CU News
News from the University of Colorado in Boulder.
WHITE HOUSE NAMES CU-BOULDER PROFESSOR ONE OF TOP YOUNG 100 SCIENTISTS IN 2010
Nov 8th
University of Colorado at Boulder faculty member Ivan Smalyukh is one of only 100 men and women in the United States to be awarded a coveted 2010 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, or PECASE.
The PECASE awards are the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent careers. President Barack Obama announced the awards on Nov. 5. The award includes $600,000 of funding from the National Science Foundation over five years.
Smalyukh, an assistant professor in CU-Boulder’s physics department and a member of the university’s Liquid Crystals Materials Research Center, and his students are studying the organization of nanoparticle andmolecular self-assembly related to precisely controlled structures in liquid crystals. The research is expected to help scientists develop new electrically and optically controlled materials that could lead to a number of technological breakthroughs, including more efficient conversion of solar energy into electricity using inexpensive solar cells and the development of flexible display and data storage devices.
“As a scientist and educator, I receive this great honor with deep gratitude,” said Smalyukh. “The PECASE award is a strong encouragement for me and for my students. It will help us in achieving many important and ambitious research goals.”
Established by President Bill Clinton in 1996, the awards are coordinated by the Office of Science and Technology Policy within the Executive Office of the President. Awardees are selected on two criteria — the pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and a commitment to community service as demonstrated through scientific leadership, public education or community outreach.
Smalyukh also was a winner of the 2009 National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development, or CAREER award, the agency’s most prestigious awards to junior faculty members around the nation. The NSF nominated Smalyukh for the 2010 PECASE awards.
He also is a founding fellow of the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute, a joint center of CU-Boulder and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Nine federal departments and agencies join together annually to nominate the outstanding young scientists and engineers for the PECASE awards. The recipients are researchers whose early accomplishments show the greatest promise for strengthening America’s leadership in science and technology and contributing to the awarding agencies’ missions, according to the White House.
This year’s recipients will be honored at a White House ceremony with Obama in early 2011.
SOURCE: CU MEDIA RELEASE
‘Catching Your Future’ college fair set for Nov. 13
Nov 3rd
Boulder County, Colo. – All Boulder County students in grades 8-12 are invited to attend the third annual “Catching Your Future” college fair on Nov. 13 in Longmont.
What: Catching Your Future college fair
When: Saturday, Nov. 13, 11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Where: Front Range Community College, 2121 Miller Drive, Longmont
The fair offers five workshops for families, all of which will be presented in English and Spanish:
• Funding Your Future, assistance with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and scholarship opportunities
• Take Action Now, learn about concurrent enrollment opportunities
• Making Your Statement, help in writing scholarship essays
• Paving Your Way to College, educating students about civic engagement and the importance of volunteering
• College for All Students, nontraditional pathways and opportunities for college
Participants attending a minimum of three workshops will be eligible to win prizes, including Netbooks, iPods, and scholarships totaling more than $2,000.
SOURCE: BOULDER COUNTY NEWS RELEASE
Local colleges and universities will participate, including Colorado, Colorado State, Mesa State, Northern Colorado, Regis and more. Families can also visit with local agencies that support students in reaching their educational goals.
The fair is organized by Sharing Achievement For Student Success in Education, a student-led organization whose focus is to help Boulder County’s low-income, minority, and first-generation students achieve their goals for higher education.
Last year’s fair reached more than 250 county families and awarded more than $3,000 in scholarships.
CU-BOULDER ANNOUNCES FINALISTS FOR DEAN OF LEEDS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Nov 3rd
Two finalists have been named for the position of dean of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
The finalists are David L. Ikenberry of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Kenneth A. Kavajecz of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, according to William Kaempfer, chair of the search committee and vice provost and associate vice chancellor at CU-Boulder.
The position is expected to be filled during spring 2011.
Ikenberry, who will visit campus Nov. 17-20, is the associate dean of the College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His academic experience dates back to 1990, and he has held faculty and administrative positions at Rice University, the University of Washington and the University of Illinois. He has sat on several external boards and committees. He earned his doctorate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Ikenberry teaches investment and corporate finance and has been recognized for his excellent work in the classroom as a professor. In 2002, he was named as one of the best instructors in the nation by Business Week.
On Nov. 30-Dec. 3, Kavajecz, associate dean for full-time masters programs and associate dean for the undergraduate program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Wisconsin School of Business, will visit. A former assistant economist with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System’s Division of Monetary Affairs, Kavajecz academic experience dates back to 1996. He has held faculty and administrative positions at Northwestern University, The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He earned his doctorate at Northwestern University.
Kavajecz has been recognized for excellence in teaching and research. He received teaching awards for both undergraduate and graduate level courses at Northwestern University and at The Wharton School.
In addition to Kaempfer, search committee members include: Michael Stutzer, professor of finance; Phil Shane, professor of accounting; Kai Larsen, associate professor of information systems; Page Moreau, associate professor of marketing; Cathleen Burns, senior instructor of accounting; Victor Fleischer, associate professor of law; Aswad Allen, director of the Leeds School of Business Office of Diversity Affairs; Toni Blodgett, junior accounting major; Aaron Schlagel, master of business administration candidate; Peter Burridge, president and CEO of Greenhouse Partners and member of the Leeds School of Business Board; and John S. Fischer, CEO of Breakthrough Energy LLC and member of the Leeds School of Business Board.
Manuel Laguna, professor of operations and information management, is currently serving as interim dean of the Leeds School of Business. Laguna succeeded Dennis Ahlburg, who accepted the presidency of Trinity University in San Antonio.
SOURCE: CU MEDIA RELEASE
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