April 29, 2004 —
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Michael Safonov, left, chairman of the Engineering Faculty Council, presents
Dean C. L. Max Nikias with a surprise leadership award at the 2004 Staff and Faculty
Awards luncheon. |
Engineering faculty turned the tables on Dean C. L. Max Nikias, honoring him
for three years of exemplary leadership at the 2004 Viterbi School of Engineering
Staff and Faculty Awards luncheon, held April 28 at USC’s Town and Gown conference
center.
Michael Safonov, chairman of the Engineering Faculty Council, recognized Nikias
for his “extraordinary leadership, foresight and guidance in the advancement of
the Viterbi School of Engineering,” and presented the surprise award to the dean,
who vowed to display it proudly in his office.
Before delivering a speech on “the state of the School,” Nikias recognized five
faculty and staff, who had been nominated by their colleagues, for outstanding
achievements during the 2003-2004 academic year. They were:
- Kurt Palmer, assistant professor in the Epstein Department of Industrial &
Systems Engineering, who was awarded the 2004 Teaching Excellence Award.
- Chongwu Zhou, assistant professor of electrical engineering, who was awarded
the Junior Faculty Research Award.
- Richard M. Leahy, professor of electrical engineering, who was awarded the Senior
Faculty Research Award.
- Ronald Ohlander, deputy director, Information Sciences Institute, who received
the Service Award.
- Julieta de la Paz, budget analyst in the department of computer science, who
received the Staff Achievement Award.
The dean also announced a new faculty hiring initiative to recruit five top-notch
senior faculty in engineering.
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Chongwu Zhou, assistant professor of electrical engineering, who was awarded
the Junior Faculty Research Award. |
“These five people could come from any discipline, but they will be heavy weights,
world champions in their fields,” Nikias said. “These will be people whose abilities
and accomplishments will be beyond any dispute whatsoever. And these bright new
stars will add to the overall brilliance of the Viterbi School of Engineering.
“These are great challenges,” he continued, “but I remind you all that our hard
work will be felt in future generations. Our opportunities are tremendous and
the beneficial impact of our work can be limitless.”
Chongwu Zhou, assistant professor of electrical engineering, who was awarded
the Junior Faculty Research Award.
2004 Award Winners
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Kurt Palmer, assistant professor in the Epstein Department of Industrial &
Systems Engineering, who received the 2004 Teaching Excellence Award. |
Kurt Palmer received his Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering from Georgia Tech in
1998; his master of science degree in applied statistics from the Rochester Institute
of Technology in 1990; and his bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering
from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1982. Prior to joining
USC, he worked for six years as a manufacturing engineer at the Eastman Kodak
Co. and was owner of Quality Management Consulting in Rochester, NY. Palmer’s
research focuses on engineering statistics and empirical model building techniques.
Chongwu Zhou received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Yale University in 1999. He
worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at Stanford University before joining
the USC faculty. His research activities focus on syntheses and electronic transport
studies of various nanoscale systems, such as nanotubes, bioMEMs and molecular
wires. He has published numerous articles in prestigious scientific journals,
including Science and Nature.
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Richard Leahy, professor of electrical engineering, was awarded the Senior Research
Award |
Richard M. Leahy received his B.S and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University
of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, in 1981 and 1985 respectively. He joined the
USC faculty in 1985, where he is a professor of electrical engineering and systems
engineering, and director of the Signal and Image Processing Institute. He holds
joint appointments with the departments of radiology and biomedical engineering.
His research involves the development of inverse methods of imaging neurological
activity in the brain.
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Ronald Ohlander, deputy director, Information Sciences Institute, who received
the Service Award. |
Ronald Ohlander has served as deputy director of the Information Sciences Institute for close
to 20 years. He has contributed to the development of many important research
programs and initiatives at ISI, and helped to improve job security for many of
ISI’s most talented staff. He has maintained excellent relations with the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency and helped spin off the Internet assigned numbers
authority. He is a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Navy and oversaw DARPA’s artificial
intelligence research program.
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Julieta de la Paz, budget analyst in the department of computer science, who
received the Staff Achievement Award. |
Julieta de la Paz joined the computer science department in 1988 and served in a variety of positions
with increasing levels of responsibility. She currently serves the department
as a budget and business analyst. Her colleagues and departmental faculty praised
her for her “absolute dedication” to her job, and her “deep sense of caring for
faculty and students.” She was also recognized for her ability to work effectively
under pressure with a cheerful, can-do attitude.
--Diane Ainsworth
