Gov. Gary Locke appointed Fred Kiga, '74, '78, '80, Locke's former chief of staff and revenue director in Olympia, to the UW Board of Regents on Aug. 2. The new regent earned his B.A., law degree and M.B.A. from the UW. Kiga is also director of corporate and government relations for the Russell Investment Group, and a member of the Washington State Bar. Kiga replaces Ark Chin, '50, '52, whose term has expired.
Sally Brown, a research professor in the College of Forest Resources, received the Environmental Protection Association's National Clean Water Act Recognition Award on Oct. 4 for outstanding research in biosolids. Brown's laboratory and field research demonstrates how biosolids, the solid remains from waste or sewage water, can be used to improve the quality of contaminated soils.
Rehabilitation Medicine Professor Diana D. Cardenas is one of 65 new members elected to the Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy of Sciences, the institute announced Oct. 18. Chief of rehabilitation medicine at UW Medical Center, Cardenas specializes in the treatment of spinal cord injury and spina bifida, a condition in which the spinal cord fails to develop normally. She is also investigating new treatment methods for urinary tract infections, one of the most common medical problems for people with spinal cord injuries. She is also examining new methods of care for spinal cord injury patients suffering chronic pain. With her election, the UW now has 38 members in the institute.
The Russian Academy of Medical Science honored Epidemiology Chair Scott Davis on May 24 for his research of childhood leukemia and thyroid cancer in the areas affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Davis is the first foreign epidemiologist ever elected to the academy. He heads an international research team of 50 Russian scientists and a handful of Seattle scientists at Chernobyl. The group recently finished 14 years of research and Davis will soon submit his findings to medical journals.
Forest Resources Professor Kern Ewing and Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Professor Warren Gold received the John Rieger Award from the Society for Ecological Restoration International on Aug. 25 for their contributions to the UW's Restoration Ecology Network. Ewing, based at the Seattle campus, and Gold, based at the Bothell campus, helped to create the network in 1998 with researchers from all three UW campuses working to restore damaged landscapes. The Rieger award recognizes a group's contribution to the theory, practice or public awareness of restoration.
Chemistry Professor Daniel Gamelin received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from the White House on Sept. 9. He was nominated by the National Science Foundation for his research of magnetic based semi-conductors and thin films to be used in the emerging field of "spintronics." Among other things, spintronics might increase data processing speeds and decrease power consumption in electronic devices. Gamelin is one of 57 researchers to receive the presidential honor this month.
Earth and Space Sciences Professor David Montgomery won the Washington State Book Award (formerly the Governor's Award) on Oct. 27 for his new book King of Fish: The Thousand-Year Run of Salmon. His book traces the impact of human interaction on salmon over the past thousand years. Montgomery is one of 10 Washington authors to receive this year's award.
Law Assistant Dean Sandra Madrid received the Washington State Bar Association's Excellence in Diversity Award on Sept. 16 for her efforts to improve diversity awareness in Washington. Madrid's new outreach programs and projects are aimed at improving the legal profession's reflection of today's ethnic society.