Summer 2000 -- Vol. 17, No. 1

HONORIS CAUSA

Five Recognized as Distinguished Professors

Milton Cole, professor of physics; Daniel Cosgrove, professor of biology; Barbara Garrison, professor of chemistry; Nigel Higson, professor of mathematics; and Peter Mészáros, professor and head of the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, have been named Distinguished Professors at Penn State.

The honor, which recognizes exceptional teaching, research, creativity, and service to the University community, is designated by the Office of the President of Penn State based on the recommendations of colleagues and the Dean.

"Milton Cole has distinguished himself internationally as an imaginative and creative theoretical physicist and dynamic lecturer," says Moses Chan, Evan Pugh Professor of Physics.

"He also has been a dedicated and caring teacher to graduate and undergraduate students and an exemplary mentor for all his younger colleagues in the physics department."

Cole is a theoretical physicist whose research predicts the properties of materials at interfaces, including thin films and atoms adsorbed onto solid surfaces.

His recent prediction, based on quantum calculations, that liquid helium will display unusual, previously unobserved, behavior on an alkali metal surface, was quickly confirmed in several experimental laboratories at Penn State and other universities.

He is currently working on the properties of gases adsorbed in carbon nanotubes.

This system is interesting because of its possible applications in the storage of gaseous fuels and the separation of mixtures of gases.

Among the honors recognizing Cole's research and teaching accomplishments are an elected fellowship in the American Physical Society in 1979, a Fulbright Research Scholarship at Oxford University in 1990, and the Penn State Faculty Scholar Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Physical Sciences and Engineering in 1993.

"Daniel Cosgrove's research is notable for its consistent creativity," says Nina Federoff, professor of biology, the Verne M. Willaman Chair in Life Sciences, director of the Life Sciences Consortium, and director of the Penn State Biotechnology Institute.  "His discovery of the expansin gene family, a major breakthrough in plant biology, has its beginnings in inventive and unusual experiments aimed at understanding the ability of the rigid cell walls of plants to expand.  Of equal importance, Dan also is recognized as an excellent teacher."

Cosgrove's research concerns expansins, which are proteins that allow plant cell walls to grow while maintaining their rigidity.

The discovery of expansins by Cosgrove's research group in 1992 increased the understanding of the molecular biochemistry and biophysics of cell growth.  Since that discovery, he and his colleagues have determined that plants have many expansin genes with diverse roles.

By isolating and characterizing the genes that control expression of expansins in the cell, the Cosgrove lab is helping to explain how plants control their growth under a variety of conditions and how they adapt to environmental stresses.

Cosgrove's research accomplishments have received national and international recognition, including the McKnight Foundation Award in 1986, the Fulbright Senior Professor Award in 1989, Fulbright Travel Awards to Israel and the United Kingdom in 1990, the Charles A. Shull Award for Outstanding Investigations in Plant Physiology in 1991, the Penn State Faculty Scholar Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the Life Sciences in 1996, and the Alexander von Humboldt Research Award in 1996.

He was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1993 and as president of the American Society of Plant Physiologists in 1999.

"The continuing impact of Barbara Garrison's work on surface science and mass spectrometry indicates a remarkable achievement in science," says Andrew G. Ewing, professor and head of the Department of Chemistry.  "She has been a real pioneer in computer simulations of events occurring at surfaces.  She also has exhibited tremendous responsibility in leadership positions within the Penn State chemistry department."

Garrison is a physical chemist who uses computer modeling to study the effects of fast energy deposition and the resulting chemical reactions at solid surfaces.  Her studies of laser ablation are applicable to the optimization of lasers for surgery, the mass spectrometry of biological molecules, and the process of thin-film deposition.  Her models of energetic particle bombardment of solids have built a theoretical understanding of the complex events that lead to the ejection of molecules from surfaces.

This understanding has contributed to advances in the interpretation of mass-spectrometry data for organic compounds and biological molecules, and to the development of better techniques for doping and depth profiling of semiconductors.

Garrison's research accomplishments have been recognized with a number of prestigious honors, including the Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship in 1980, the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award in 1984, the Peter Mark Award of the American Vacuum Society in 1984, the Penn State Faculty Scholar Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Physical Sciences and Engineering in 1990, and the Francis P. Garvin-John M. Olin Medal from the American Chemical Society in 1994.  She was elected to fellowship in the American Physical Society and the American Vacuum Society in 1994.

