DeSimone awarded Lemelson-MIT Prize
Dean tapped to lead Kenan-Flagler Business School
Decorations & Distinctions
Ruth Kirkendall dies July 8 at 74
Higginbotham, professor of history, dies June 22
DeSimone awarded Lemelson-MIT Prize
For Joseph M. DeSimone, the interface between seemingly
disparate fields and
concepts offers the best opportunity for
invention and innovation.
Chemist Joseph DeSimone holds a drum of his PRINT® molds,
which can manufacture highly customizable and controllable nanobiomaterials to
diagnose and treat disease. |
A recognized chemist and polymer expert, DeSimone has
uniquely applied his skills to the development of groundbreaking solutions in
green manufacturing, and promising applications in gene therapy and drug
delivery, as well as medical devices. For his pioneering inventions,
lab-to-marketplace entrepreneurship and commitment to mentorship,
DeSimone has been awarded this year’s $500,000 Lemelson-
MIT Prize.
Robert S. Langer, Institute Professor at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, nominated DeSimone
for the prize. “Joe is clearly one of the most inventive researchers
in all of science,” Langer said.
DeSimone, Chancellor’s Eminent Professor of Chemistry at
Carolina and William R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Chemical
Engineering at N.C. State University,
accepted his award last month.
Creating connections through polymers
Through his cross-disciplinary thinking, DeSimone blended
polymerization methods with
supercritical fluid extraction, yielding a breakthrough in “green” or
environmentally sustainable manufacturing. He invented a process in which
supercritical carbon dioxide — CO2 that has gas and liquid properties
— can be used in lieu of the environmentally persistent
material perfluorooctanoic acid, to produce a class of high-performance
plastics known
as fluoropolymers.
DeSimone’s process produces an
enhanced-performance material used in wire and cable insulation and jackets,
flexible tubing, and industrial films applications, which span several
industrial markets including
data communications, semiconductor, and automotive. DeSimone and his students
also created surfactants, or detergents, for CO2, to use in tandem with his
process for expanded industrial applications.
“DuPont has licensed DeSimone’s breakthrough
fluoropolymer-creation process, and we have built commercial facilities based
on the technology, leading to unique products and more environmentally
sustainable manufacturing,” said Nandan S. Rao, global technology director,
DuPont Fluoroproducts.
DeSimone has also crossed polymers with the field of medical
devices. He collaborated with a research team led by Richard Stack, professor
emeritus in cardiology at Duke University and president of Synecor LLC, in
developing technology for a fully bioabsorbable, polymer-based stent to provide
an alternative to metallic stents.
These stents promise to eliminate the need for a permanent
prosthetic, offering the potential to improve the long-term safety of coronary
stents and save patients’ lives. Guidant, now part of Abbott, purchased the
technology from Synecor LLC, which is now in an international clinical trial for
the treatment of coronary artery disease. This stent is the first of its kind
to enter clinical trials.
In addition, DeSimone serves as director of the National
Science Foundation’s
Science and Technology Center for
Environmentally Responsible Solvents and Processes in North Carolina.
The scientist and his team are currently utilizing
fabrication processes from the microelectronics industry to create nanocarriers
in medicine. DeSimone’s PRINT® (Particle Replication in Non-wetting Templates)
technology can, for the first time, manufacture highly customizable and
controllable nanobiomaterials for the diagnosis
and treatment of disease, with promising applications in biotechnology and
pharmaceuticals.
Understanding the importance of bringing invention out of
the laboratory and into the market to have a societal impact, DeSimone helped
form Liquidia Technologies to commercialize the PRINT technology. He is also
the co-principal investigator for the Carolina Center for Cancer Nanotechnology
Excellence, which concentrates on projects using PRINT in oncology
and is part of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Alliance for
Nanotechnology in Cancer.
“The ability to cross-germinate ideas from different areas
to produce innovative solutions is invaluable to an inventor,” said Joshua
Schuler, executive director of the Lemelson-MIT Program. “DeSimone’s ability to
creatively fuse concepts across disciplines, coupled with his dedication to
fostering the inventive spirit, uniquely position him to improve our world through
invention
and innovation.”
The Lemelson-MIT Program recognizes outstanding inventors,
encourages sustainable new solutions to real-world problems, and enables and
inspires young people to pursue creative lives and careers
through invention.
Dean tapped to lead Kenan-Flagler Business School
James W. Dean Jr., senior associate dean for academic
affairs in the Kenan-Flagler Business School, has been tapped to succeed Steve
Jones as dean of the business school beginning Aug. 1, pending approval by the
Board of Trustees later this month.
