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Four cross-disciplinary scholars joined Johns Hopkins as Bloomberg Distinguished Professors, bringing to 14 the total number of BDPs. They are Jessica Fanzo, the first Bloomberg Distinguished Associate Professor, who has appointments in the Berman Institute of Bioethics and SAIS. Biophysicist Taekjip Ha has appointments in the School of Medicine, the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, and the Whiting School of Engineering. Rong Li is a cell biologist, who will be part of the School of Medicine and the Whiting School of Engineering. Mathematician and computer scientist Alan Yuille has appointments in the Krieger and Whiting schools.

Former Rep. Henry Waxman, who represented California's 33rd Congressional District for 40 years, joined the Bloomberg School of Public Health's Department of Health Policy and Management as its Centennial Policy Scholar, where he will host a seminar series.

Ron Peterson, president of the Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System, received the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award from Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Chesapeake in recognition of his commitment to youth mentoring programs in Maryland.

Christian Kaiser, assistant professor in the Department of Biology of the Krieger School, has received a four-year, $240,000 grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts for his research on protein biogenesis.

Laurie deBettencourt, professor of special education in the School of Education, began her term as president of the Division of Learning Disabilities, part of the Council for Exceptional Children, on July 1.

At Commencement 2015, a new school song made its debut, the result of a contest announced in September 2014. The winner was Peabody alum Erik Meyer, who was selected from a group of five finalists. His song, "Truth Guide Our University—The Spirit of JHU" (bit.ly/JHUsong), is a modern take on "The Johns Hopkins Ode," the former school song.

Charles Bennett, professor of physics and astronomy and a Gilman Scholar in the Krieger School, received the 2015 Caterina Tomassoni and Felice Pietro Chisesi Prize at Sapienza University of Rome in recognition of his "leadership in two experiments on the cosmic microwave background that literally changed our view of the universe."

Jonathan Lewin, professor and director of Medicine's Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, has been elected president of the American Roentgen Ray Society.

Andrew Nicklin has been appointed director of open data at the Krieger School's new Center for Government Excellence, which will advise midsize cities on how to allow citizens to see and use more municipal data. Nicklin was previously director of Open NY, where he managed New York state's open data and transparency program.

Johns Hopkins Magazine was named Robert Sibley Magazine of the Year, the most prestigious honor an alumni magazine can receive. It was also awarded a Grand Gold distinction in the category of General Interest Magazines with circulations of 75,000 or more. Stories by editor Dale Keiger and senior writer Bret McCabe earned the magazine a silver award in Periodical Staff Writing. The magazine is produced by the Office of Communications, which also earned a gold in Visual Identity Systems for the Athletics identity system, a gold in General Information–Short Videos for the Thank You video, and a silver for the implementation of a university logo. The School of Public Health's Yearlook annual report won a gold in Presidents and Annual Reports (Digital) and a bronze in Digital Magazines. The Center for Talented Youth received a bronze in Annual Reports and Fund Reports for its 2014 annual report, "Eureka!"

The Indispensable Role of Blacks at Johns Hopkins traveling exhibit added four new members at the Juneteenth Celebration of the Black Faculty and Staff Association. The new inductees are Janine Clayton, deputy director of the Office of Women's Health at NIH and a Johns Hopkins graduate who did her fellowship training at Wilmer Eye Institute; Robert Clayton, former president of the Johns Hopkins Society of Black Alumni and a family law attorney in Los Angeles; Ronald Owens, former assistant director of Admissions at Hopkins who was responsible for admitting many African-American students in the 1970s; and Clifford Smith, an engineer and former chancellor of the University of Wisconsin– Milwaukee, who earned both his master's degree in environmental engineering and his PhD in radiological science from Johns Hopkins.

Bert Vogelstein, professor of oncology and pathology and director of the Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics and Therapeutics at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been awarded Johnson & Johnson's 2015 Dr. Paul Jansen Award for Biomedical Research. The $200,000 award recognizes Vogelstein's two decades of breakthroughs in oncology research, which has examined the genetic and biochemical events that initiate the development of tumors.

Kit H. Bowen, professor in the Krieger School's Department of Chemistry, is principal investigator on a project that won a five-year Department of Defense $7.5 million award. Seven teams from five institutions are working on the project, with the goal of finding ways to turn atom clusters into materials that would be useful in practical ways.

Gul Dolen, assistant professor of neuroscience in the School of Medicine, and Eili Klein, assistant professor of emergency medicine, have received 2014 Individual Biomedical Research Awards from the Hartwell Foundation. Each award will provide research support for three years at $100,000 per year.

J. Tilak Ratnanather, associate research professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, is the recipient of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing's Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. An expert in mapping the brains of patients with neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders, Ratnanather has recruited into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields an unprecedented number of individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Piero Gleijeses, professor of American foreign policy at SAIS, was awarded the American Historical Association's Friedrich Katz Prize for his book Visions of Freedom: Havana, Washington, Pretoria, and the Struggle for Southern Africa, 1976–1991 (University of North Carolina Press). The prize is awarded annually to the best book published in English focusing on Latin America, including the Caribbean.

James Harris, professor in the School of Medicine's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, has received the American Psychiatric Association's 2015 Frank J. Menolascino Award for Services to Persons With Intellectual Development Disorders and Developmental Disabilities.

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