"Nigel Higson personifies exactly what our department, college, and university are trying to achieve--national and international eminence in research, a deep commitment to teaching our students, and a strong sense of loyalty and duty toward Penn State," says Gary Mullen, professor and head of the Department of Mathematics.

Higson's research specialty is operator-algebra theory, a subject with roots in the mathematical foundations of quantum theory and in Fourier analysis.  "These two antecedents have come to be synthesized in a remarkable way, with quite powerful consequences in topology and geometry," Higson says.

Higson's recent work has focused on the Baum-Connes conjecture, a broad program that connects operator-algebra theory to problems in differential topology, Riemannian geometry, and various areas of representation theory.  Along with Paul Baum, Evan Pugh Professor of Mathematics at Penn State, and Alain Connes, their coworker in Paris, Higson is responsible for the current form of the conjecture.

Higson's research and teaching accomplishments have received both national and international recognition.

He was awarded a Sloan Fellowship in 1992 and won Canada's Aisenstadt Medal and Halperin Prize in 1995 and Coxeter-James Prize in 1996, all of which recognize young mathematicians who have made outstanding contributions to mathematical research.

He has delivered plenary addresses to the American and Canadian Mathematical Societies, and in 1998 he delivered an invited lecture to the International Congress of Mathematicians in Berlin.  In 1999, he was named a Clay Mathematics Institute Prize Fellow and received the C. I. Noll Award for excellence in teaching.

Higson has served as associate department chair and is one of the principal investigators for his department's VIGRE (Vertical Integration of Research and Education in the Mathematical Sciences) grant.

This grant, the largest ever received by the department, provides $3 million over a five-year period to improve mathematical instruction at all levels.

"Peter Mészáros and his work are internationally known and respected among research astrophysicists," says Alexander Wolszczan, Evan Pugh Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics.  "His leadership has helped attract top-quality faculty and graduate students to the department.  The careers of his own former students and postdoctoral associates clearly reflect the pattern of excellence in his teaching."

Mészáros is a theoretical astrophysicist whose research involves high-energy astrophysics, gamma-ray bursts, cosmology, and neutron stars.  He developed the cosmological-fireball-shock scenario--the most widely accepted interpretation of gamma-ray bursts, the most energetic events known to exist.  His predictions of the properties of burst afterglows at X-ray and optical wavelengths have been substantiated by recent observations.

His other research interests include interpretations of the X-ray emissions from accreting neutron stars, models of accreting pulsars, and the cosmological diffuse-X-ray background.

Among the national and international honors he has received for his research accomplishments are the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship in 1999, two Smithsonian Fellowships in 1990 and 1982, a Royal Society Guest Fellowship in 1991, and an International Research and Exchanges Board Fellowship in 1986.

Mészáros is a member of the Institute for Advanced Study, the NASA Constellation-X Facility Science Team, and the Hobby-Eberly Telescope board.  He has served on numerous committees for NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the American Astronomical Society, and has served as the chair of the Institute for Theoretical Physics-University of California at Santa Barbara Nonthermal Gamma-Ray Sources Program.

Chan Elected to National Academy of Sciences

Moses Chan, Evan Pugh Professor of Physics at Penn State, has been elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences, considered one of the highest honors that can be accorded a U. S. scientist or engineer.  Sixty new members were elected, bringing the total number of active members to 1,843.

"Moses Chan is respected and admired internationally for his outstanding research achievements in low-temperature physics and also for the quality and depth of his contributions to the physics profession as a colleague and a mentor," comments Daniel J. Larson, dean of the Penn State Eberly College of Science.  Chan's research is aimed at answering, or raising, fundamental questions about matter in its various phases or states such as liquid, solid, and gas.  He is particularly interested in phase transitions--the conditions under which a material changes from one phase to another--in quantum fluids, in reduced dimensions, and in the presence of disorder.  The principles he and his research group have helped to establish have proven to be useful in understanding a wide variety of problems in condensed-matter systems undergoing phase transitions.  "I know the entire Penn State community joins me in congratulating professor Chan on his achievement," says Rodney Erickson, executive vice president and provost.  "Membership in the National Academy of Sciences is a fitting tribute to his many accomplishments as a distinguished scientist, mentor, and teacher."

A major achievement of Chan's research group in 1984 was the confirmation of one of the most important theories in modern statistical mechanics, known as the two-dimensional Ising Model, which until the work of Chan and his group had not been tested experimentally since it was first proposed 40 years earlier.

