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Kudos

Here’s a list of faculty and staff who have made headlines for their accomplishments in recent months.

Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Lynne Parker, who has served as the assistant director for artificial intelligence at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy since August, played a major role in devising the White House’s recently announced initiative to bolster research, governance, education, and workforce training around artificial intelligence. Parker maintains her professorship through the Intergovernmental Personnel Act.

Parker and Adriana Moreo, a professor of theoretical condensed matter in the Department of Phyics, were selected as 2018 American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows for their work as leading researchers and their distinguished professional service.

Marianne Wanamaker, an associate professor of economics, was appointed to the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board, announced earlier this month by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and presidential advisor Ivanka Trump. The board will develop job training programs to meet the changing demands of US employers.

Katherine Ambroziak, associate dean for academic affairs and research and associate professor in the College of Architecture and Design, is one of three recipients of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture 2019 Diversity Achievement Award. In addition to incorporating the contributions of historically underrepresented groups into her curriculum, Ambroziak was honored for her efforts in the community, including leading the restoration of the historic Odd Fellows Cemetery in East Knoxville.

Sheng Dai, professor of chemistry, received the American Chemical Society Award in Separations Science and Technology for his pioneering work in the field.

Koichi Yamamoto, an associate professor of art, had a color etching and aquatint piece recently chosen as the print of the day by the Annex Galleries. It was promoted by email and will appear in upcoming print fairs in Portland, Oregon, and Pasadena and Berkeley–Oakland, California.

Tyson Raper, assistant professor of cotton and small grain production in the Herbert College of Agriculture, is the 2019 Beltwide Extension Cotton Specialist of the Year. The award was presented by fellow cotton specialists at the annual Beltwide Cotton Conference in New Orleans.

Krista Wiegand, director of the Global Security Program in the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, and Brandon Prins, a Faculty Fellow with the center, are the new co-editors of International Studies Quarterly, an academic journal now housed at the Baker Center.

Joy Harjo, professor of English and Chair of Excellence in Creative Writing, was appointed to the Board of Chancellors for the Academy of American Poets.

James Williams, assistant professor of retail, hospitality, and tourism management, was chosen by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education as one its top 15 emerging scholars for 2019.

Jan Rosinski, professor of mathematics, has been elected to the International Statistical Institute.

Amy Elias, director of the UT Humanities Center, had a journal she co-founded— ASAP/Journal—selected as best new journal in humanities for the Association of American Publishers PROSE Awards The scholarly publication of the Association for the Study of the Arts of the Present (ASAP), it is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal that explores new developments in post-1960s visual, media, literary, and performance arts.

David White, associate dean for AgResearch and a professor of food science in the Institute of Agriculture, has been appointed one of four new voting members to the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria.

Three UT Knoxville faculty members are Fulbright Scholars for the 2018–19 academic year: Seong-Hoon Cho, a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, was a lecturer and researcher at Korea University in Seoul from July to December 2018; plant geneticist Denita Hadziabdic Guerry from the Herbert College of Agriculture was at the University of Ghana in Accra until early this month doing research on improving the food supply; and Steven Oberman, an adjunct professor in the College of Law since 1993, will be lecturing at the University of Latvia from February through July.

Two professors in the College of Arts and Sciences—Sara Ritchey, associate professor of history, and Anne-Hélène Miller, assistant professor of French—were awarded yearlong fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities to support their research into medieval history and literature.

The staff of several units received awards for their work from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District III. The Office of Communications and Marketing received an Award of Excellence in the annual report category for the College of Architecture and Design 2017 Annual Report. UT Libraries received two awards—a Grand Award in the periodical category and a Special Merit Award in editorial design—for the Library Development Review 2016–2017, and the Office of Advancement received Special Merit Awards in the annual report category for Journey of Gratitude and in the graphic design category for Volunteer Visionaries, and an Award of Excellence in the fundraising publication category for their development officer’s folder. The UT System and the Institute of Agriculture also received awards.