The 2004 Raubenheimer Award winners pictured with College Dean Joseph Aoun. From left to right: Mark Thompson, Joseph Aoun, Janelle Wong, John Wilson and Edward Finnegan.
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College Faculty Recognized
By Nicole St. Pierre
December 2004
USC College of Letters, Arts & Sciences recognized the
accomplishments of its faculty at the annual holiday reception and
award ceremony presided over by Dean Joseph Aoun on Wednesday, Dec. 8.
Besides the awarding of the Albert S. Raubenheimer and other awards to
faculty and graduate assistants, Provost Lloyd Armstrong and University
Professor Michael Waterman were also honored.
The Raubenheimer awards, recognizing exemplary teaching, research and
service, were given to four faculty members. This year’s recipients
were Mark Thompson, professor of chemistry, John Wilson, professor of
geography, and Edward Finegan, professor of linguistics and law. Each
received $3,000. Janelle Wong, assistant professor of political
science and American studies and ethnicity received the Junior Faculty
Award and $1,500 for showing unusual promise in research, teaching and
service.
Mark Thompson’s pioneering accomplishments extend to both research and
teaching. He recently created the General Education course “Chemistry
in the Environment, Energy and Society,” in which students use
chemistry to learn about the origins of pressing social problems, such
as air pollution, global warming, the ozone layer, clean water and
genetic engineering. The hallmark of Thompson’s research is the
combination of imaginative fundamental studies of the chemistry of
materials and how they can be applied for use in flat panel displays,
including cell phones and digital cameras, and biocompatible implants
in the human body. He is forging into exciting interdisciplinary fields
including solar energy conversion. Since arriving at USC in 1995, he
has published 125 articles in refereed journals and secured 45 patents.
From left to right: Michael Waterman, USC Provost Lloyd Armstrong, Jr., and College Dean Joseph Aoun
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Edward Finegan is known for his contributions to the general education
curriculum at USC and teaches the popular undergraduate course Social
Issues. He is regarded as a leading expert on language usage and on
modern English grammar and its history. His work in forensic
linguistics bridges the academic and public worlds when he serves as a
pro-bono consultant to federal and state prosecutors and public
defenders in criminal cases. On campus, he’s served on the
University Writing Committee, serving as chair from 1998-2003, and
currently chairs the Faculty Handbook Committee of the Academic
Senate. He also played a pivotal role, at President Sample’s
invitation, in finalizing details of extending benefits to USC faculty
and staff domestic partners.
John Wilson’s colleagues call him an “active and eclectic scholar” with
interests ranging from GIS tool development to environmental
modeling. He has a flourishing research program with funding from
both government and private sources, including two multi-year NSF
grants awarded in the past 18 months. As a teacher, he is known to be
an innovative mentor of graduate students, currently supervising ten
doctoral students, encouraging them to present their work at
conferences and publish in peer-reviewed journals prior to graduation.
Janelle Wong joined the College three years ago and has already
established herself as an engaging, articulate and inspiring teacher.
She is a faculty mentor to numerous undergraduate student groups, was a
Faculty Fellow for the Pardee Towers Campus Residence Hall and is
described by her peers as an “engaging, articulate, well organized,
knowledgeable, and even inspirational” teacher. Her research
focuses on politics of race and the dynamics of immigrant political
mobilization. Her new book, Democracy’s Promise: American Civic
Institutions and Political Mobilization among Asian American and Latino
Immigrants will soon be released by the University of Michigan Press.
Other College awards presented at the December 8th holiday reception:
General Education Teaching Awards
Stephen Finlay, Philosophy
Judith Jackson Fossett, English
Robert Girandola, Kinesiology
Michael Messner, Sociology
Roberto Lint Sagarena, Religion
Charles Sammis, Earth Sciences
Gideon Yaffe, Philosophy
Maite Zubiaurre, Spanish
General Education Graduate Assistant Award
Arsiyanti Ardie, Comparative Literature
Arthur Auerbach, Political Science
Nathaniel Lorentz, Earth Science
Olanna Mills, Comparative Literature
Kathryn Strong, English
Brian Talbot, Philosophy
Advanced Writing Teaching Award
Diana York Blaine, The Writing Program
USC College Doctoral Research Prize
Upjeet Chandon, Anthropology
Lyudmila Slipchenko, Chemistry
Mary Beth Tegan, English
In a departure from previous ceremonies, Waterman was presented—by
Provost Armstrong—with a unique USC College Award for Excellence for
his tireless service to the USC and College communities.
Waterman is a key contributor in various academic departments,
including mathematics, biology and computer science, serves on
countless USC committees, and is the Hall Master at USC’s International
Residential College, Parkside Suites.
Waterman helped build the mathematical foundations of modern molecular
biology, which have grown increasingly important in the era of genome
sequencing and the attendant exponential growth in biological data. In
Armstrong’s words, without Waterman’s work, “there wouldn’t be a human
genome project.”
Finally, in a turnabout, Armstrong was recognized for his dedicated
service to the university, and especially to the College. College Dean
Joseph Aoun and Waterman presented Armstrong with a plaque that
recognized his many years of outstanding visionary leadership and his
exemplary commitment to placing USC College at the heart of the
university. Armstrong has announced that he will step down from the
Provost's position next year.
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