One of the ongoing interests of Chan's group is the attempt to understand the effect of disorder and impurities on phase transitions in fluids, particularly liquid helium.  Most recently, Chan and his group have introduced fluids into aerogels--highly porous glasses in which atomically thin silica strands interconnect at random sites, forming the skeleton of a very open structure.  In spite of its low density of silica strands--as little as 0.5 percent of the total volume--they found that the highly porous aerogel has profound effects on the nature of the superfluid transition and on the liquid-vapor ordering transition of helium.  Chan's group discovered that in a mixture of helium-3 and helium-4, the aerogel produces a new superfluid phase rich in helium-3 in addition to the expected helium-4-rich superfluid.  These surprising results have attracted considerable interest and ongoing research efforts within the theoretical-physics community.

"Moses Chan has given us a series of exceptional discoveries that each reflect his style of very thoughtful experimental design, very careful execution, a focus on the most significant problems, and no fear of the unknown," adds Milton W. Cole, distinguished professor of physics and a colleague of Chan at Penn State.  "Moses is truly an inspiring colleague," adds Jayanth Banavar, professor and head of the Department of Physics.  "In addition to his scientific prowess, he is a wonderful human being and a terrific role model."

Chan received a Senior Research Fellowship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science in 1982 and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in 1986.  He was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1987 and received the Fritz London Prize in Low-Temperature Physics in 1996.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private organization of scientists and engineers dedicated to the furtherance of science and its use for the general welfare.  The academy was established in 1863 by a congressional act of incorporation signed by Abraham Lincoln, which calls on the academy to act as an official adviser to the federal government, upon request, in any matter of science or technology.

Wolszczan Receives Gold Medal Award

Alexander Wolszczan, Evan Pugh Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, has been awarded the Gold Medal Award by the American Institute of Polish Culture, headquartered in Miami, Florida.

Wolszczan was chosen for this year's award because "his great accomplishment in discovering the first planets outside our solar system well deserves this recognition," states Blanka A. Rosenstiel, president of the institute.  "Wolszczan's discovery and leading role as a source of insight on new astronomical findings are a continuation of the path in astronomy and astrophysics paved by Polish astronomer Mikolaj Kopernik five centuries ago," Blanka adds.

In 1992, Wolszczan became the first person to discover planets outside our solar system when he used the 1000-foot Arecibo radiotelescope to detect three planets orbiting a rapidly spinning neutron star.

His discovery, which suggested that planets might be plentiful throughout the universe, opened the door to the current intense era of planet hunting.

He currently is one of the leaders in the effort to discover extrasolar planets.

Wolszczan was awarded the Commander Cross of the Order of Merit Award from the president of Poland in 1997, the Casimir Funk Natural Sciences Award from the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in America, and the Beatrice M. Tinsley Award from the American Astronomical Society in 1996.

He also received the Penn State Faculty Scholar Medal for Outstanding Achievement in 1994, the Popular Science Award for "Best of What's New" in 1994, the Alfred Jurzykowski Foundation award in 1993, and the Annual Award of the Foundation for Polish Science in 1992.

Five Professors Honored With Faculty Scholar Medals

Five faculty members from the Eberly College of Science have received Penn State Faculty Scholar Medals for Outstanding Achievement.

They are Ross C. Hardison, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and Webb C. Miller, professor of computer science, who share the Life and Health Sciences Medal; Vincent H. Crespi, the Downsbrough Professor of Physics, for the Physical Sciences Medal; Gregory Swiatek, professor of mathematics, for the Physical Sciences Medal; and Alan Walker, distinguished professor of anthropology and biology, for the Life and Health Sciences Medal.

Established in 1980, the award recognizes scholarly or creative excellence represented by a single contribution or a series of contributions around a coherent theme.

A committee of faculty peers reviews nominations and selects candidates.

Ross C. Hardison	Webb C. Miller

Ross C. Hardison and Webb C. Miller share their prize for their collaborative work in developing new computational methods for the analysis of gene structure and function.

Their work is embodied in a web-based computer server, the Globin Gene Server, that has become an international resource for scientists working on DNA comparisons, hemoglobin mutations, and other areas of research.

Hardison's research focuses on the molecular basis of gene regulation and evolution.

He received a National Institutes of Health Research Career Development Award in 1987 and shared an Award in the Special Recognition Program for Collaborative Instructional and Curricular Innovation for the course "Genetic Analysis" in 1998. He is an associate editor of the journal Genomics.

Miller's research investigates computer algorithms for molecular biology.

