Three professors receive prestigious Henry Russel Award at U-M

ANN ARBOR—Three University of Michigan faculty members will receive the Henry Russel Award, one of the highest honors the University bestows upon junior faculty members.

The awards will be presented at 4 p.m. March 9 in Rackham Amphitheatre, followed by the annual Henry Russel Lecture given by a senior member of the faculty.

The Russel award winners are: Todd Austin, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science, College of Engineering; Brian Conrad, associate professor of mathematics, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA); and Lorna Goodison, associate professor of English language and literature and associate professor of Afroamerican and African studies, LSA.

This year’s lecturer is Maris Vinovskis, Bentley Professor of History and a professor in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and the Center for Political Studies. Vinovskis, who has worked on education issues for both Democratic and Republican administrations in Washington, will lecture on the efforts of the federal government, from the Reagan administration through the current Bush administration, to help disadvantaged children succeed in school.

Austin, who joined the faculty in 1999, has produced research that is having a significant impact on the international community of computer designers in the area of computer architecture. He developed a simulation framework named SimpleScalar, which has been heralded as a well-designed package that is extensively used by hundreds of researchers. According to the award citation, Austin’s teaching has infused some of the most rigorous courses in the department with his dynamic style and high standards for performance.

Conrad, a member of the math department since 2000, has significantly expanded his research activity and also enhanced the learning community through his innovations in teaching on our campus and in the community, the award citation says. His research into arithmetic geometry combines number theory and algebraic geometry, with practical applications such as public key cryptography. He has applied his devotion to mathematics to the students in his classes and throughout the department, and extended his efforts to high school students with an interest in mathematics.

Goodison has emerged as the most celebrated voice among the current generation of West Indian poets during the past decade, having published seven books of poetry and a collection of short stories, the award citation says. Her poems focus on the injustices of colonialism and African-American history, but she includes a consideration of the complexities of the multi-racial and multi-cultural communities she portrays, incorporating the heritage of European, American, Caribbean, and African literature.

Both the Russel Award and Lectureship were established in 1925 with a bequest from Henry Russel of Detroit, who received three degrees from U-M.

The awards recognize distinguished scholarship or authorship (including creativity in the arts) and conspicuous ability as a teacher. Nominees may have the title of instructor, assistant professor, or associate professor, provided that they have not been in tenure-track positions for more than six years at the time of nomination. The award carries a $1,200 stipend.

Recipients of both the Henry Russel Lectureship the Henry Russel Award and are chosen through a rigorous interdisciplinary review process involving some of the University’s most distinguished faculty, including former recipients of the Lectureship and the Award.

For more information, visit http://www.rackham.umich.edu/Faculty/hruslecture.html

http://www.rackham.umich.edu/Faculty/hrusselaward.html