White House honors UW engineering professor, associate dean Eve Riskin

, professor and associate dean in the UW College of Engineering, has been named a recipient of a 2019 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.

The White House in science, mathematics and engineering on Aug. 3. There were 15 recipients of the mentoring award — 12 individuals and three organizations, representing 13 states and the District of Columbia.

Riskin also is a professor of electrical and computer engineering and the College of Engineering’s . She is the faculty director of the UW’s , where she works on mentoring and leadership development programs for women faculty in STEM areas.

The White House established the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring, or PAESMEM, in 1995; the award is administered by the National Science Foundation on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology. Each recipient receives a $10,000 award and a commemorative presidential certificate.

Previous of this award include in 2016, in 2009, in 2004, in 2003, the Women in Engineering Initiative (WIE) in 1998 and the UW-based Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking and Technology (DO-IT) program in 1997.

* * *
National Science Foundation renews grant for UW Center for Evaluation & Research for STEM Equity

The National Science Foundation has renewed a three-year grant for the , totaling $376, 535. The grant is aimed at bringing change and greater inclusion to engineering and computer science.

, a research scientist in sociology, is principal investigator on the grant with , affiliate assistant professor of sociology. Litzler directs the center and Margherio is assistant director.

The UW Center for Evaluation & Research for STEM Equity conducts its research in tandem with the Making Academic Change Happen team at the , in Terra Haute, Indiana, which received $243,560 from the NSF. The UW center works with recipients of NSF “ grants working to broaden participation in engineering, improve student outcomes and build more inclusive educational environments.

The project team is called Revolutionizing Engineering Departments Participatory Action Research, or REDPAR for short. Read a from the project that tells more about its research agenda, and a .

* * *

Kenneth Mugwanya of global health and team awarded $3 million by National Institutes of Health to study HIV prevention in Kenya

, a UW assistant professor of global health and public health, and his team have been awarded a five-year, $3 million grant by the National Institutes of Health.

The grant is for Mugwanya and the team to study the effectiveness of integrating methods of HIV prevention into sexual and reproductive health services for women in Kenya.

“Ensuring that young women seeking access to effective contraceptive methods in Kenya specifically, and Africa in general, are also able to protect themselves from HIV is critical for women empowerment and ending the HIV epidemic,” said Mugwanya, who is a physician-epidemiologist by training.

“Our hope is that providing family planning and HIV prevention services in a one-stop location will minimize barriers that women face in accessing HIV prevention services, including lack of time, cost and potential stigma of visiting a facility solely for HIV prevention.”

Other members of Mugwanya’s research team are , , , , and , all of the Department of Global Health, which is part of the UW School of Medicine and the School of Public Health.

Read more at the School of Public Health .

* * *

Doctoral student Vikram Iyer honored by Marconi Society

, a UW doctoral student in electrical and computer engineering, has been named one of three recipients of the by the Marconi Society.

The society is a nonprofit group named for Italian inventor and electrical engineer (1874-1937) and “celebrates, inspires and connects innovators building tomorrow’s technologies in service of a digitally inclusive world.” Iyer works in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering’s .

The society’s Paul Baran Young Scholar Awards, named for a computer engineer and developer, recognize young scientists and engineers who show great capability as well as the potential to bring about digital inclusivity.

The Marconi Society honored Iyer for “creativity in developing bio-inspired and bio-integrative wireless sensor systems.” Iyer’s contributions, the society writes, “enable traditionally stationary Internet of Things devices to move, putting a new and scalable category of data collectors into the world to help us understand our environment at scale and with a fine degree of detail.”

Sociologist Elizabeth Litzler honored by national network promoting women in engineering

The Women in Engineering ProActive Network, or WEPAN, has given its 2020 Founders Award to , UW affiliate assistant professor of sociology and director of the UW .

The , one of several given annually, is given to a network member “who exemplifies the spirit of the WEPAN founders through her extraordinary long-term service to the organization.”

The network is a national professional society that uses research and best practices to promote the inclusion of women in the field of engineering. Its members work to connect advocates across North America to increase the “participation, retention and success of women and other under-represented groups in engineering from college to executive leadership.”

Litzler’s and other 2020 WEPAN awards will be presented at the network’s next annual conference, planned for January 2021.

* * *

Article by Joseph Wartman, Will Pollock of civil and environmental engineering wins award from media group

Professor and doctoral student of the UW Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering have won a for a feature magazine article they co-wrote on geologic hazard risks to Syrian and other refugees.

Their non-technical article was titled “” and was published in November 2019 in the American Geophysical Union’s journal EOS. Wartman is the H.R. Berg Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering.

Association Media & Publishing — AM&P for short — gives out annual bronze, silver and gold EXCEL Awards for books, digital media, journals, magazines, newsletters, newspapers and promotional content. The awards recognize excellence and leadership in association media, publishing, marketing and communications.

* * *

UW Medicine’s Mary-Claire King, Peter Byers honored by American Society of Human Genetics

The American Society of Human Genetics has honored two UW Medicine faculty members — and — with 2020 awards.

King was chosen to receive the society’s 2020 , which recognizes “substantial and far-reaching scientific contributions to human genetics.” The award is named for one of the first American physicians to extensively research human genetics and hereditary diseases. The award comes with a $25,000 prize.

King is the American Cancer Society Professor of Medicine and Genome Sciences, and an affiliate member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Network.

The society’s president, Anthony Wynshaw-Boris of Case Western University, praised King for providing insight into the existence of the gene she named , “and changed our understanding of cancer prevention and treatment.” from the UW Division of Medical Genetics.

The genetics society, also called ASHG, chose Byers for its 2020 , which is given annually for exemplary leadership and vision by promoting genetics and genomics knowledge in the broader scientific community.

The award, which comes with a $10,000 prize, recognizes the importance of Byers’ research on the molecular pathogenesis of inherited disorders of connective tissue, and for his leadership in “nearly all facets” of the society’s work. Byers has served as the society’s president and editor of its American Journal of Human Genetics. on the UW Division of Medical Genetics website.

The society was founded in 1948 and its 8,000 members include researchers, academics, clinicians, laboratory practice professionals, genetic counselors and nurses. The awards will be presented at the next annual meeting, to be held virtually and not yet scheduled.

]]>