Published by the MIT News Office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
Published by the MIT News Office at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
TERM CHAIRS Five Named to Professorships The appointments of five faculty members to professorial chairs have been announced. Appointed were: Gene M. Brown of the Department of Biology, Whitehead Professor. Steven R. Lerman of the Department of Civil Engineering, Class of 1922 Professor. John W. Negele of the Department of Physics, William A. Coolidge Professor. Judith J. Thomson of the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor in Philosophy. John B. Vander Sande of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Professor. The Whitehead Professorship was established by MIT in 1982 in recognition of the affiliation between MIT and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. It is awarded to a distinguished professor active in the biomedical or life sciences. Professor Brown's selection for a five-year term reflects his "outstanding achievements in the biological sciences, his continued commitment to excellence in education and research, and his admirable leadership and service to the Institute," Provost Mark S. Wrighton said in announcing the appointment. Professor Brown, dean of science from 1985 to June 1991 and head of the Department of Biology from 1977 to 1985, is a noted enzymologist. His research is focused on the isolation, biosynthesis and function of vitamins, coenzymes and related substances. He holds the BS in chemistry from Colorado A&M College (1949) and the MS (1950) and the PhD (1953), both in biochemistry, from the University of Wisconsin. He came to MIT in 1954 as an instructor, became assistant professor in 1956, associate professor in 1961 and professor in 1967. When the members of the Class of 1922 established the professorship that bears the name of the class, their intention was to recognize and support the teaching of students, rather than activities devoted solely to research. The appointment of Professor Lerman to a five-year term in that chair underscores his "distinguished leadership in teaching and service to the community," Professor Wrighton said. Professor Lerman, the first director of Project Athena, is director of the Center for Educational Computing Initiatives, which is pursuing many initiatives launched under Project Athena. He also chairs the Academic Computing Council, a focal point for educational computing needs of the faculty, and is director of the Intelligent Engineering Systems Laboratory in the Department of Civil Engineering. Professor Lerman joined the faculty in 1975. He holds the SB (1972), the SM (1973) and the PhD (1975) from MIT, all in civil engineering. Professor Negele, director of the Center for Theoretical Physics, is widely known for his contributions to quantum theory of many-body systems. He carried out the first microscopic calculation of nuclear structure, leading to an understanding of the precise charge distributions measured with electron scattering in terms of the basic nuclear force. He was appointed for a five-year term to the William A. Coolidge Professorship which was established by the Executive Committee of the MIT Corporation to honor Mr. Coolidge, a life member emeritus of the Corporation, for his thoughtful advice and generosity over several decades. Professor Wrighton cited Professor Negele's leadership and service in announcing the appointment. Professor Negele joined MIT in 1970. He holds the BS (1965) from Purdue University in engineering sciences and the PhD (1969) from Cornell University in theoretical physics. The Laurance S. Rockefeller Professorship in Philosophy was established in 1983 by a gift from Mr. Rockefeller. It is awarded to distinguished senior scholars in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy. Professor Thomson's appointment to a five-year term reflects her "outstanding achievements in the areas of metaphysics and ethics and her commitment to excellence in education and research," Professor Wrighton said. Professor Thomson, who is presently vice president and president-elect of the American Philosophical Association Eastern Division, holds BA degrees from Barnard College (1950) and Cambridge University (1952), the MA from Cambridge (1956) and the PhD from Columbia University (1959). She joined the MIT faculty in 1964. Professor Vander Sande is the first faculty member to be appointed to the Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Professorship. The chair was established recently by a bequest from Mrs. Green's estate and brings the number of Cecil and Ida Green Professorships to 10. In appointing Professor Vander Sande to a five-year term Professor Wrighton cited his outstanding research and educational career as a member of the faculty since 1971. Professor Vander Sande is a materials scientist in the broadest sense. He began his career as a metallurgist who used electron microscopy to explore atomic-scale kinetic and defect phenomena in physical metallurgy. He later broadened his scope to other classes of materials- ceramics, polymers and glasses as well as metals. Most recently he has addressed issues surrounding the processing of high-temperature superconducting oxides into wire forms for ultimate use as magnets and motors. His contributions in these areas have been hailed by specialists. He later conceived and established the first dedicated scanning transmission electron microscope in the United States oriented toward materials science. He holds the BEng degree from Stevens Institute of Technology (1966) and the PhD from Northwestern University (1970).