Alberto Manetta, Patricia Beckman and Elizabeth Loftus Among Honorees; May 26 Ceremony Acknowledges Individuals Who Have Brought Recognition to the University
Eighteen members of the UC Irvine community will be honored at the 35th annual Lauds & Laurels Awards ceremony May 26. The UCI Alumni Association awards program recognizes alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends whose excellence and achievements have brought recognition to the university.
The ceremony's highest honor, the Extraordinarius Award, will be presented to Dr. Alberto Manetta, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and senior associate dean in the School of Medicine. As a physician, Manetta is committed to women's health and has developed innovative methods for the early detection of cervical cancers among high-risk groups. Manetta also created, launched and now directs the Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community (PRIME-LC) -- a revolutionary new program that prepares physicians and public health experts for the specific health care needs of the Latino community. Among his many awards and honors are receiving the Physician's Recognition Award from the American Medical Association and being named one of the Best Doctors in America by Good Housekeeping.
Outstanding Community Service: Patricia Beckman
Beckman has been instrumental in assisting UCI to become one of the top research universities in the world. Among her many services, Beckman is a member of the boards for The UCI Foundation, the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine in the School of Medicine, the Beckman Laser Institute, and the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. She also is a member of the Research Associates in the School of Medicine and founder of the Orange County chapter of the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists Foundation, which has increased community awareness of the university's outstanding faculty, researchers and graduate students in the fields of engineering, medicine and the natural sciences. Beckman is a resident of Corona del Mar.
Faculty Achievement: Elizabeth Loftus
Loftus is a Distinguished Professor in the School of Social Ecology. A faculty member since 2002, Loftus is renowned for her research on memory and also is the recipient of many awards and honors. The American Psychological Society recognized her "significant lifetime intellectual contributions to the basic science of psychology" with the William James Fellow Award in 2001, and the National Academy of Sciences awarded her the inaugural Henry & Bryna David Lectureship in 2002 for "application of the best social and behavioral sciences research to public policy issues." A resident of Irvine, Loftus was named by the Review of General Psychology among the top 100 psychologists of the 20th century -- a list that includes B.F. Skinner, Jean Piaget and Sigmund Freud. Loftus is the highest-ranked woman on the list.
Staff Achievement: Marjorie De Martino, M.F.A. '91 and Audrey DeVore
A resident of Irvine, DeMartino is founding director of COSMOS (California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science), whose mission is to motivate the minds of a new generation of prospective scientists, engineers and mathematicians. She also is associate executive director of the California Alliance for Minority Participation in Science and was a founding member of the Orange County Hispanic Education Endowment Fund.
A resident of Mission Viejo, DeVore is associate director of the Campuswide Honors Program and director of the Scholarship Opportunities Program. The Campuswide Honors Program provides outstanding UCI students with a special honors curriculum that includes small seminar-style classes, mentorship by UCI’s top faculty and the opportunity for participation in undergraduate research. The program maintains an active roster of over 600 students.
Distinguished Alumna/Alumnus: Pamela Adams, Paul Butterworth, Curt Campbell, Maria Hall-Brown, Peggy Maradudin, Martin Morris, Kathie Lynn Olsen, Rob Peirson, Steve Scott, Brian A. Wandell
Pamela Adams, M.B.A. '98 (Graduate School of Management)
A resident of Mission Viejo, Adams works in the Newport Beach office of the brokerage firm A.G. Edwards as a financial consultant. She has served five years on the Board of Directors of GSM's Alumni Network, including the last two years as president. She also is a member of the school's new support group, Management Partners, as well as its corporate partner and mentoring programs.
Paul Butterworth '74, M.S. '81 (Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences)
Butterworth is chief technical officer of AmberPoint, a leading provider of management software for service-oriented architectures, based in Oakland. A resident of Alamo, Calif., Butterworth was named in 2002 one of Red Herring's "Top Innovators," a distinction which honors innovative executives whose pioneering spirit led to breakthrough contributions for their companies and the information industry.
Curt Campbell, Ph.D. '75 (School of Physical Sciences)
A resident of Hercules, Calif., Campbell is technical team leader of Global Chemicals for Chevron Oronite Company. Campbell's research at Chevron led to his invention of Techron, a gasoline additive that helps decrease and even remove harmful engine deposits, which can increase the number of toxic emissions that lead to air pollution.
