Notables

John Abowd, professor of labor economics in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations and distinguished senior research fellow at the U.S. Bureau of the Census, has been named director of the Cornell Institute for Social and Economic Research (CISER). Abowd's research interests are in the study of labor markers, particularly compensation systems and international comparisons, using data collected from both the employer and employee. CISER supports collaborative research on social and economic issues that are important to society in general, and to New York state and the northeast United States in particular, in fulfillment of Cornell's land-grant mission.

Graduate student Supaporn (Bea) Vithayathawornwong was selected as the sole 1999 recipient of the $4,000 International Interior Design Association IIDA/Steelcase Fellowship. Her competitively reviewed research proposal was titled "Physical Environment: A Constituent of Organizational Climate for Creativity." She will report on her research findings next spring at NEOCON 2000, a major interior design industry event. Vithayathawornwong's primary faculty adviser is Sheila Danko, associate professor of design and environmental analysis; Pamela Tolbert, associate professor in the ILR School, is her minor faculty member.