Dean
|
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost
Bernadette Gray-Little announced the recommendation June 20
in an e-mail to the
campus community. Dean emerged from a competitive national search led by
Barbara Rimer, dean of the School of Public Health, she said.
Dean, also professor of organizational behavior and strategy
and a Sarah Graham Distinguished Scholar, will bring a
decade of experience as a faculty member and
administraor at the business school to the new post.
“He will make an excellent dean and has a compelling vision
for how Kenan-Flagler can become even better in the future to benefit the
people of North Carolina and beyond,” Gray-Little said. “He is a respected teacher,
researcher and industry consultant whose
expertise spans areas including leadership,
organizational change and performance
improvement, strategic decision making and international management. Other
assets include extensive experience in working effectively with the school’s
many constituencies.”
Dean has served as senior associate dean for academic
affairs since July 2007. He served as associate dean of executive development
for the previous five years and associate dean of the MBA program from 1998 to
2002.
As associate dean for executive development,
he increased the number and global reach of the University’s non-degree
programs,
increasing revenue by nearly 60 percent.
As associate dean of the MBA program, Dean led an innovative
redesign of the
curriculum, created corporate advisory boards and developed a strong team of
professionals
to guide admissions, student services and
career services.
Dean’s research has been published in many top academic and
business journals,
including the Academy of Management
Journal, Academy of Management Review, Harvard Business Review, Organization
Science and Strategic Management Journal.
He earned his Ph.D. and master’s degrees in organizational
behavior from Carnegie Mellon University and his B.A. from The Catholic
University.
Jones will remain on the Kenan-Flagler faculty.
Gray-Little thanked Jones for his leadership of the school.
“His efforts have achieved many positive results, and we are fortunate that he
plans to remain involved with Kenan-Flagler on the faculty and in other areas,”
she said.
Decorations & Distinctions
Stephen Charles
Curriculum facilitator in the Offices of Medical Education,
Charles was selected to participate in the annual reading and
scoring of the CollegeBoard’s Advanced Placement Environmental Science
Examination in June.
The AP Reading is a unique forum in which academic dialogue
between secondary school and college educators is fostered and strongly
encouraged. “The reading draws upon the talents of some of the finest teachers
and professors that the world has to offer,” said Trevor Packer, executive
director of the program.
Mauricio Cohen
Assistant professor in the School of Medicine and director
of the Healthy Heart Latino Initiative, Cohen has been appointed associate
editor of a newly launched Spanish-language Web site, Cardiosource en Español.
Folkerts
|
Sponsored by the American College of Cardiology,
Cardiosource en Español is aimed at Spanish-speaking cardiology
professionals around the world. The site provides clinical information in
Spanish,
including news, expert opinions, case
studies, journal scans, abstracts from the Journals of the American College of
Cardiology and discussion forums.
Jean Folkerts
Dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication,
Folkerts has been elected to serve on the executive committee
of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Folkerts begins a three-year term in August and was one of
three at-large members elected.
James L. Gilbert
Safety officer with environment, health and safety, Gilbert
has received an Award of Recognition from the Campus Safety Health and
Environmental Management Association for his entry of the group’s
Solutions at Work Program.
The award for his Campus Hazardous Environment Signage
System was to be
conferred at the awards luncheon of the
International Conference on Campus
Safety this month in St. Louis.
Philip Gura
William Leuchtenburg
Gura, the William S. Newman
Distinguished Professor of American
Literature and Culture, and Leuchtenburg, William Rand Kenan Jr. Professor
Emeritus of History, have been honored by the Society of American Historians
for their excellence in historical writing.
Gura has been tapped as a fellow of the society “in
recognition of the literary and scholarly distinction of his historical
writing.” Leuchtenburg is the first recipient of the Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.
Award “for distinguished writing in American history of enduring public
significance.” The award will be presented jointly by the society and the
Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute.
Jock Lauterer
Lecturer in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication
and director of the Carolina Community Media Project, Lauterer has been named
by the National Newspaper Association (NNA) as its point person on community
journalism for the trade association’s nationwide membership primarily of
non-daily newspapers.
Lauterer will specialize in community journalism newsroom
issues, complementing the NNA’s specialists in postal service, public policy
and legal issues.
Eloise (Weejy) Neebe
Acting director of the Data Management and Analysis Core at
the FPG Child
Development Institute, Neebe was recognized at a May 23 reception for
Outstanding
Encouragement of Learning and Development.
She was recognized as an outstanding promoter of learning
and development because of her strong commitment to
professional development and training for the staff she supervises.
