Archive for February, 2011

Postdoc Bradley Fogo wins outstanding dissertation award

February 11th, 2011

Brad-FogoBRADLEY FOGO, PhD ’10, a postdoctoral fellow in the Stanford Teacher Education Program, has just been awarded the 2010-11 Phi Delta Kappa International Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award, one of the most prestigious awards in the field of education. His dissertation examines the development of history-social science standards, tests and curriculum frameworks in California over the last two decades.

“This comparative case study argues that rather than serve as a model to emulate, the development of California’s history-social science framework, standards and tests should provide a cautionary tale for those advocating new standards-based reforms,” a topic that has been grabbing national headlines lately. Read the full announcement on the School of Education website.

Fogo will receive a $5,000 award from the Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation and will be honored at the American Educational Researchers Association’s annual meeting in April. A summary of his study, “What Every Student Should Know and Be Able to Do: The Making of California’s Framework, Standards and Tests for History-Social Science,” will appear in the May issue of Kappan.

Four Stanford scholars elected to National Academy of Engineering

February 10th, 2011

Four Stanford faculty members have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), a nonprofit organization composed of the nation’s premier engineers.

The four new Stanford members are JAMES S. HARRIS JR., DAPHNE KOLLER, NICHOLAS WILLIAM MCKEOWN, all of the School of Engineering, and MARK D. ZOBACK of the School of Earth Sciences. They are among the 68 new U.S. members elected earlier this week.

Electrical engineer Harris, the James and Ellenor Chesebrough Professor in the School of Engineering, was elected for his contributions to epitaxial growth of compound semiconductor materials and their applications.

Koller, the Rajeev Motwani Professor in Computer Science, was honored for her contributions to representation, inference and learning in probabilistic models with applications to robotics, vision and biology.

McKeown, professor of electrical engineering and of computer science, was cited for his contributions to the design, analysis and engineering of high-performance routers.

Geophysicist Zoback, the Benjamin M. Page Professor in the School of Earth Sciences, was elected for his work advancing the application of geomechanics to oil and gas production, geothermal stimulation and carbon dioxide sequestration.

Stanford ranks second among all institutions in the nation for NAE members. The latest election brings to 93 the number of Stanford faculty in the NAE. The academy, which also named nine foreign associates this week, has 2,290 total U.S. members and 202 foreign associates.

—Jamie Beckett

Terry Root named to Audubon Society board

February 9th, 2011

root_turtleTERRY ROOT, senior fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment, has been named to the board of directors for the National Audubon Society. Root is among six prominent leaders in science, conservation, finance and education who were appointed to the organization’s board at its January meeting.
Root also was recently named to the board of the Defenders of Wildlife, an organization for which she has served as a science adviser.
In addition, she is the first recipient of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District‘s Climate Leadership Award, established in honor of her late husband, Stephen Schneider, a Stanford biology professor and climate heavyweight who died last summer. The award will recognize individuals who have made a lasting impact on climate efforts in the nine-county Bay Area region.

El Centro Chicano featured in Fox Super Bowl segment

February 8th, 2011

Plunkett_and_students_for_Dish_ECC_2783Fox Sports visited campus and El Centro Chicano in mid-December to film for its Declaration of Independence Super Bowl segment. The segment was shown just prior to kickoff time for the Super Bowl on Sunday.

As part of the segment, football luminaries ranging from New Orleans Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees to former 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice recite the Declaration of Independence in the company of such groups as farmers, members of the armed services and high school students.

Fox asked Stanford alumnus JIM PLUNKETT to participate in the presentation. He, in turn, asked to participate in conjunction with Stanford students from El Centro, Stanford’s Latino Community Center. The Fox presentation features FRANCES MORALES, associate dean and center director; ELVIRA PRIETO, associate director of the center; and nine students able to cobble time from their busy finals schedule. Although the Stanford group appears on film for only a few seconds, the filming, which took place in front of El Centro, in fact took several hours.

Plunkett, Stanford’s only Heisman Trophy winner, went on to stardom with the New England Patriots, the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders. He is a member of Stanford’s Athletic Hall of Fame as well as El Centro’s Alumni Hall of Fame.

