Focus publishes a column on a periodic basis that recognizes significant accomplishments of members of the Rutgers community. Faculty and staff who wish to be recognized for achievements or those who would like to note the achievements of others may submit a notice through the Submit News form.

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John Abela, professor of psychology, received the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression Independent Researcher Award for 2008.

Eric Allender, professor of computer science, is a founding member of the board of editors of the new journal, ACM Transactions on Computation Theory.

Ross K. Baker, professor of political science, was appointed Scholar-in-Residence, Office of the Majority Leader, U.S. Senate, 2008.

Arati Baliga, who earned her Ph.D. in the Department of Computer Science, won the Best Student Paper award at the prestigious 2008 Annual Computer Security Applications Conference for joint work with her advisor, Liviu Iftode, and another Rutgers computer science professor, Vinod Ganapathy.

Mia Elisabeth Bay, associate professor of history, and Ruth Elizabeth Chang, associate professor of philosophy, have been named Fellows at the National Humanities Center for the 2009–2010 academic year. They will join 31 other scholars from institutions across the United States and four foreign countries working on a wide array of projects.

Joshua Blank, assistant professor at the School of Law–Newark, has been elected a full member of Academia Tributária das Américas, or the Tax Academy of the Americas, which consists of legal scholars from north, south, and central America. He is one of nine U.S. legal scholars who are full members. In addition, Blank has been appointed vice-chair of the Teaching Taxation Committee of the Tax Section of the American Bar Association. He was also selected by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to present his article, “Overcoming Overdisclosure: Toward Tax Shelter Detection,” which is forthcoming in the UCLA Law Review, at the 2009 IRS Research Conference in Washington, D.C., in July.

Myra Bluebond-Langner, Camden Faculty of Arts and Sciences (CFAS) professor of anthropology, won the Rutgers Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Research.

T. Corey Brennan, professor of classics, was appointed Andrew W. Mellon Professor-in-Charge at the American Academy in Rome, July 2009–June 2012.

Sang-Wook Cheong, Donald H. Jacobs Chair in Applied Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, received the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) Overseas Compatriots Award, given to ethnic Koreans living overseas who have made distinguished contributions in promoting the image of the people and culture of Korea. KBS will produce a documentary on his life and achievements.

The American Physical Society has named Jolie Cizewski, professor of physics in the School of Arts and Sciences, an outstanding referee. The program expresses appreciation for the work anonymous peer reviewers do for the society’s journals and the physics community.

Eric Davis, professor of political science, received a U.S. Institute of Peace grant for his project, “The Formation of Political Identities in Ethnically Divided Societies: Implications for a Democratic Transition in Iraq.”

Robin L. Davis, professor of cell biology and neuroscience, will succeed Peter Klein as executive vice dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. Her appointment as dean is effective July 1. Davis’s findings that two neurotrophin proteins in the cochlea, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), regulate the firing properties and synaptic proteins of spiral ganglion neurons, the primary auditory neurons that relay sound messages to the brain, were published in the Journal of Neuroscience, December 2007, and featured in stories in U.S. News & World Report and NJN News.

Carlos Decena, professor of women and gender studies, received a Woodrow Wilson Foundation Career Enhancement Fellowship for Junior Scholars, 2008–2009.

Stuart L. Deutsch, who is stepping down as dean of the School of Law–Newark on June 30, has been named a University Professor, effective July 1. Following a one-year leave, he will return to the law faculty and teach environmental law.

Mark Doty, professor of English starting in the fall 2009, was awarded the 2008 National Book Award for Poetry for his book of poems, Fire to Fire: New and Selected Poems. 

Sourabh Dube, who just received his Ph.D. in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has been awarded the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory's 2009 Chamberlain Fellowship. This Fellowship honors Owen Chamberlain, who (along with others) discovered the antiproton in 1955 at the Berkeley Bevatron.

Ahmed Elgammal and Vladimir Pavlovic, professors of computer science, have joined the board of editors of the journal, Image and Vision Computing.

Allan Espiritu, CFAS associate professor of fine arts, received the Presidential Fellowship for Teaching Excellence.

Leonard Feldman, vice president of Physical Science and Engineering Partnerships and director of the Institute for Advanced Materials, Devices and Nanotechnology, has been awarded the 2009 Graduate School–New Brunswick Alumni Award for Distinguished Accomplishments, for outstanding leadership in, and scientific contributions to, the field of materials science.

David Finegold, dean of the School of Management and Labor Relations, was inducted into the New Jersey High-Tech Hall of Fame.

An article by Bonnie Firestein, professor of cell biology and neuroscience, appeared in the Home News Tribune on February 9, outlining research aimed at restoring brain connections after stroke.

Tatiana Flores, professor of art history, was co-curator of the exhibition, “Space, Unlimited,” a mixed-media installation by Venezuelan, Puerto Rican, and Cuban-American artists at the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington, D.C., from February 21 to April 12.

Rochel Gelman, professor of psychology, was a distinguished visitor at the Sage Center for the Study of the Mind, University of California, Santa Barbara.