Maurice Powers
An instructor in the Friday Center’s Self-paced Courses
program, Powers
received the 2008 Friday Center Excellence in Teaching Award May 8 in
recognition of his consistent dedication and commitment to the highest
standards in his work with the Friday Center’s programs and students.
The annual appreciation event honors instructors and
celebrates their work in the areas of continuing education and distance
learning.
Ralph H. Raasch
Associate professor in the Eshelman School of Pharmacy,
Raasch has been selected as the recipient of the 2008 American College of
Clinical Pharmacy Education Award.
The award recognizes a member of the college who has made
substantial and
outstanding contributions to clinical pharmacy education at either the professional or postgraduate level.
R. Jude Samulski
Professor of pharmacology and director
of the Gene Therapy Center, Samulski
received the inaugural Outstanding Achievement Award given by the American
Society for Gene Therapy at the society’s annual meeting in Boston.
Sandler
|
The award recognizes an active member of the society who has
achieved a pioneering
research success, a specific high-impact accomplishment or a lifetime of
significant scientific
contributions to the field of gene therapy.
Robert Sandler
Nina C. and John T. Sessions
Distinguished Professor in the School of Medicine, professor of epidemiology in
the School of Public Health and chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and
Hepatology, Sandler began
a one-year term on May 19 as president of the American
Gastroenterological Association Institute.
He was installed during the annual
Digestive Disease Week meeting, held in San Diego, Calif.
Patricia Shane
Clinical professor of education and associate
director of the Center for Mathematics and Science Education, Shane began a
one-year term as president-elect of the National
Science Teachers Association (NSTA) on June 1. She will assume the office of
president on June 1, 2009.
The NSTA is the largest professional organization in the
world promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning.
Jeff Whetstone
Assistant professor of art, Whetstone has been awarded the
Factor Prize, an award of $10,000 given for the first time by the Gibbes Museum
of Art in
Charleston, S.C.
Williams
|
The prize acknowledges an artist whose work demonstrates a
high level of achievement in any media while contributing to a new
understanding of art in the South. Whetstone’s work was selected for his
“multivalent engagement with the
Southern experience in both the human and natural realms.”
John N. Williams
Dean of the School of Dentistry, Williams was elected vice
president of the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) at the
organization’s
recent 85th Annual Session and Exhibition in Dallas.
Williams joined the 11-member ADEA Board of Directors with his election
to a three-year term as vice president for deans. Williams is a long-time
member of ADEA and has served in numerous leadership positions within the
organization. ADEA is the leading national organization for dental education.
Ruth Kirkendall dies July 8 at 74
Ruth Kirkendall, 74, a longtime member of the University
community, died July 8.
Kirkendall, who was known for her
attention to detail, her warm smile and her love for Carolina basketball,
provided
administrative support in two campus units during a University career that
spanned three decades.
A native of Garden Plain, Kan., she came to Carolina in 1975
as an administrative assistant to James Gallagher, who is now Kenan professor
emeritus of education and senior scientist emeritus at the FPG Child
Development Institute.
Twelve years later, Kirkendall made the change to the
Department of Athletics,
where she worked for former men’s
basketball coaches Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge until shortly before her
death.
Her many other interests included
sailing and music, both piano and voice.
Kirkendall was active in the Durham Choral Society, the Duke
University Chapel Choir — where she sang in more than 100 performances of
Handel’s
Messiah — and other local church choirs and theatrical groups.
A memorial service for Kirkendall was held July 12 at the
Resurrection United Methodist Church in Durham.
Higginbotham, professor of history, dies June 22
Don Higginbotham, Dowd Distinguished Professor of History
who taught at Carolina for 41 years, died June 22. He was 77.
Higginbotham was a leading authority on the history of the
American Revolution and in particular the life of George Washington, and he was
the author or editor of 10 books and dozens of articles and essays, several of
which won major prizes.
At Carolina he served as chair of the history department
between 1978 and 1983 and as acting chair in the fall of 1993.
He was a much-admired graduate mentor as evidenced by the
large number of his former students who gathered in Chapel Hill in March 2007
for “A Higginbotham Affair,” a two-day conference organized in his honor.
Among his national recognitions, he served as president of
the Southern
Historical Association from 1991 to 1992, president of the Society of the
Historians for the Early Republic and on editorial
boards, among them the American
Historical Review, from 1976 to 1979.
Higginbotham received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from
Washington University and his Ph.D from Duke University.
Donations in his honor may be sent to Duke Home Care and
Hospice, 4321 Medical Park Drive, Suite 101, Durham, NC 27704.