Maria Hall-Brown '84 (Claire Trevor School of the Arts)
A resident of Huntington Beach, Hall-Brown is producer and host of KOCE’s "Bookmark," an acclaimed author-interview series, and associate producer and reporter for "Real Orange," which focuses on issues important to Orange County. Hall-Brown was awarded an Emmy in 2003 for her role as executive producer on the documentary "Mendez vs. Westminster."
Peggy Maradudin, M.A. '68 (School of Humanities)
Maradudin is a Russian historian and longtime supporter of the School of Humanities. A resident of Newport Beach, she and her husband established the Peggy and Alex Maradudin Graduate Fellowship and the Peggy and Alex Maradudin Research Travel Grant. Her contributions to UCI also include chairing the Liaison Committee of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
Martin Morris, M.D. '64 (School of Medicine)
An Irvine resident, Morris is an orthopedic surgeon active in the original College of Medicine Alumni Chapter in the 1980s and 90s, and later instrumental for building the new School of Medicine Alumni Chapter. His many contributions to the School of Medicine include serving on the school's scholarship committee and as an at-large board member of its alumni association.
Kathie Lynn Olsen, Ph.D. '79 (School of Biological Science)
Since summer 2002, Olsen has served as associate director with the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President. As associate director, Olsen has been responsible for overseeing and guiding U.S. science and education policy, including physical, life, environmental, behavioral and social sciences. Olsen is a resident of Arlington, Va.
Rob Peirson '83, M.B.A. '84 (The Henry Samueli School of Engineering)
A resident of Irvine, Peirson is the director of product and test engineering for Skyworks' RF Solutions business unit. Along with other activities supporting the university, including serving as an active member of the UCI Alumni Association Scholarship Selection Committee, he served from 2002 to 2004 on the UCIAA Board of Directors.
Steve Scott '78 (School of Social Ecology)
A resident of Carlsbad, Scott is head coach for both track and cross-country at California State University, San Marcos. He was a three-time U.S. Olympic team member who holds the American records for both the indoor and outdoor mile, as well as for 2,000 and 3,000 meters. In 2002, he was inducted into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame.
Brian A. Wandell, Ph.D. '77 (School of Social Sciences)
A professor of psychology at Stanford University, Wandell is one of the preeminent figures in the fields of cognitive science and neuroscience. Among the world's leading authorities on color vision, he received in 1986 the Troland Research Award from the National Academy of Sciences. A resident of Menlo Park, he was elected to the NAS in 2003.
Outstanding Student-Athlete: Ashlie Hain (School of Social Sciences)
Hain, a native of Thousand Oaks, is a fourth-year member of the women's volleyball team, with whom she has competed in one of the premier women's volleyball leagues in the country. Hain's 5,698 career assists rank second all-time in the Big West Conference. A psychology major, she has been twice honored as Big West Scholar-Athlete for her achievement in academics.
Outstanding Graduate Student: Yvonne Braun, M.A. '00 (School of Social Sciences)
Braun, a native of East Northport, N.Y., is a doctoral candidate in social relations [sociology/anthropology], with a graduate feminist emphasis certificate in women's studies. Among her honors as a graduate student, Braun won the Renee Riese Hubert prize for Best Graduate Paper in Women's Studies (1999) and this year received the University of California Office of the President Dissertation Fellowship. Her dissertation, titled "Feminist Political Ecology in Practice: The Social Impacts of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project" was supported by a Fulbright Student Fellowship and National Science Foundation grant.
Outstanding Undergraduate Student: Jacqueline Chattopadhyay (School of Social Sciences)
Chattopadhyay, a native of Irvine, is a Regents Scholar, UCI Alumni Scholar, 2004 Donald A. Strauss Scholar, one of Glamour Magazine's Top-Ten College Women in America in 2004, and a 2004 Harry S. Truman Scholar -- only the fifth UCI student to receive this scholarship. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa as a junior, is a member of the Campuswide Honors Program, and is a double major in police science and economics. She will graduate summa cum laude in June and attend law school in the fall.
The Lauds & Laurels Awards ceremony begins at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 26, following a 6 p.m. reception, at The Westin South Coast Plaza Hotel in Costa Mesa. Tickets are $150, with proceeds benefiting the UCI Alumni Association Endowed Scholarship Program.
For more information, call the Alumni Association at (949) 824-2586 (UCI-ALUM).
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About the University of California, Irvine: The University of California, Irvine is a top-ranked public university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Founded in 1965, UCI is among the fastest-growing University of California campuses, with more than 24,000 undergraduate and graduate students and about 1,400 faculty members. The second-largest employer in dynamic Orange County, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $3 billion.