He currently focuses on developing algorithms and software for analyzing DNA sequences and related types of data from molecular genetics.  He serves on the editorial boards of the journals Gene-COMBIS, Bioinformatics, Journal of Computational Biology, and Genome Research.

Vincent H. Crespi is honored for his series of seminal contributions to the field of nanoscale carbon materials; specifically, fullerenes and nanotubes.

His current focus is on novel semiconductors, structural energies of materials, electron transport, and superconductivity.  A strong  aspect of his theoretical research is his strategy of close collaboration with experimentalists.

Crespi received a David and Lucile Packard Foundation Fellowship in 1998 and a National Science Foundation CAREER award in 1999.

In 1998 he received a Research Innovation Award.  He has been awarded a U.S. patent for his work on novel carbon metals and nanoscale devices.  Crespi was recently appointed the Downsbrough Professor of Physics.

Alan Walker is one of the world's foremost experts on the evolution of primates and humans.

His research involves searching for primate and human fossils in rocks dated from about 30 million to 1 million years ago and conducting laboratory analyses of the fossils to extract as much environmental and behavioral information from them as possible.

He pioneered the study of living primates as a basis for the analysis of fossils and was one of the first to use scanning-electron-microscope studies of enamel microwear on teeth to understand the diets of extinct mammals.

Walker was a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow from 1988 to 1993.  In 1992, he received the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Center for the Study of Evolution and the Origin of Life at the University of California at Los Angeles.

He received the American Association of Publishers Best Book in Anthropology and Sociology Award in 1993 for The Nariokotome Homo erectus Skeleton.

In 1996 he became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 1997 he received, with co-author Pat Shipman, adjunct professor of anthropology, the Rhone-Poulenc Prize for The Wisdom of Bones. In 1999 he was named a British Royal Society Fellow and received the Fyssen Foundation International Prize.

Gregory Swiatek successfully completed a decades-long project, begun by others, to understand the behavior of dynamical processes through understanding the quadratic family.

This work is based in nonlinear and chaotic systems, which appear as mathematical models in natural sciences and economics.  Swiatek's main result, obtained with Jacek Graczyk, professor of mathematics at the University of Paris-Sud in Orsay, France, is that in the quadratic family the deterministic regime is generic, which Swiatek explains by saying, "even if a particular system is unpredictable, an arbitrarily small change of the external parameter will make it converge to a predictable equilibrium."

In 1998 he received the Polish Ministry of Education Award for his doctoral thesis and in 1990 the Polish Mathematical Society Award for Young Mathematicians.

Renee Diehl	Michael Eides

Diehl, Eides Named American Physical Society Fellows

Renee Diehl  and Michael Eides, both professors of physics, have been elected as Fellows of the American Physical Society.  Diehl's election to the Society was based on her "structural studies of weakly adsorbed species on surfaces."  Eides's election was based on his "outstanding contributions in the development of the theory of high-order corrections in QED (quantum electrodynamic) bound states and for improvement of the accuracy of theoretical predictions for muonium hyperfine splitting and hydrogen Lamb shift by one-to-two orders of magnitude."

Renee Diehl is an experimental physicist whose research concerns the adsorption of atoms onto metal surfaces.  To characterize a surface, she uses a technique called Low-Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED), in which the pattern formed by the reflection of a beam of electrons fired at the surface provides information about the arrangement of surface atoms.  Diehl has discovered that, in many cases, atoms adsorbed onto a metal surface are arranged in unexpected positions.  Results of these studies provide information on the interactions between atoms and a better understanding of surface phenomena, such as the catalytic conversion of gases in automobile exhaust.

Diehl's research and teaching honors include England's SERC (Science and Engineering Research Council) Research Excellence Recognition in 1989, the National Science Foundation Visiting Professorships for Women Award in 1994, the Provost's Collaborative and Curricular Innovations Award in 1997, and the Distinguished Service Award from the American Association of Physics Teachers in 1999.

Michael Eides is a theoretical physicist whose research involves studies of the energy levels in the one-electron atoms: hydrogen, muonium, and positronium.  Muonium and positronium are atoms with nuclei consisting of a small positively charged particle, a muon or a positron, instead of a proton.  His research has provided more precise predictions of the energy states of these atoms, which are critical to correlating experimental results with quantum physical theory.  These theoretical predictions, combined with recent experimental data, have produced corrections to several important physical constants, including the Rydberg constant, the fine-structure constant, and the electron-muon mass ratio.

Honoris Causa (part 1)
Honoris Causa continued (part 3)

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