Two Cornell students have received 2006 awards from the Teresa Heinz Scholars for Environmental Research program. They are: Jason Andras, a doctoral student in ecology and evolutionary biology, and Hannah Shayler, a master's degree student in natural resources. http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Aug06/Heinz.06.scholars.ssl.html

Three professors in the Department of Applied Economics and Management were honored for their professional contributions at the annual meeting of the American Agricultural Economics Association in July. Christopher Barrett and his co-author, Daniel G. Maxwell of Tufts University, received the Quality of Communication Award for their book, Food Aid After Fifty Years: Recasting Its Role, published by Routledge in 2005. The association presented Richard Boisvert with their Distinguished Graduate Teaching Award. Gerald White was recognized with the Distinguished Extension/Outreach Program Award.

The Perennial Plant Association (PPA) presented Mark Bridgen with its Academic Award at the 2006 Perennial Plant Symposium and Trade show in Montreal in July. The award recognizes a member who provides exceptional leadership in education to the perennial industry. Bridgen, professor of horticulture and director of the Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center, also has an extensive research program in new plant development and breeding, plant-environment interactions, plant cell and tissue culture, in vitro plant breeding, genetic modifications for plant improvement, intensive plant production, plant propagation, herbaceous ornamental plants, and growth and development of ornamental plants.

Helene R. Dillard, professor of plant pathology at Geneva, director of Cornell Cooperative Extension, and associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Human Ecology, was recently named a Fellow of the American Phytopathological Society at their annual meeting in Quebec City. This award, one of the society's highest distinctions, recognizes her outstanding contributions to the field of plant pathology through research and extension on fungal and bacterial diseases of vegetable crops.

A Cornell group of agricultural and biological engineers received a Superior Paper Award from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ASABE) in July for their paper's "exceptional merit" in contributing to the agricultural engineering literature. The paper, "Heat Transfer Model for Plug-Flow Anaerobic Digesters," was authored by Professor Kifle Gebremedhin; Binxin Wu, former research associate; Curt Gooch, senior extension associate; Peter Wright, former senior extension associate; and Scott Inglis, research support specialist. They are all in the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering.
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Aug06/ag_eng_paper.html

Four members of the Department of Animal Science were honored at the 2006 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Dairy Science Association:
William Hansel, professor emeritus, was made a Fellow of the American Society of Animal Science in the Research Category, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to research on regulation of ovarian function and its application to the improvement of reproductive performance of domestic animals.

Kevin J. Harvatine, PhD candidate, received the Alltech, Inc. Graduate Student Paper Publication Award in recognition of the quality of his recent publications in the Journal of Dairy Science.

Thomas R. Overton, associate professor, received the Cargill Animal Nutrition Young Scientist Award in recognition of the excellence of his research on metabolism, nutrition, and health of dairy cows during the periparturient period.

Richard L. Quaas, professor, received the Rockefeller Prentice Memorial Award in Animal Breeding and Genetics in recognition of his seminal research on development of novel strategies to improve the genetic merit of beef cattle.

A professor and a graduate student each walked away with major awards at the annual meeting in August of the American Society of Plant Biologists. Maureen Hanson, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Plant Molecular Biology in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, received the Lawrence Bogorad Award for Excellence in Plant Biology. The award, which recognizes a pioneering researcher in plant biology, was given for Hanson's work on RNA metabolism in chloroplasts and mitochondria and chloroplast dynamics and morphology.

Charles Stewart, Jr., a graduate student in the Department of Plant Biology, was awarded the ASPB-Pioneer-Hi-Bred International Graduate Student Prize. The prize, given for the first time this year, intends to invest in future scientists and support innovative research in an area of plant biology related to major crops. Stewart was recognized for his work to identify a master regulatory gene that controls pungency in pepper fruits. http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Sept06/ASPBAwards.kr.html

George Hess, a professor in Molecular Biology and Genetics, has been named a Fellow of the Biophysical Society. The award recognizes his long and distinguished career in the application of biophysics in understanding biological processes and the expansion of the field of biophysics through his research. The award will be presented at the society's annual meeting in March.

Harvey Hoch, professor and chair of the Department of Plant Pathology–Geneva, received the Distinguished Mycologist Award from the Mycological Society of America at their recent annual meeting in Quebec City. The award is made annually to an individual who has established an outstanding career in the field of mycology; it is the highest award bestowed by the society. Hoch's research integrates fungal and bacterial cell biology with nanobiotechnology.

Cornell's Rural Vision Project, led by Rod Howe and Max Pfeffer, has been honored with the Senator Patricia M. McGee Award of the New York State Association for Rural Health. The award, which was presented in September at the Chautauqua Institution, recognizes an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to the rural healthcare field. Read more about the project in this issue of eCALSconnect.

Bob Langhans, professor emeritus of floriculture, received the H. Marc Cathey/Great American Gardener Award from the American Horticulture Society for his research contributions over his career.

Chang Y. 'CY' Lee, professor of food science at Cornell's New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, was recently elected a fellow of the International Academy of Food Science and Technology.
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Aug06/Notable.Cy.Lee.ssl.html

The editors of R&D Magazine and MicroNano Newsletter have selected the DNA buckyballs created by Dan Luo, assistant professor of biological and environmental engineering, as one of the 25 "most innovative products of 2006."
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Aug06/LuoBuckyballs.html

Three Cornell undergraduates win Udall Scholarships: Tony Marks-Block '07 and Meredith Odato '08, from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Matthew Perkins '08, from the College of Engineering, were among the 80 students selected nationwide for the honor, given by the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation.
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/June06/UdallScholars.jrc.html

Cornell alumnus Andrew Colin McClung reaps 2006 World Food Prize: For the sixth time in its 19-year history, the World Food Prize has been won by a Cornellian. He is Andrew Colin McClung, Cornell M.S. '49 and Ph.D. '50 in soil science, of King Ferry, NY. One of three 2006 recipients to share the $250,000 award, he has been awarded the prize for helping to transform a large area in Brazil into fertile cropland.
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/June06/World.Food.prize.ssl.html

Marvin Pritts, professor and chair of the Department of Horticulture, was elected a Fellow of the American Society for Horticultural Science and was recognized at an awards ceremony in New Orleans on July 27th.

The Cornell student-designed and -built solar house that earned second place in the 2005 Solar Decathlon Competition now has won a student "Award of Honor" from the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) for its functional landscape.
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Sept06/Notable.solar.house.sl.html http://www.asla.org/awards/2006/studentawards/497.html

Terry Spittler, a visiting fellow in the Department of Horticultural Sciences, was elected a Fellow of the Agrochemicals Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS) at their 231st National Meeting and Exposition. Spittler, cited for "outstanding contributions to the endeavors of the division and to the science of pesticide chemistry," was the 49th fellow elected in that division. http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pubs/press/current/060905Spittler.html