Recognition & Honors
Daniel Hauptvogel and Virginia Sisson (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) released an open access lab manual for historical geology titled The Story of Earth: An Observational Guide. Hauptvogel and Sisson received an Alternative Textbook Incentive Program grant from the UH library, in collaboration with the UH Office of the Provost, to support creating the new historical geology lab manual. What sets the book apart from others is the focus on student engagement in the exercises. The goal was for students to observe and think rather than read and repeat. The Story of Earth is also a global tour of geology. Exercises and examples use locations all over the world, including the Andes Mountains, Alaska, Great Britain, Brazil, Morocco, the Himalayas, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, and Canada, in addition to the traditional U.S.-centric locations like the Grand Canyon, Appalachians, Texas, and Rocky Mountains. There are even exercises from Mars and Jurassic Park.
Mikyoung Jun (Mathematics) was named a Fellow of the American Statistical Association for her pathbreaking contributions to statistical modeling on spheres, innovative statistical applications to a broad range of environmental problems, service to the profession, and excellence in teaching and mentoring. Jun will formally receive this honor during the ASA’s 2021 Joint Statistical Meeting, which will take place virtually August 8-11. To be selected, nominees must have an established reputation and have made outstanding contributions to statistical science. The ASA Committee on Fellows can only elect up to one-third of 1% of the total association membership as fellows each year.
Paul Mann (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) and Eleine Vence of ConocoPhillips will be recognized at the 2021 Society of Exploration Geophysicists Annual Meeting as recipients of the award for Best Paper in Interpretation in 2020. Their paper was “Subsurface basement, structure, stratigraphy, and timing of regional tectonic events affecting the Guajira margin of northern Colombia.” Interpretation is a peer-reviewed journal for advancing the practice of subsurface interpretation. The journal is jointly published by SEG and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. The minimum requirements for recognition with this award are permanent interest, form and readability, and potential for the advancement of the geophysical profession.
The work of Ognjen Miljanić (Chemistry), Teng-Hao Chen (Ph.D. ’14, Chemistry) of National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, and a research team from UH, National Cheng Kung University, and Taiwan’s National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center was featured on the June 14 cover of Angewandte Chemie, a journal of the German Chemical Society. Research associate professor Xiqu Wang (Chemistry) and Spring ’20 Ph.D. graduate Corie McHale (Chemistry) were co-authors. The paper, Cyclotetrabenzoin Acetate: A Macrocyclic Porous Molecular Crystal for CO2 Separations by Pressure Swing Adsorption, reported that a porous molecular crystal assembled by close-packing of macrocyclic cyclotetrabenzoin acetate efficiently captures carbon dioxide. The square-shaped pores enable excellent carbon dioxide/nitrogen and carbon dioxide/methane separation performance via both kinetic and thermodynamic effects.
Jiajia Sun (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) will receive the J. Clarence Karcher Award at the 2021 Society of Exploration Geophysicists Annual Meeting in September. The award is given in recognition of significant contributions to the science and technology of exploration geophysics by a young geophysicist of outstanding abilities. Recipients must be less than 35 years of age on November 1 of the year preceding presentation of the award. A maximum of three awards can be given each year. Sun will receive the award with Niels Grobbe, affiliated with University of Hawaii, and Xukai Shen of BP.
Leon Thomsen (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) will be recognized in September at the Society of Exploration Geophysicists Annual Meeting with the award for Best Paper Presented at the 2020 SEG Annual Meeting. The paper was “A logical error in Gassmann poroelasticity.”
Richard Willson (Biology & Biochemistry) received the 2021 Alan S. Michaels Award in the Recovery of Biological Products from the American Chemical Society Biochemical Technology Division. The award is given every other year. Michaels was a pioneer in the application of chemical engineering principles to bioengineering. The award recognizes outstanding research and practice contributions toward the advancement of science and technology for the recovery of biological products.