Spring 2014 Honor Roll

Richard I. Morimoto, the Bill and Gayle Cook Professor of Molecular Biosciences in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, was awarded the 2014 Feodor Lynen Medal from the German Biochemical Society. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the biological sciences. Morimoto is recognized for his research on the regulation of the heat shock stress response and the function of molecular chaperones.

Phyllis C. Zee, professor of neurology in the Feinberg School of Medicine, is the recipient of the 2014 William C. Dement Academic Achievement Award from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. The award recognizes members of the sleep field who have displayed exceptional initiative and progress in the areas of academic research. Zee is recognized for her longstanding commitment to the global advancement of sleep academic research and education. Zee will be honored in June at the Association of Professional Sleep Societies annual conference. 

Kate Juschenko, an assistant professor of mathematics in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, has been awarded the prestigious American Mathematical Society (AMS) Centennial Fellowship for the 2014-2015 academic year. The primary selection criterion is excellence in research achievement. The stipend for the 2014-2015 Centennial Fellowship is $85,000. Juschenko’s research interests focus on operator theory, a branch of mathematics that reaches into both pure and applied areas of the field. 

Emily Weiss, an associate professor of chemistry and the Irving M. Klotz Research Professor in Chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, is one of 15 recipients of the 2014 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. The award honors young faculty in the chemical sciences who have created an independent body of outstanding scholarship and demonstrated a commitment to education within the first five years of their academic careers. Weiss is honored for her research project, “Controlling the Electronic Structure and Dynamics at Nanoscale Interfaces between Inorganic and Organic Materials.” 

Alexandra Lindgren-Gibson, a Ph.D. candidate in history at The Graduate School, has been awarded one of 22 Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships awarded by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. The Newcombe Fellowships are awarded to scholars in the humanities and social sciences who are completing dissertations related to questions of religious and ethical values. Each 2014 Newcombe Fellow receives a 12-month award of $25,000. Lindgren-Gibson’s dissertation, “British Working-Class Culture and Family Life in Victorian India: Renegotiating Class, Sexuality and Race, 1858-1914,” explores non-elite British family life, culture, sexuality and morality in Victorian India.

Melissa Vise, a Ph.D. candidate in history at The Graduate School, has been awarded one of 22 Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships awarded by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. The Newcombe Fellowships are awarded to scholars in the humanities and social sciences who are completing dissertations related to questions of religious and ethical values. Each 2014 Newcombe Fellow receives a 12-month award of $25,000. Vise’s dissertation, “The Threat of the Tongue: Illicit Speech in Late Medieval Italy, 1250-1450,” uncovers the origins and development of speech regulation in medieval Europe. 

The North American Board of the Institute of Internal Auditors inducted Betty McPhilimy, associate vice president of Audit and Advisory Services at Northwestern, to the American Hall of Distinguished Audit Practitioners. The hall recognizes individuals who have significantly contributed to the profession throughout their careers. McPhilimy has progressed the internal audit function to include value-added advisory services focused on compliance and risk assessment initiatives.

Carol Lee, the Edwina S. Tarry Professor of Education and Social Policy, professor of learning sciences in the School of Education and Social Policy and professor of African American studies in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, is a winner of the 2014 Dogon Award from the DuSable Museum of African American History. The award honors African-American Chicagoans who have made outstanding contributions to society through their professions, careers and civic responsibilities. Lee is known for her theory of cultural modeling, which provides a framework for curriculum design based on the knowledge underserved students bring to classrooms. Her research shows that urban children use their personal experiences to learn and excel in school.

Professor Larry Hedges is a winner of the 2014 AERA Presidential Citation award for research excellence from the American Education Research Association. Hedges is the Board of Trustees Professor of Statistics and Social Policy at Northwestern and a faculty fellow at the Institute for Policy Research. His research spans fields including sociology, psychology and educational policy. He is best known for his work on statistical methods for meta-analysis in the social, medical and biological sciences.

The Medill Justice Project won a national Investigative Reporters & Editors Award for its project, “Spotlight on Shaken-Baby Syndrome,” an examination of shaken-baby syndrome cases over multiple years. Led by Alec Klein, professor and director of the Medill Justice Project, the investigation comprised in-depth articles, the creation of a national database and a documentary. The IRE award is the third national award won by the Medill Justice Project in the past two years.