The University Record, October 2, 2000

Applause

TRW Foundation awards largest grant to U-M

Six research projects in the College of Engineering were recently selected from 104 entries for funding by the TRW Foundation, the philanthropic arm of TRW Inc., a global technology, manufacturing and service company. The total grant award of $140,000 was the largest amount given to any university in the country.

The approved proposals, awards and principal investigators are listed below.

  • “Safety Standards for Wheelchairs and Restraints,” $30,000, Lawrence Schneider, senior research scientist, Transportation Research Institute.

  • “Application-Driven Basic Research for Diode-Pumped YAG Lasers for Manufacturing,” $25,000, Jyotirmoy Mazumder, the Robert H. Lurie Professor of Engineering and professor of mechanical engineering and applied mechanics, and of materials science and engineering.

  • “Establishment of Design Criteria for Tapered Studs in Aluminum Suspension Components for Safety and Durability,” $25,000, Jwo Pan, professor of mechanical engineering and applied mechanics.

  • “In Situ Studies of Stress Evolution in P-HEMT and M-HEMT Device Structures,” $20,000, Joanna Mirecki Millunchick, assistant professor of materials science and engineering.

  • “New Microwave Wide Bandgap Bipolar Transistors,” $20,000, Dimitris Pavlidis, professor of electrical engineering and computer science.

  • “Development of Computer Tools for Design of Hall Effect Thrusters,” $20,000, Iain Boyd, associate professor of aerospace engineering.

    Award honors Colburn’s years as Debate Team coach

    William Colburn’s tenure in the 1960s and ’70s as the Debate Team coach was recently recognized with the creation of an award in his honor. The William Colburn Award will be given each year to the outstanding debate team at the University. The award was the idea of Lee Hess, a U-M graduate who donated the money to honor his former debate coach.

    Colburn, associate professor emeritus of communication studies, is featured on “The Great Debate and Beyond” (www.mbcnet.org), a Web site devoted to the upcoming presidential debates.

    McKeachie honored with creation of award

    Wilbert J. McKeachie, professor emeritus of psychology and research scientist emeritus, Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, was honored at the International Conference on Improving University Learning and Teaching with the announcement of the Bill and Ginny McKeachie Award. The award, a travel grant of $1,000, will be given annually to the student who submits the best paper on the topic “Working with Faculty to Make Learning Fun.”

    McKeachie was recognized for his contributions to higher education worldwide over the last half century, his standard of excellence with students and peers, and his example of learning through teaching.

    Raudenbush receives Robert Park Award

    Stephen W. Raudenbush, professor of education and senior research scientist, Survey Research Center, in collaboration with Robert Sampson of the University of Chicago, has won the Robert Park Award from the American Sociological Association for a distinguished article in community and urban sociology. The article, “Systematic Social Observation of Public Spaces,” was published in 1999 in the American Journal of Sociology.