Paula Allen-Meares, dean of the School of Social Work, has been invited by the president of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies to serve on the IOM membership committee. She has been appointed vice-chair of the Other Health Professions section, which includes nursing, dentistry, social work, veterinary medicine, dietetics and pharmacy. She also is a member of the health disparities interest groups.

Dragomir Radev, associate professor in the School of Information, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and the Department of Linguistics, served as U.S. team coach during the Aug. 1-4 fifth International Linguistics Olympiad in St. Petersburg, Russia, where several U.S. high school students achieved first place individually and in the team competition. Sixteen teams from nine countries competed by solving linguistics problems in Braille, Turkish, Tatar, Georgian, Movima (Bolivia), Hawaiian and other languages.

In recognition of her efforts to increase awareness of disability concerns, graduate student Sadie Wilcox has been chosen to receive the Neubacher Award presented annually by the U-M Council for Disability Concerns. The award, which includes a stipend, will be presented to Wilcox by Regent Julia Darlow at an Oct. 26 ceremony at the Rackham assembly room. Wilcox was nominated by several School of Art & Design professors and students.