|
||
      |
For the record
Organ transplant accident
Transplants from a high-risk organ donor infected four patients with HIV and hepatitis C in January 2007—including two at the U of C Medical Center, public-health officials announced November 13. The incident was the first known HIV transmission through organ transplants since 1986. The infected donor did not test positive for the diseases, likely because the infections were too recent to register on screening tests. The U of C Medical Center is considering implementing a newer test that can detect the virus earlier, but takes longer to produce results. The other patients received organs at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Rush University Medical Center.
Scientific Americans
The American Association for the Advancement of Science has named three University scholars as fellows: Raphael Lee, professor in surgery and Center for Research of Molecular Cell Repair director; Ursula Storb, professor in molecular genetics & cell biology and the College; and President Robert J. Zimmer, professor in mathematics and the Physical Sciences Collegiate Division. The Chicago scientists are among 471 AAAS members honored in 2007 for their work to advance science or its applications.
Building boom
In October the Board of Trustees moved two projects to the architect-selection and design phases. The Harris School of Public Policy says its estimated $55 million structure, scheduled to begin construction in September, will include a large assembly room for formal events, as well as a media studio to provide faculty an on-campus location where they can be interviewed for radio and television. A new physical-sciences building will house astronomy and astrophysics classrooms and offices, computer-science classrooms, the Kavli Institute, and the Computation Institute.
Science in the city
The U of C has joined Argonne National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Baxter Healthcare, and several Chicago area universities and museums to form the Chicago Council for Science and Technology. The group aims to encourage scientific discussion through programs, distribute nonpartisan policy papers, and improve science and technology education in Chicago public schools.
Drug benefits
Research!America presented its 2007 Eugene Garfield Economic Impact of Medical and Health Research Award to Tomas Philipson, professor in the Harris School of Public Policy, and Anupam Jena, a third-year medical student. In a study in the Forum for Health Economics and Policy, Philipson and Jena measured the value of HIV and AIDS drugs developed between 1980 and 2000 based on increased survival rates. They suggest that drug producers’resulting low profits could reduce their incentives to develop future treatments. Research!America is a not-for-profit health care–oriented public-education and advocacy organization.
Granting wisdom
The University’s Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience is managing the Arete Initiative, a project aimed at spurring new scholarly investigations into the nature, cultivation, benefits, and applications of wisdom. The project will offer grants to experts from around the world in such fields as neuroscience, game theory, economics, religion, and education. The project will culminate in an August symposium. John Cacioppo, the Tiffany and Margaret Blake distinguished service professor in psychology and the College, and Howard Nusbaum, chair and professor of psychology and professor in the College, are the principal investigators of the Chicago-based initiative.
Law and philosophy
Brian R. Leiter, a professor of law and philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin, will join the Law School’s faculty next fall. He’ll also head the new Center for Law, Philosophy, and Human Values. Leiter, the youngest named professor in the history of the law school at Texas, has been a visiting professor at Yale Law School, University College London—and, in 2006, at the Law School.
Maroon standouts
At October’s Homecoming the University’s Athletics Hall of Fame inducted its fifth class: Joe Bochenski, AB’88, MBA’93, an All-American wrestler from 1985 to 1988; Derrick Brooms, AB’96, two-time University Athletic Association Player of the Year as a Maroon football player from 1992 to 1995; Walter Hass, the University’s director of athletics from 1956 to 1977 who helped reinstitute football as a varsity sport; Clarence Herschberger, AB’1898, the first consensus All-American in Maroon football history; Claire Orner, AB’77, who earned 12 varsity letters in basketball, softball, and volleyball; Floyd Stauffer, SB’37, an All-American diver; and Mitchell Watkins, AB’60, MBA’65, a track-and-field athlete and basketball player in the late 1950s.
A worldwide leader
The Times Higher Education Supplement and Quacquarelli Symonds, a career-and education-information company, ranked Chicago seventh in its list of the top 100 international universities. The rankings, in their third year, are based on faculty and corporate recruiter reviews.
Universal origins
Nicolas Dauphas, assistant professor in geophysical sciences, has received a 2007 Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering. One of 20 winners, Dauphas will receive a $625,000 research grant over five years. He’ll use the grant to study the natural distribution of elements and isotopes, work that he hopes will answer questions about the universe’s origin.
Getting greener?
The Sustainable Endowments Institute (SEI) handed Chicago a C-minus grade in its evaluation of the University’s environmental efforts, a slight improvement from its D-plus grade in 2006. The SEI, a nonprofit organization engaged in research and education to advance sustainability in campus operations and endowment practices, praised Chicago’s composting of postconsumer food waste at all residential dining locations. But the report criticized the University’s lack of “any public statements about active ownership or a proxy voting policy” for shareholder engagement.
New research-admin head
Carol Zuiches, the University of Washington’s assistant vice provost for research and executive director of the Office of Sponsored Programs, arrives at Chicago as associate vice president for research administration in January. Zuiches will lead the University Research Administration, which reviews and endorses all applications, negotiation, and acceptance of awards for sponsored funding, grant and contract management, information services, and training.
Financial marketplace opens
The Stevanovich Center for Financial Mathematics officially opened October 19 with a two-day Conference on Credit Risk. The center, an adjunct to Chicago’s financial-mathematics program, plans to hold workshops and conferences, publish papers, and disseminate presentations via the Internet.
Entrepreneurship honor
The Illinois Venture Capital Association presented Steve Kaplan, the Neubauer Family Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance in the GSB, with the 2007 Richard J. Daley Medal for his contributions to the Illinois economy. Kaplan is the founder of Chicago’s New Venture Challenge, a business plan competition that has been a testing ground for local companies like Bobtail Ice Cream Co. and GrubHub.com.
