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JAKE LACEY/Arizona Daily Wildcat
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Martin Tomasko stands under the U.S.S. Arizona bell yesterday in the Student Union Memorial Center. He and others received awards for contributing to the UA before the bell was rung for their achievements.
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By Anthony D. Ávila
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Wednesday, May 4, 2005
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Though the U.S.S. Arizona Bell in the Student Union Memorial Center is usually rung on one occasion each month, it was rung once more yesterday in recognition of 14 outstanding achievers at the UA.
Dave Parker, a member of the Student Union Advisory Council, and Provost George Davis presented certificates to the nine present honorees in the Ventana Room in the student union yesterday at 1 p.m.
Parker said the intent of the award is to honor the work done by students and faculty, which brings recognition to themselves and the university.
"We don't celebrate enough the exciting achievements happening at the university," Davis said.
Honorees included Joseph Albert, head of the College of Medicine, who became the editor in chief of the American Journal of Medicine in January, Hsinchun Chen, Eller College of Management director of UA Artificial Intelligence Lab, for receiving the 2004 Technology Innovation Award, and Dan Adams, director of Arizona Student Unions, for a facility design award for the SUMC.
The ceremony was the annual gathering of all the recipients throughout the year, Parker said.
Once a month, the Student Union Advisory Council reviews nominations for students and faculty who have brought significant recognition to the UA, and the bell is sounded on the third Wednesday of each month to recognize those people, Parker said.
Laird Close, who was honored in September, received the 2004 Faculty Early Career Development Award by the National Science Foundation for designing a camera to detect planets orbiting distant stars.
Within a month after first using the camera, Close said his team made a major discovery that was featured nationally, including The New York Times.
"Using the camera, we photographed the highest-contrast image ever made from the ground or space," Close said.
Close, who received a Ph.D. in astronomy from the UA in 1995, said he appreciated the ceremony but there are other people who deserve recognition as well.
"It's great. (The University of) Arizona should do more of this," Close said. "But there are many more people worthy of the award than just the 14 recognized today."
Although the bell is usually rang by someone on staff, Bryan Getchell, a senior majoring in English education and student chairman on the Student Union Advisory Council, rang the bell for the first time.
2005 Honorees
Dan Adams, director of Arizona Student Unions
Barbara S. Hutchinson, librarian and director of the Office of Arid Lands Information Center
Joseph S. Alpert, head of the department of medicine
Joe Giacalone, assistant professor in the department of planetary sciences, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory
Martin Tomasko, research professor, department of planetary sciences, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory
Erin Ballard Ph.D. graduate of College of Pharmacy
Hsinchun Chen, professor of management information systems in the Eller College of Management and director of UA Artificial Intelligence Lab
Yvette Roubideaux, clinical assistant professor of public health
David S. Alberts, director of Cancer Prevention and Control in the Arizona Cancer Center, regents professor of medicine, pharmacology, and public health in the College of Medicine
Thomas Grogan, professor of pathology in the College of Medicine, founder and owner of Ventana Medical Systems, Inc.
Roland V. Shack, professor emeritus in the Optical Sciences Center
Laird Close, assistant professor of astronomy
Rod A. Wing, faculty in the department of plant sciences, professor of plant sciences and director of the Arizona Genomics Institute
Frank Walter, faculty, department of emergency medicine, associate professor of emergency medicine
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