Astronomer Danielle Speller and biomedical engineer Justus Kebschull have each received a 2022 Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering, a prestigious early-career award for scientists that provides "flexible funding and the freedom to take risks and explore new frontiers in their fields of study." Each awardee receives $875,000 over five years. Kebschull is an assistant professor in Biomedical Engineering, a department shared by the Whiting School of Engineering and the School of Medicine, who works on understanding how the brain changed and evolved over time. Speller, an assistant professor in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences' Department of Physics and Astronomy, explores how current searches in physics beyond the Standard Model combine advanced instrumentation and quantum sensing techniques with nuclear and particle astrophysics.
Lauren Gardner, a professor of civil and systems engineering in the School of Engineering, has won the 2022 Lasker-Bloomberg Public Service Award, given biennially to individuals or groups that have improved the public's understanding of medical research, public health, or health care, or who have benefited the lives of many through public health practice. Gardner was honored for having created the COVID-19 dashboard that became the world's most trusted source for reliable, real-time data about the pandemic. The Coronavirus Resource Center has recorded 1.2 billion page views since 2020, with two-thirds of viewers visiting the Global Map. This year the website has continued to garner an average of 6 million page views a month.
Emanuele Berti, a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the Krieger School, was selected to receive the American Physical Society's 2023 Richard A. Isaacson Award in Gravitational-Wave Science, the society's highest honor for someone in the field of gravitational physics.
Elisabeth Long, who since 2016 has served as associate university librarian for information technology and digital scholarship at the University of Chicago, has been appointed the next Sheridan Dean of University Libraries, Archives, and Museums. She assumes the position on Jan. 3, 2023, succeeding Winston Tabb, who has led JHU's Sheridan Libraries since 2002. In addition to her regular responsibilities at UChicago, Long served as interim library director and university librarian within the past year, leading the university's library system and a staff of roughly 200 people. In 2018, she was accepted into the prestigious Association of Research Libraries Leadership Fellows program, which develops the next generation of senior library and archive leaders.
Amy Shelton, a cognitive psychology expert who has been a member of the Johns Hopkins University faculty since 2002, has been named the next executive director of the university's Center for Talented Youth. Her two-year appointment began Oct. 1. Shelton has been director of research at CTY since 2013 and is also a professor and associate dean for research in the university's School of Education. She served as interim director at CTY from January 2019 through July 2020. Shelton succeeds Stephen Gange, a professor and executive vice provost for academic affairs, who stepped in to lead CTY on an interim basis in summer 2022. She also holds joint appointments in the School of Medicine and the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.
Five Johns Hopkins doctoral students have been named Siebel Scholars for 2023, an honor that reflects their exceptional academic performance and outstanding demonstrated leadership. They are among 83 honorees from top universities, and they join a formidable network of more than 1,700 researchers, scholars, and entrepreneurs. Recipients are given a $35,000 award to support their final year of studies. This year's Siebel Scholars from Johns Hopkins are Tatsat Banerjee, Savannah Est-Witte, Justin Lowenthal, Zachary Schneiderman, and Melody Shao. Banerjee and Schneiderman are graduate students in the Whiting School's Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Est-Witte and Shao are PhD candidates in the School of Medicine's Department of Biomedical Engineering, and Lowenthal is a graduate student in the School of Medicine's MD-PhD program.
Chioma Oduenyi, a gender expert with Jhpiego, was among 17 women leaders named as Heroines of Health by Women in Global Health on Oct. 17 during the World Health Summit in Berlin. Oduenyi was honored for pioneering gender integration through her work in Nigeria for Jhpiego. She is currently director for the USAID-funded MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership project in Nigeria, led by Jhpiego, where she works to prevent and respond to gender-based violence.
Vinciya Pandian, an associate professor in the School of Nursing, has been selected for fellowship in the American College of Critical Care Medicine. Pandian is recognized for her commitment to interprofessional critical care and achievements, locally and nationally, in scholarly activities, engagement, and leadership. Her primary research centers on identifying signs and symptoms of laryngeal injury post-extubation in the intensive care units. She will receive her honor at the Critical Care Congress held in January 2023. She is the president of the Society of Otorhinolaryngology Head-Neck Nurses and the treasurer of the Global Tracheostomy Collaborative. At JHSON, Pandian is assistant dean for immersive learning and digital innovation and director of the Center for Digital and Immersive Technologies.
Muyinatu Bell, the John C. Malone Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Whiting School, was recently named to the inaugural cohort of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative's Science Diversity Leadership Awards. She was cited for her groundbreaking research in creating inclusive, improved imaging technologies to detect breast cancer. The award, presented in partnership with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, aims to further the leadership and accomplishments of early- and midcareer biomedical researchers who have a record of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in their fields. Each recipient of the award receives a total of $1.15 million over five years to support research, mentoring, and teaching activities.
