Notables

Harold Craighead, interim dean of the College of Engineering, has been named to an American Physical Society (APS) task force on countering terrorism. "The events of recent months have shaken our nation," APS President William Brinkman said of the rationale behind forming the task force. "The attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and the anthrax assaults in various locales, demonstrate the need for sustaining the strong partnership between science and government to ensure our national security." The fledgling group will hold its first meeting on May 3 at APS headquarters in College Park, Md.

Jean-Yves Parlange, professor of biological and environmental engineering, has been awarded the 2002 Robert E. Horton Medal of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). The medal recognizes outstanding contributions to the geophysical aspects of hydrology. Over a career of 44 years, Parlange has produced more than 450 refereed publications, ranging from thermodynamics of social systems to nonlinear mathematics of unsaturated flow through unsaturated porous media. Parlange is the second Cornell professor to receive the Horton Medal. Wilfried Brutsaert, the W.L. Lewis Professor of chemical and environmental engineering, was the winner in 1999.

Sophomore Elidor (Dori) Mehilli has been named one of 16 second-year undergraduates from across the United States, and one of 100 from 17 countries worldwide, honored as Goldman Sachs Global Leaders. The winners are selected based on outstanding academic abilities and leadership achievements. Mehilli, of Tirana, Albania, is enrolled in a dual-degree program, pursuing both an A.B. in European studies and a B.S. in architectural history, with further concentrations in international relations, design and visual studies. He recently participated in the 2002 Youth Leadership Conference in Prague. Honorees receive awards of $2,000, each, and those from U.S. and Canadian campuses will participate in an awards ceremonies today, April 25, at the Institute of International Education's world headquarters in New York City. The Goldman Sachs Foundation, along with the Institute of International Education, created the Sachs Global Leaders Program in 1999 to identify and reward the academic excellence and leadership potential of 100 of the most accomplished second-year students from all disciplines, worldwide.

Irma Almirall-Padamsee, associate director for Campus Life and director of student affairs and diversity, recently was honored by Syracuse University, where she was associate dean for student relations and director of multicultural affairs before coming to Cornell. In recognition of her pioneering efforts in promoting and celebrating diversity in the college campus environment, SU's Division of Student Affairs and Office of Multicultural Affairs has changed the name of its prestigious La Fuerza Award to the Irma Almirall-Padamsee La Fuerza Community Enhancement Award. The annual award, established in April 1994, was created to acknowledge exemplary seniors who made outstanding contributions in appreciation of cultural diversity and enhancing the sense of community. While at SU, Almirall-Padamsee implemented programs to assist minority students in academic and personal development.

D. Tyler McQuade, assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology, has won a Nontenured Faculty Award from 3M Co. The award carries a check for $15,000. This is McQuade's second major award since joining the Cornell faculty last year. Last fall he won a New Faculty Award from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. McQuade's research group is investigating a biomimetic approach to materials research. Building on the tools acquired through the synthesis of small molecules, the group is attempting to create well-dened polymeric and molecular-based assemblies that mimic the complexity and function of biological materials, from enzymes to organs.

The award, which can be used for any purpose in McQuade's basic research, is funded by the 3M Contributions Program.

Roger Haydon, senior editor in Cornell University Press's acquisitions department, is the recipient of the 2002 Mentor Award from the Society for Women in International Political Economy (SWIPE). Each year a single winner is chosen by members of SWIPE, which is the preeminent group of women scholars in the field of international political economy. A previous recipient was Mary Katzenstein, Cornell professor of government. Haydon has been with the press since 1985 and in acquisitions since1990. He helped acquire Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics, by Margaret Keck (Johns Hopkins University) and Kathryn Sikkink (University of Minnesota), which won the highly prestigious Grawemeyer award for ideas improving world order in 2000, and the recently published book Russia's Unfinished Revolution by senior CNN commentator Michael McFaul (Stanford University), which is currently enjoying brisk sales. Nominators praised Haydon for selecting books to be published on merit alone, cultivating several generations of political economists and helping to create an entire subfield though his judicious choices.