., with the honorary degree of doctor of laws at its Commencement May 26. Dotson was recognized for his "distinguished career as a professor of government and as an international public affairs consultant who has worked for the betterment of people throughout the world." Dotson has been on the faculty at Cornell for 50 years, arriving in 1951 with an A.B. in English and drama from Transylvania, and an M.A. and Ph.D., both in government, from Harvard University. In addition to being a CIPA core faculty member -- teaching the course Administration, Politics and Policy (Govt. 621) -- he remains active as a consultant in public affairs and international development planning for foreign governments.

The NASA Space Grant Program for New York recently sponsored its first High School Science Essay Contest for students in grade 11 throughout New York state. First prize went to Sabrina Grumme, an 11th-grader at Onteora Central High School in Boiceville, N.Y. Yervant Terzian, the David C. Duncan Professor in the Physical Sciences at Cornell, is director of the New York Space Grant, which involves students from kindergarten through university. Grumme's essay was among 23 submitted throughout the state on the subject, "The NASA International Space Station: Benefits to Humanity." A panel of scientists from Cornell judged the essays and selected the prize winners. Grumme received $500, and her school was presented with an Orion SkyView Deluxe 6 EQ Newtonian telescope. Second-place prizes of $300 went to Anna Quider of Grand Island Senior High School and George Cornell of Mahopac High School. Receiving $100 for third place were Kim Anderson of Chittenango High School, Michael Wagner of Elwood/John H. Glenn High School, Mark Pimentel of Hunter College High School in Manhattan and Shannon Firrello of Earl L. Vandermeulen High School in Port Jefferson. The winning essay can be found on the web at http://astrosun.tn.cornell.edu/SpaceGrant.