The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center will use a $65 million gift from the Skip Viragh Foundation to help construct a new patient care building. The Skip Viragh Outpatient Cancer Building, slated for completion in 2017, will serve as the primary entry point for cancer care on the medical campus. Viragh was a Maryland mutual fund investment leader and philanthropist who was treated for pancreatic cancer at Johns Hopkins; he died in 2003 at age 62.
The Kimmel Cancer Center is also the recipient of a $10 million gift from Under Armour, which will be used to fund support programs for breast cancer and breast health and a wellness center in the future Viragh building.
Jhpiego, a nonprofit global health affiliate of Johns Hopkins, is a winner of the 2014 United Nations Population Award for its four decades of work in creating access to innovative family planning and reproductive health services throughout the developing world.
Kathryn Edin, a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences' Department of Sociology, and Joseph Silk, the Homewood Professor of Physics and Astronomy, have been elected members of the National Academy of Sciences. Edin was also recently elected as a 2014 fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.
Whiting School of Engineering Professor Denis Wirtz has been named the university's vice provost for research. He will keep his positions as a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, materials science, oncology, and pathology. He is also the associate director of the Institute for NanoBioTechnology, director of the Physical Sciences–Oncology Center, and director of the Postdoctoral Training Program in Nanotechnology for Cancer Medicine.
Poet and Writing Seminars co-chair Mary Jo Salter is one of 204 new members elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Salter has written seven books of poetry, most recently Nothing by Design, a collection of 36 poems published last year by Knopf.
Tim Mueller, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering in the Whiting School, has received a prestigious CAREER Award, which recognizes the highest level of excellence and promise in early-stage scholars. With this five-year grant of $400,000, Mueller will work on developing computational methods that facilitate the design of new materials for technologies including batteries, catalysts, and sensors.
Richard "Dick" Weaver, former chief of the Office of Physical Security and Antiterrorism/Force Protection at the National Security Agency, has joined the Applied Physics Laboratory as its first chief of security. His responsibilities include strengthening the various components of the security program and preparing the Lab to address new and emerging security concerns.
Peabody Conservatory faculty artist Marina Piccinini, flute, has released her latest CD, Paganini 23 Capricci, with her own arrangements of Niccolò Paganini's devilishly difficult 24 capricci.
The School of Education was ranked No. 1 by U.S. News & World Report in its list of Best Graduate Schools released in March. The internal medicine program in the School of Medicine, the immunology/infectious disease program in the biological sciences area, and the biomedical engineering program in the Whiting Schoolwere also at the top of their respective lists.
Daniela Schwarzer, director of the new Europe Program of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, has joined SAIS as a senior research professor. She will contribute to the research program in European and Eurasian Studies.
The National Space Society has selected NASA's Messenger mission as the 2014 recipient of the Space Pioneer Award in the Science and Engineering category. APL built and operates the spacecraft and manages this Discovery-class mission for NASA.
Carey Business School has launched a new biannual magazine, Changing Business, showcasing research projects by members of the school's full-time faculty. The magazine is available in print and can be read online at carey.jhu.edu/changing business.
A team from Johns Hopkins placed second in the Emory Global Health Case Competition. Nearly 140 students from 24 universities competed this year to develop 21st-century strategies for the World Health Organization. The six graduate students on the Hopkins team represented four schools.
Another interdisciplinary team— this one composed of five students, each from a different Johns Hopkins school (Bloomberg School of Public Health, Medicine, Engineering, Arts and Sciences, and Carey Business School) —brought home the $10,000 top prize in the biotech competition at Wake Forest University in late March. Boston Scientific, the lead sponsor, challenged the eight student teams to create methods of improving value for patients in the company's endoscopy division.
Krieger School junior Justin Falcone is a recipient of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship. Falcone, an environmental archaeology major, sailed from Tahiti to Hawaii last year to document the impact of climate change on the island communities. Upon his return, he launched Project Kiribati, an initiative to support clean water infrastructure for the South Pacific island nation. Falcone plans to use the $30,0000 scholarship to pursue graduate studies in environmental science, management, and policy.
School of Nursing Professors Nancy Glass and Gayle Page have been elected to the Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame for their contributions to nursing science.
Anne Seymour has been named director of the Welch Medical Library. Prior to her appointment, she was director of information services at the Biomedical Library of the University of Pennsylvania.
Suchi Saria, an assistant professor, and Benjamin Van Durme, an assistant research professor, both in the Department of Computer Science in the Whiting School, have each won a Google Faculty Research Award. Saria's award provides one year of unrestricted funding to support her work in "Machine Learning for Knowledge Extraction from Electronic Medical Records"; Van Durme's will support his research in "Integrating Structured and Unstructured Evidence for Question Answering."
Terry Martinez will join Johns Hopkins in July as associate vice provost and dean of student life on the Homewood campus. She will oversee the areas of housing, dining, residential life, and student activities, among others. Martinez, who currently serves as the interim dean of student affairs at Columbia University, replaces Susan Boswell, who will become a special adviser to Vice Provost for Student Affairs Kevin Shollenberger, with a focus on addressing sexual violence and gender equity on campus.
