People Briefs

Don L. Anderson, professor of geophysics at the California Institute of Technology, has been named the first Eleanor and John R. McMillan Professor of Geophysics. The professorship in Caltech's Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences was endowed by Caltech alumnus John R. McMillan to honor the memory of his wife, Eleanor McMillan, who died in 1988. Anderson's research has focused on the study of planetary interiors, seismology, the structure of the earth, and the origin and evolution of our planet. A graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, he earned his advanced degrees in geophysics and mathematics at Caltech. David J. Thouless, professor of physics at the University of Washington, and Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, professor of physics at the College de France, Paris, have won the 1990 Wolf Prize in physics. The two scientists were cited by Israel's Wolf Foundation for their contributions to understanding the organization of complex condensed-matter systems. They will share the $100,000 prize. Condensed-matter physics involves the structure, dynamics, and thermal properties of solids and liquids - important for developing high-temperature superconductors and for improving microchip technology. Israeli President Chaim Herzog will present the $100,000 prize to the two physicists May 20 before the Knesset, Israel's parliament. Thouless earned his B.A. in 1955 and his Sc.D. in 1986 from Cambridge University. De Gennes earned his degrees in physics at Ecole Normale Sup‚rieure in Paris. The Wolf Foundation is named for Ricardo Wolf, a Cuban ambassador to Israel and inventor of a process of recovering iron from the residue of smelting, who died in 1981. Daniel L. Kilpatrick and Clare M. O'Connor have been appointed senior scientists at the Worcester Foundation in Shrewsbury, Mass. Kilpatrick, a neurobiologist, is studying the physiological roles of hormone-like substances (enkephalins). These substances were formerly thought to have been present only in the brain, but recently have been found to be present in reproductive tissues as well. The Worcester Foundation, a research institute currently focusing on cancer and cell biology, neurobiology, and the endocrine-reproductive biology, was the site of the development of the birth control pill. Kilpatrick is a graduate of University of California, San Diego, and received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Duke University. He has been a staff scientist at Worcester Foundation since 1984. Previously, he was a research associate at the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology. O'Connor is studying the general phenomenon of aging in cells, with particular emphasis on changes in the structure of proteins that "ticket" the protein for either long-term survival or enzymatic destruction. She also joined the faculty as staff scientist in 1984, after completing postdoctoral training at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the California Institute of Technology. She received her undergraduate and Ph.D. degrees from Purdue University. Robert Grubbs, professor of chemistry at the California Institute of Technology, has been named Caltech's first Victor and Elizabeth Atkins Professor of Chemistry. The chair was established through a gift by Caltech trustee Victor Atkins and his wife, Elizabeth Tanner Atkins. Grubb was cited for his work in the field of synthetic polymers, including substances that can conduct electricity. Grubbs earned his B.S. (1963) and his M.S. (1965) at the University of Florida. He received his Ph.D. in chemistry in 1968 at Columbia University. David P. Bonello has been appointed senior director of space systems engineering for Fairchild Space Co., a division of Fairchild Space and Defense Corporation. Fairchild Space Co. is a high-tech company specializing in the design, development, manufacture, and testing of spacecraft and spacecraft subsystems for scientific and military applications. Bonello will focus on proposals for building expendable launch vehicles for small satellite launches. Bonello was formerly chief engineer for the Global Geospace Science Satellite program for General Electric/RCA Aerospace at Valley Forge, Pa., and East Windsor, N.J. He has a BSEE and an M.S. from Penn State University. Judith Flippen-Anderson, research scientist in the Laboratory for the Structure of Matter at the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C., has been elected vice president of the American Crystallographic Association. She succeeds David J. Duchamp, research scientist at Upjohn Co. in Kalamazoo, Mich., who automatically assumes the presidency for 1990. Flippen-Anderson's work primarily involves energetic materials and molecules of biological interest. She received her B.A. from Northeastern University in 1963 and her M.S. in physical chemistry from Arizona State University in 1966. She has been a research scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory since 1966. ACA is a 2,000-member society based in Buffalo. Frederick J. Dechow, a physical chemist, has joined advanced technology biopharmaceutical company BioCryst Inc. as executive director of development. Dechow comes to BioCryst from Reed & Carnrick, a pharmaceutical manufacturer in Piscataway, N.J., where he was vice president of research and development. His background also includes research and new product development experience at both Ciba-Geigy and Dow Chemical. Dechow will be project manager for preclinical and clinical research and will play a role in developing corporate partners for BioCryst. He earned his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Iowa State University and an MBA in international operations. Dechow is the author of numerous scientific articles. The Birmingham, Ala.-based BioCryst, one of a small number of companies that have pioneered protein crystal growth in space, was formed in 1986 to bring new drugs to market through structure-based drug design. The Institute of Medicine in Washington, D.C., has announced the recipients of six Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellowships for 1990-91. The 17-year-old program is conducted with the assistance of the American Political Science Association (The Scientist, Oct. 2, 1989, page 17). The fellowship will begin in September with two months of orientation sessions arranged by the Institute of Medicine. In these sessions, the fellows will become acquainted with current health issues, federal health agencies, principal congressional committees active in health affairs, and major health-interest groups. The health policy fellows will then begin a three-week schedule of general orientation sessions arranged by APSA. At the same time, they will negotiate working assignments in the offices of senators and representatives dealing with health matters, where they will then stay for the remainder of their fellowship year. The six recipients are: Richard L. Bucciarelli, M.D., professor of pediatrics and chief of the division of neonatology, department of pediatrics, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville. Louis H. Diamond, M.D., professor of medicine, Georgetown University School of Medicine, and chairman, Georgetown Department of Medicine, D.C. General Hospital, Washington, D.C. Susan Bartless Foote, J.D., associate professor, Walter A. Haas School of Business and faculty member in the MBA-MPH Joint Degree Program, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley. Barbara Ross-Lee, D.O., chair and professor, department of family medicine, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing. Joan L. Venes, M.D., chief, pediatric neurosurgery, section of neurosurgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Steffie Woolhandler, M.D., MPH, assistant professor of medicine, Harvard University Medical School, and director, inpatient services, the Cambridge Hospital, Cambridge, Mass. The awardees were nominated by academic health centers and other U.S. institutions with medical schools. The fellowship program was established in 1973 at the Institute of Medicine with a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Fellowship, Princeton, N.J. Arnold S. Monto, professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan's School of Public Health, has been appointed to the National Advisory Allergy and Infectious Diseases Council. The 18-member council advises the secretary of health and human services and the director of the National Institutes of Health on policy matters regarding immunology, immunologic and allergic diseases, microbiology, and infectious diseases and AIDS. Council members also review applications for grants to support biomedical research and training in allergies and infectious diseases, including AIDS. Monto is a specialist in infectious and respiratory diseases, including the epidemiology of influenza and parasitology. He has also served as a consultant to the World Health Organization, NIH, and the Agency for International Development. Monto earned both his B.A. (1954) and his M.D. (1958) from Cornell University.

People Briefs

The Scientist Staff

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of