Fall 1998
Covering black holes, fossil worms, and a cure for cancer
Soundings is a publication of the School of Humanities and Social Science at MIT
Comments and questions to www-shss@mit.edu
Bullets & bytes
|
Assistant Professor of Linguistics Michel DeGraff has been awarded the 1998 Levitan Prize in the Humanities. The $20,000 prize, established in 1990 through a gift of MIT Corporation member James A. Levitan (SB '45, chemistry), supports innovative and creative scholarship by faculty members in the School of Humanities and Social Science. Professor DeGraff will continue his research on "Whence Language Creation: Elucidating the Mental Processes Underlying Creole Genesis."
|
Michel
DeGraff honored with Levitan Prize
Martha
Fuller appointed new assistant dean for development
Martha Fuller has joined the School of Humanities and Social Science as the new assistant dean for resource development. Prior to her appointment, Fuller served as director of development at Radcliffe College, where she led a $100 million capital campaign. In that capacity, she oversaw Radcliffe's first comprehensive campaign, which at the time of her departure had exceeded $68 million - the largest sum raised in Radcliffe's history and more than seven times larger than the previous campaign. Fuller left Radcliffe as it closed its most successful fundraising year in the college's history, with $15.9 million in gifts and pledges received in that year alone.
Fuller, who comes to MIT with more than 20 years experience in academic fundraising, has a deep interest in the work of SHSS. Her undergraduate studies included concentrations in English and the visual arts at Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia. She earned a master's degree in English literature from the University of Virginia.
Leo Marx Chair
established in STS
A new professorship, named in honor of Professor Emeritus Leo Marx of the Program in Science, Technology and Society, has been established. The Leo Marx Career Development Professorship in the History and Culture of Science and Technology recognizes the accomplishments of one of MIT's most distinguished faculty members. Professor Marx, who officially retired from the MIT faculty in 1990, has maintained an active teaching role as senior lecturer in STS. Before joining the MIT faculty in 1976, Marx taught at the University of Minnesota and at Amherst College. He received both his BA in history and literature and his PhD in the history of American civilization from Harvard University. His work has focused on the relationship between technology and culture in 19th- and 20th-century America. His research explores the connections between scientific and technological advances and the way society and culture both shape these changes and are shaped by them. Several years ago, Professor Marx's seminal work, The Machine in the Garden, was chosen as the discussion book for incoming MIT freshman during campus orientation week. The book examines the difference between the "pastoral" and "progressive" ideals characterizing early 19th-century American culture, ideals which evolved to become the basis of society's contemporary environmental and nuclear debates.
The first holder of the chair is Jessica G. Riskin, who recently joined the Program in STS as an assistant professor.
Paul Joskow
receives Dean's Award
Professor Paul L. Joskow, head of the Department of Economics, was awarded the first Dean's Award for Distinguished Service to the School of Humanities and Social Science. "The Department of Economics remains the top-ranked department in the nation thanks to his tremendous efforts these past four years to keep it strong and robust," said Dean Philip Khoury, who cited Professor Joskow's "vital contributions to the School Council, his clear and inspired vision for the social sciences at MIT, and his many creative actions and interventions that have positioned the department for the future." The Dean's Award carries with it a $10,000 stipend.
Professor Joskow, whose areas of expertise include industrial organization and government regulation of industry, was the head of the Economics Department from September, 1994 to July, 1998; he previously served two terms as associate head of the department. Presently the James and Elizabeth Killian Professor of Economics and Management, he also holds a joint appointment in the Sloan School of Management. A Fellow of the Econometric Society and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Joskow has published three books and nearly 100 scholarly articles. Along with several colleagues, he currently is completing a book on the acid rain control program created by the Clean Air Act of 1990.
Copyright © 2000 Massachusetts
Institute of Technology