Faculty receive teaching, research and service honors
Members of the Rutgers community who have made outstanding contributions to teaching, research or the improvement of society were honored May 4 at a reception at President Richard L. McCormick's house in Piscataway.
This year's reception honored 16 individuals, the Continuing Education Office staff and the department of biomedical engineering at the School of Engineering.
The Rutgers College Class of 1962 Presidential Public Service Award recognizes distinguished, uncompensated service that reaches beyond the university community. The honoree receives a citation and a check for $2,500.
Judith Weis, professor of biological sciences, Faculty of Arts and Sciences-Newark, for her efforts to restore and preserve the environment, educate governmental agencies about biological and ecological issues, and improve public policy through science
The Warren I. Susman Award for Excellence in Teaching, the university's highest honor for excellence in the classroom, recognizes the memory of a prominent cultural historian and popular teacher. It includes a citation and a check for $1,000.
William Esper, professor of theater arts, Mason Gross School of the Arts, was honored for his contributions to undergraduate and graduate education in theater arts. Esper has served as director of the Professional Actor Training Program at Mason Gross since its inception
in 1977.
Jay Feinman, professor of law, School of Law-Camden, was recognized for his contributions to undergraduate and graduate education in the field of law, his writings promoting innovative teaching strategies and his classroom teaching. He has been widely published in such areas as contracts, torts and legal education.
Ronald Levao, associate professor of English, FAS-New Brunswick, was honored for his contributions to undergraduate and graduate education in literary studies, his engaging classroom style and his encouragement of students. Levao's research focuses on Shakespeare, Milton, the Renaissance and intellectual history.
Peter Loeb, professor of economics, FAS-Newark, was recognized for his contributions to undergraduate and graduate education in economics, his teaching abilities and his inspirational mentoring. Loeb focuses on transportation safety, having testified before congressional committees and written extensively on the correlation between seat belt legislation and motor vehicle fatality and injury rates.
The Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Research, the university's highest honor for distinguished research contributions, includes a citation and a check for $1,000.
William Galperin, professor of English, FAS-New Brunswick, studies romantic literature and culture, and has researched traditional assumptions and arguments concerning the romanticism canon.
Simon Gindikin, professor of mathematics, FAS-New Brunswick, for his fundamental work in analysis and geometry, and for his contributions to tomography and image reconstruction.
Dennis Kent, professor of geological sciences, FAS-New Brunswick, for his research on paleomagnetism and geochronology, which has increased understanding of the earth's history.
Henry Martin, professor of fine arts, FAS-Newark, for his groundbreaking application of Western classical music theory to jazz and for his internationally acclaimed musical compositions and performances.
Keith Wailoo, professor of history, FAS-New Brunswick, and a member of the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, for his research on the social history of medicine and health policy, particularly his examination of the interactions of technological development and social constructions, and their impact on white and African-American populations
The Rutgers Faculty Scholar-Teacher Award honors outstanding contributions to research and teaching. It includes a citation and a check for $1,000.
Kurt Spellmeyer, a professor in the English department, for serving two decades as director of Rutgers' nationally pre-eminent Writing Program, and for his scholarship on the changing nature of literacy, communication and academic knowledge
The Ernest E. McMahon Class of 1930 Award honors the memory of a former dean of University College. It includes a citation and a check for $500.
The staff of the Office of Continuing Education and Global Programs: Darren Clarke, director; Jana Curry, Joan Melillo, Joyce Carlson, Julie Comiskey and Kathleen Edwards. The staff was honored for developing graduate-level academic courses, workshops, conferences and activities for educators, administrators and educational leaders in New Jersey, as well as an 18-day study tour of South Africa.
The Board of Trustees Research Fellowship for Scholarly Excellence recognizes faculty members who have recently been promoted to associate professor with tenure and whose work shows exceptional promise. The fellowship includes a citation and a $2,000 research grant.
Laura Ahearn, associate professor of anthropology, FAS-New Brunswick, for her work in linguistics and anthropology, with emphasis on gender, kinship and marriage in Nepal
Edwin Bryant, associate professor of religion, FAS-New Brunswick, for his work on the early development of Indic history and thought, with particular attention to the multifaceted Krishna tradition
Alexander Hinton, associate professor of sociology and anthropology, FAS-Newark, for his research on violence, terrorism, genocide, globalization and Southeast Asia, with particular emphasis on explaining the origins of the Cambodian genocide
Marianthi Ierapetritou, associate professor of chemical and biochemical engineering, School of Engineering, for her work on novel algorithmic development and application areas of process systems engineering
Jack Lynch, associate professor of English, FAS-Newark, for his work on 18th-century British literature and culture
