Odis Johnson, a leading researcher of social inequality in America and an expert in sociology and education, joined Johns Hopkins on January 1 as a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of social policy and STEM equity. He will hold primary appointments in the School of Education and the Bloomberg School of Public Health, as well as a courtesy appointment in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences' Department of Sociology. He has been appointed executive director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Safe and Healthy Schools and will join the steering committee of the 21st Century Cities Initiative. He comes to Johns Hopkins from Washington University in St. Louis.
Sarah Hörst, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences in the Krieger School, is a recipient of the American Geophysical Union's 2020 James B. Macelwane Medal, widely considered the highest honor for early career scientists in the field of geological and planetary sciences.
Robert Slavin, director of the Center for Research and Reform in Education, was named the School of Education's first-ever Distinguished Professor. The honorary position is a three-year renewable appointment that recognizes Slavin's extraordinary record of scholarship and distinction over the course of more than four decades at Johns Hopkins.
Five Johns Hopkins faculty members have been elected fellows of the National Academy of Inventors, a distinction that recognizes and honors the creators or co-developers of outstanding inventions that have made a difference in society. The honorees are Rama Chellappa, who last year joined the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the School of Medicine and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Whiting School of Engineering as a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor; Valina Dawson, a professor of neurology, neuroscience, and physiology in the School of Medicine; Sharon Gerecht, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering in the Whiting School; Carol Greider, a professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics in the School of Medicine; and Nitish Thakor, a professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the School of Medicine.
Andrew Feinberg, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of epigenetics in the School of Medicine, has been named one of 10 Hagler Fellows for the Class of 2020–21 by the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study at Texas A&M. The program aims to provide a catalyst to advance research productivity by bringing together distinguished faculty and providing an environment for collaboration within and across disciplines.
Four Johns Hopkins researchers are among the 489 distinguished scholars recognized this year as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world's largest general scientific society. They are Stephen Baylin, a professor of oncology and medicine in the School of Medicine; Sharon Gerecht, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering in the Whiting School; Timothy Heckman, chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the Krieger School; and Elizabeth Stuart, professor in the departments of Mental Health, Biostatistics, and Health Policy and Management in the Bloomberg School.
Johns Hopkins' graduate programs in the schools of Engineering and Nursing were listed among the top online master's programs in the country in new rankings released in January by U.S. News & World Report. For the second year in a row, the School of Nursing's online master's degree options in administration and leadership are ranked No. 2 in the country. Collectively, the school's online programs are ranked No. 9. The Whiting School maintained its No. 2 standing among online computer information technology programs. It moved up two spots, to No. 11, in rankings of online engineering programs and is tied with Texas A&M University, College Station, and University of Florida. In specialty categories, engineering management held its No. 1 spot; electrical and computer engineering ranked No. 5; mechanical engineering ranked No. 4; industrial/systems engineering ranked No. 8; and civil engineering ranked No. 4.
Five assistant professors in Nursing were inducted as fellows of the American Academy of Nursing. The honor celebrates their accomplishments within the nursing profession and their leadership in education, practice, and research. The 2020 inductees are Diana Baptiste, Andrew Benson, Kristen Brown, Vickie Hughes, and Junxin Li.
Alexandra Klarén's book, On Becoming Neighbors: The Communication Ethics of Fred Rogers, was recognized in November with the Book of the Year Award by the Communication Ethics Division of the National Communication Association. Klarén is an assistant professor of practice in the Carey Business School.
Rajat Mittal, a professor in the Whiting School's Department of Mechanical Engineering, is the recipient of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' 2021 Freeman Scholar Award, given annually to a person of significant expertise in fluids engineering.
Natalia Trayanova, the Murray B. Sachs Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the Whiting School, has been selected to receive the 2021 Douglas P. Zipes Lectureship Award, given jointly by the Heart Rhythm Society and the Cardiac Electrophysiology Society. This award recognizes an individual who has made a significant and unique contribution to the field of cardiac pacing and electrophysiology as a basic scientist.
Peabody faculty were well represented among the 2021 Grammy nominees, announced in November. The 63rd Grammy Awards were presented on March 14. Du Yun, composition professor, has a piece "i am my own achilles' heel" included on Brooklyn Rider's album Healing Modes, nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music, Small Ensemble Performance. Kristopher Funn, jazz bassist and faculty artist, is featured on Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah's album Axiom, nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. Denyce Graves, the Rosa Ponselle Distinguished Faculty Artist, sang the role of Maria in the Metropolitan Opera's recording of Porgy and Bess from the 2019–20 season, which was nominated for three Grammys: Best Opera Recording; Best Engineered Album, Classical; and Producer of the Year, Classical. Sean Jones, who holds the Richard and Elizabeth Case Chair in Jazz Studies, played trumpet on two Grammy-nominated recordings: The Intangible Between by Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band, nominated for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, and Be Water II, by Christian Sands, nominated for Best Instrumental Composition. Matthew Stevens, jazz guitarist and faculty artist, co-produced, plays guitars on, and was a chief writer of the Grammy-nominated album Waiting Game by Terri Lyne Carrington and Social Science. The album was nominated in the Best Jazz Instrumental Album category.
Jeff Leek, a professor of biostatistics in the Bloomberg School, is the recipient of the 2020 Spiegelman Award, presented by the American Public Health Association's Applied Public Health Statistics Section. Leek also has been named a 2020 fellow of the American Statistical Association for his professional contributions, leadership, and commitment to the field of statistical science.
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