Christian J. Lambertsen has been awarded the U.S. Special Operations Command Medal, the organization’s most prestigious civilian honor. As professor of environmental medicine and founder of the Institute for Environmental Medicine, Lambertsen invented the first self-contained underwater circuit-breathing apparatus and was the first U.S. self-contained diver. The naval special warfare community calls him “Father of U.S. Combat Swimming.”

Societies name new members

The Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academies, recently welcomed Professor and Director of Neuropsychiatry Racquel E. Gur and Professor and Chair of Biostatics and Epidemiology Brian L. Strom as new members. Ralph F. Hirschmann, professor of bioorganic chemistry, has been promoted to senior membership.

Class of 1965 Endowed Term Professor Mirjam Cvetic, Professors of Physics Paul Heiney and Eugene Mele, and William Smith Term Associate Professor Randall Kamien are now fellows of the American Physical Society.

Faculty Fulbrights

Philip M. Nichols, associate professor of legal studies, will lecture on “Law and Legal Concepts” at Mongolian National University.

Peggy R. Sanday, professor of anthropology, will lecture on “Human Consequences of Anthropology in the Past, Present and Future from the Point of View of Philosophy,” at St. Petersburg State University in Russia.

Public service

Michael Masch has been named to the new governing body for Philadelphia’s public schools, a five-member School Reform Commission that replaces the Board of Education. Masch, vice president for budget and management analysis, formerly served on the school board for almost two years and was the budget director under former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell.

Peer recognition

Raymond J. Fonseca, dean of the School of Dental Medicine, snagged this year’s William J. Gies Award from the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons for distinction in the field.

Dennis DeTurck is the recipient of the Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics. DeTurck, who is professor of mathematics, chair of the Math Department and faculty master of Stouffer College House, is being recognized by the Mathematical Association of America for his ability to influence the mathematical world and make learning interesting.

Associate Professor of Music Cristle Collins Judd got a nod and the Wallace Berry Award from the Society for Music Theory for her book, “Reading Renaissance Music Theory: Hearing with the Eyes.” The award is presented annually in recognition of a distinguished book that makes a significant contribution to the field of music theory.

Portonovo S. Ayyaswamy has been awarded the 2001 American Society of Mechanical Engineers International Heat Transfer Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to the field of heat transfer. A professor of mechanical engineering and applied mechanics, Ayyaswamy has conducted research in phase-change and polarity and is the co-author of “Transport Phenomena with Drops and Bubbles.”

Ann Farnsworth-Alvear has received the Bolton-Johnson Award by the Conference on Latin American History, an affiliate of the American Hispanic Association. Alvear, who is an associate professor of history and director of the Latin American Cultures Program, was recognized for her book, “Dulcinea in the Factory: Myths, Morals, Men and Women in Colombia’s Industrial Experiment, 1905-1960.”

Penn’s Nursing School adds two more prestigious honors, which are to be presented by the American Nurses Association at their 2002 annual convention.

Professor of Nursing Norma Lang received this year’s Jessie M. Scott award for demonstrating the interdependent relationships among nursing education, practice and research.

Linda Aiken’s contributions to nursing practice and health policy through political and legislative activity has been noted with the ANA’s Barbara Thoman Curtis Award. Aiken is Clarie M. Fagin Leadership Professor in Nursing.

Our president

University President Judith Rodin is one of 25 Women of Distinction for 2001. The National Association of Women Business Owners honored Rodin with the award based on her contributions to her field and to her community.