Winter closure exceeds expectations for energy savings

February 7th, 2011

turn_off_4_breakThe two-week winter shutdown in December did more than give staff and faculty a welcome change of pace. The biggest benefit of the shutdown, which started as a voluntary program in 2001 and has been mandatory since 2003, has been to save on energy. The Office of Sustainability’s goal for the 2010 winter closure was to increase energy and cost savings from the 2009 shutdown by at least 10 percent. The campus exceeded that goal and achieved the following savings:

  • 1.4 million kilowatt-hours of electricity (48 percent increase from 2009)
  • 3.8 million pounds of steam (87 percent increase from 2009)
  • $202,000 in operating costs (54 percent increase from 2009)
  • 778 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions avoided (63 percent increase from 2009)

Read the full announcement on the Sustainable Stanford website.

Zare to share King Faisal Prize for Science

February 4th, 2011

zare_dishRICHARD ZARE, the Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor in Natural Science, is co-recipient of the 2011 King Faisal International Prize for Science. Zare, who shares the honor with Harvard’s George McClelland Whitesides, was honored for his fundamental contribution to the understanding of molecular dynamics and chemical reactions. Each year, the King Faisal Foundation awards prizes in medicine, science, service to Islam, Islamic studies and Arabic language and literature.

Longtime fisheries expert to head Fisheries Forum

February 3rd, 2011

JOHN HENDERSCHEDT, a longtime fisheries expert, has recently joined the Fisheries Leadership and Sustainability Forum (Fisheries Forum) as its first executive director.

The Fisheries Forum is a partnership among four of the nation’s leading academic and policy institutions: Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment, Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, the Center for Ocean Solutions and the Environmental Defense Fund. The forum provides professional development, continuing education and networking opportunities for members of the regional fishery management councils.

Since his appointment to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in 2008, Henderschedt has participated in many of the events that Fisheries Forum organizes for regional fishery management council members.

“Fisheries Forum has had a significant and positive influence on how I perceive my role as a council member. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to play a part in the future of the Fisheries Forum program,” Henderschedt said of his new post. As executive director, he will work with Fisheries Forum staff and its partner institutions on both program and organizational development.

Prior to taking on his new role, Henderschedt served as vice president of Phoenix Processor LP in Seattle. He has 25 years of experience in the Alaska fishing industry with responsibilities related to vessel operations, government affairs and safety management. His involvement in North Pacific fisheries began with his work as a joint-venture representative on Russian fishing vessels in the mid-’80s.

Cardinal football recruits make their intentions known today

February 2nd, 2011

Today is National Letter of Intent Day for high school football players. It is the first day that a high school senior can sign a binding letter indicating his intention to play for a particular college or university. (The signing day varies for different sports and also for those transferring from junior colleges.)
Cardinal football fans will be able to follow the developments on Twitter and GoStanford.com. Once each letter has been received and vetted, Athletics will release the names of the signees in real time via Twitter at @stanfordfball.
A complete release announcing Head Coach DAVID SHAW‘s first recruiting class in its entirety will be posted on GoStanford.com once the class is finalized.

You also can watch Shaw’s press conference, which will be streamed live on GoStanford.com beginning at 2 p.m.

Alum teams up to make documentary about military families

February 1st, 2011

flatdaddy_openerA little over four years ago, BETSY NAGLER, ’90, was struck by a photograph in the New York Timesof a serviceman’s young son playing on a swing set with his Flat Daddy — a cardboard cutout of his military father. Not long after, she was introduced through mutual friends to Nara Garber, a cinematographer who had been moved by the same image. Soon Flat Daddy, a documentary about the challenges faced by military families, was born.

“The film examines the issues facing military families by reporting on a quirky phenomenon that surfaced during the wars of the past decade: the Flat Daddy,” writes CORINNE PURTILL, ’02, in the January/February issue of Stanford magazine. “The cardboard look-alikes reside in military homes around the country, helping children, spouses and parents cope with the absence of a family member.”

Read the full story in Stanfordmagazine or watch the trailer.