Faculty at Brown earn prominent awards, distinctions in Fall 2024

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] - Over the past several months, Brown University faculty members received numerous accolades for outstanding research, service and leadership, with many awards, fellowships and other honors. The scholars, whose fields range from engineering to epidemiology to economics to history, earned both national and international recognition and support for their work.

Among such distinctions are the following honors:

Peter Andreas, a professor of international studies and political science, received the 2024 Distinguished Scholar Award from the International Association for the Study of Organized Crime in recognition of outstanding contributions to research on organized crime.

Rosa Baier, a professor of the practice of health services, policy and practice and director of the Center for Long-Term Care Quality and Innovation at Brown's School of Public Health, received a Pinnacle Award from McKnight's, a news organization focused on long-term health care. Baier was recognized with a Pinnacle Thought Leader award for her expertise in skilled nursing, senior living and home care.

Anthony Bogues, a professor of Africana studies and director of Brown's Ruth J. Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice, was awarded an honorary doctor of literature degree by SOAS University of London in recognition of his substantial contribution to the studies of African and African diaspora political theory; African and Caribbean politics; Global South development issues; Caribbean art; political economy of race and slavery; and the history of capitalism. The award also acknowledged his work as director of the Simmons Center.

Sleep researcher Mary Carskadon, a professor of psychiatry and human behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School, was honored as a Sleep Hero by the nonprofit advocacy organization Start School Later in recognition for her contributions to understanding adolescent sleep and the need for later school start times. Carskadon also received the 6^th annual Bernese Sleep Award in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field from the Department of Neurology at the University Hospital of Bern in Switzerland.

Professors of orthopaedics Joseph Crisco and Arnold-Peter Weiss and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics (Research) Janine Molino won the Journal of Biomechanics Award at the annual meeting of the American Society of Biomechanics for their paper titled "Multidirectional assessment of the ligaments of the thumb carpometacarpal joint." The award recognizes substantive and conceptually novel mechanics approaches explaining how biological systems function.

Dr. Melinda Delaney, a clinical assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics; Dr. McKinzie Eggers, a clinical assistant professor of family medicine; Dr. Christopher DiMarco, an associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine; and Dr. Meena Theva, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, were each recognized at the Rhode Island Medical Society Convivium with a "4 Under 40" Award, which is designed to recognize physicians practicing in Rhode Island who demonstrate and exemplify commitment to their profession.

Dr. Joseph Diaz, an associate professor of medical science and of medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School, received a Distincion Honrosa (Honorable Distinction) award from the Latino Cancer Control Task Force. The award was presented in appreciation for his contributions as a medical advisor and educator to the Latino Cancer Control Task Force, which has a mission to reduce cancer incidence and mortality rates of the Rhode Island Latino community.

Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology Dr. Jennifer Eaton was a recipient of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine's 2024 STAR Award, which recognizes members who have presented during at least nine of the ASRM Scientific Congresses/Annual Meetings from 2014 to 2023, and is given annually to recognize and thank members who have dedicated hours of time and service to shape ASRM into a leading society for reproductive medicine. Eaton was also named associate editor for the society's journal, Fertility and Sterility.

Professor of Physics Dima Feldman was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society. Feldman was recognized for "significant advances in our understanding of diverse quantum systems, including disordered magnets, superconductors and fractional quantum Hall systems."

Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice Omar Galárraga was honored with inclusion in the Atlas of Inspiring Hispanic/Latinx Scientists, an effort by the Fred Hutch Cancer Center to showcase the expertise, talent and diversity of Hispanic and Latinx scientific faculty from institutions across the United States.

Stuart Geman, a professor of applied mathematics, was among the winners at the 76th Engineering, Science and Technology Emmy Awards, which honor individuals, companies and organizations for developments in broadcast technology for film and video restoration software.

Rachel Herz, an adjunct assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior who researches the psychological science of smell, received a Scientific Research and Writing Residency Award from the Church, a nonprofit arts organization that offers a competitive, two-week interdisciplinary retreat.

Greg Hirth, a professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences who is currently Brown's interim vice president for research, received the American Geophysical Union's Harry H. Hess Medal, which recognizes outstanding achievements in research on the constitution and evolution of the Earth.

Engineering professor Robert Hurtwas honored at a tribute session of the Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization's annual meeting in November. Created in 2012, the group is the only permanent professional science and engineering organization devoted solely to nanotechnology and, in particular, how nanotechnology relates to sustainability.

Philip Klein, a professor of computer science, was selected as an Amazon Scholar Fellow. The program invites scholars to collaborate with Amazon's teams on technical challenges while maintaining ties to their academic institutions.

Computer science professor Shriram Krishnamurthi was awarded one of seven Object-oriented Programming, Systems, Languages and Applications Distinguished Paper Awards at the Association for Computing Machinery's SIGPLAN Conference, a prominent international conference on programming languages and software engineering.

Professor of Epidemiology Brandon Marshall was appointed by Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee to chair the state's Opioid Settlement Agreement Advisory Committee, based on his expertise, experience and commitment to the residents of Rhode Island.

Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice Vincent Mor was nominated for full membership in Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Honor Society, which is the world's largest interdisciplinary scientific honor society. Mor, whose research focuses on health care delivery and outcomes for elderly people, was cited for his scholarly achievements and contributions to the advancement of knowledge in his field.

Associate Professor of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences Jason Okonofua received the Joseph E. Zins Early Career Contributions Award for Social and Emotional Learning Action Research from the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning. The 2024 SELLY awards honored outstanding achievements of seven "social and emotional learning leaders of the year and recognized individuals whose body of work and commitment to social and emotional learning have advanced the field and paved the way for others."

Associate Professor of History Emily Owens was awarded the 2024 John Hope Franklin Prize for her book, "Consent in the Presence of Force: Sexual Violence and Black Women's Survival in Antebellum New Orleans," published by the University of North Carolina Press. The prize honored the best book in American studies published during 2023 and was presented by the American Studies Association.

Ellie Pavlick, an assistant professor of computer science and linguistics, received a DARPA Young Faculty Award from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for her work on interpretability and its applications to artificial intelligence safety.

Sohini Ramachandran, professor of biology and data science and of computer science, was named a finalist for the 2024 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists. The recognition came for her work in establishing quantitative methods that reveal the causes and consequences of human genetic variation while advancing the goal of personalized medicine for all.

Dr. Pablo Rodriguez, a clinical associate professor emeritus of obstetrics and gynecology at the Warren Alpert Medical School, received one of Rhode Island Monthly's Bannister Awards, which honor leaders who advance equity and promote diversity across Rhode Island. The November issue of the magazine included a tribute to Rodriguez describing his efforts to improve health literacy for Rhode Island's Latino community.

Yuka Sasaki, a professor of cognitive and psychological sciences (research), received the Best Presentation Award at the 48th annual meeting of the Japanese Society of Sleep Research for her presentation titled aThe degree of reduction in the amount of excitatory neurotransmitters in the ascending arousal system is closely related to the quality of sleep."

Roberto Serrano, a professor of economics, was awarded the King of Spain Prize in Economics in honor of exceptional academic and research achievements and his dedication to advancing the field of economics. Serrano is an expert in cooperative game theory and other areas of microeconomic theory, and he has made substantial contributions to the field through numerous publications in top academic journals on economics, game theory, operations research and applied mathematics.

Professor of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences Andrea Simmons was selected to join the fellows of the International Society for Neuroethology, an honor bestowed on members for "meritorious efforts to advance the science of neuroethology," which is the study of how nervous systems generate natural behavior in animals.

Dr. Craig Spencer, an associate professor of the practice of health services, policy and practice, was welcomed as a life member on the Council on Foreign Relations. Spencer was recognized for his intellectual achievement and expertise; his experience, interest and involvement in international affairs; his promise of future achievement; his service in foreign relations; and his standing among his peers.

Shufang Sun, an assistant professor of behavioral and social sciences and of psychiatry and human behavior, received two awards from the American Psychological Association : the Early Career Award for Excellence in Counseling Health Psychology, in recognition of contributions in science and practice of counseling psychology in health-related contexts, teaching and training, and involvement with health policy and advocacy; and the Barbara Smith and Jewell E. Horvat Early Career Award for Research on LGBTQ Individuals of Color, in recognition of significant contributions to student mentoring and research.

Subra Suresh, a professor-at-large at Brown's School of Engineering, was elected to the inaugural class of fellows of the Asian American Academy of Science and Engineering. Suresh and the other fellows were recognized for exceptional contributions to their respective fields and their commitment to advancing the presence and influence of Asian Americans in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. He was also appointed a member of the governing board of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation of India.

Dr. Methodius Tuuli, a professor and the chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Warren Alpert Medical School, received the 2024 Linda Holmes Newton Legacy Award from the nonprofit organization Diversity and Inclusion Professionals. Tuuli was recognized for his "remarkable contributions to maternal health and his unwavering commitment to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, belonging and accessibility within our communities."

Eli Upfal, a professor of computer science, received the 30-Year Test of Time Award at the annual Association for Computing Machinery Symposium on Theory of Computing. Held since 1969, the conference is widely considered one of the most important conferences in the field of theory of computing.

Mascha van 't Wout, an associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior (research), was recognized by the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation with a 2024 Leading Research Achievement for the paper, "tDCS Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Fares Well in Trials for PTSD and Major Depression."

Associate Professor of Religious Studies Andre Willis was named a Signature Course Fellow for the University of Notre Dame's Signature Course Fellowships program, an international competition. The program gathers a cohort of international and interdisciplinary scholars who build and launch their signature course addressing a pressing question for human flourishing.

Jimmy Xu, a professor of engineering and of physics, was appointed a distinguished visiting professor at Seoul National University. Xu will hold the role from December 2024 through November 2025 while on sabbatical from Brown.

Ernesto Zaldivar, an associate professor of the practice of computer science, was selected to join the Army Cyber Institute at West Point as a Cyber Law, Policy and Strategy Non-Resident Fellow to explore challenges through multiple disciplines, engaging military, government, academic and industrial cyber communities through partnerships to enable effective U.S. Army operations throughout cyberspace.

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