KU Kudos: Jayhawk faculty and staff achievements, April 2024


LAWRENCE — It's time to celebrate Jayhawk colleagues' achievements: KU News Service staff accepted submissions and combed websites, social media and newsletters for recent external honors and awards for current faculty and staff at the Lawrence, Edwards and Medical Center campuses and affiliates.

KU Kudos is published six times a year. Have something to share? Submit by June 1 for the next edition. Self-nominations are encouraged, with more information available here.

Ronald Barrett-Gonzalez, professor of aerospace engineering, received a 2024 Sustained Service Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics. 

Steve Bien-Aimé, assistant professor of journalism & mass communications, is scheduled to present on artificial intelligence and aggregation during UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day events in May in Chile. 

Ann Brill, dean of the School of Journalism & Mass Communications, was recognized as Administrator of the Year by the Scripps Howard Fund, in partnership with the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

In February, Emily Casey, assistant professor of art history, became chair of the Association of Historians of American Art after being elected co-chair last year.

“Modern Art: A Global Survey from the Mid-Nineteenth Century to the Present,” by David Cateforis, professor of the history of art, has received a 2024 Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA) Most Promising New Textbook Award.

Yi-Yang Chen, assistant professor of piano, was featured as the concerto soloist for Beethoven Concerto No. 3 with the Avanti Orchestra on March 9 in Washington, D.C. Chen also recently presented at the Music Teachers National Association national conference in Atlanta.

Danielle Christifano, assistant professor of dietetics & nutrition, was elected president of the U.S. chapter of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease. 

Jacob Dakon, associate professor of music education & music therapy, presented at the 2024 National American String Teachers Association Conference on March 21 in Louisville, Kentucky

Jean Hall of KU’s Life Span Institute was appointed to the 2030 Census Advisory Committee. Hall is director of the Research and Training Center on Independent Living and the Institute for Health and Disability Policy Studies.

“The Poverty of the World: Rediscovering the Poor at Home and Abroad, 1941-1968” by Sheyda Jahanbani, associate professor of history, won the 2024 Center for Presidential History Book Prize from Southern Methodist University.

“Rosalind’s Siblings: Fiction and Poetry Celebrating Scientists of Marginalized Genders,” an anthology edited by Bogi Perelmutter, is a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in the LGBTQ+ Anthology category. It has also been longlisted for the Locus and BSFA awards. Perelmutter is an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Slavic, German & Eurasian Studies.

Jennifer Raff, associate professor of anthropology, received the 2024 Human Biology Association’s book award.  

Tarun Sabarwal, professor of economics, was invited to give the Clarence Tow Lecture in Economics at the Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa.

Carlton Shield Chief Gover, acting assistant professor of anthropology, was among an interdisciplinary team of more than 80 researchers led by Indigenous scholars that received the 2024 AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize for an article that showcased findings about the rapid spread of horses through Indigenous societies in North America. The prize is awarded annually to the author or authors of an outstanding paper published in the research articles or reports sections of the journal Science.

David Tamez, assistant research professor and research program director for the Institute for Information Sciences, was selected for the 2024 Philosophy in Media Fellows cohort.

Eric Thomas, lecturer in journalism and executive director of the Kansas Scholastic Press Association, was presented with the James Frederick Paschal Award from Columbia Scholastic Press Association, which recognizes leaders of state press associations that support student journalism.

Stacia Troshynski Brown, clinical assistant professor of physical therapy, presented a learning lab session titled "Mental Health First Aid Training" with Brian Seiler, learning and design strategist for the Zamierowski Institute for Experiential Learning at KU Medical Center, for the annual meeting of the Mid-America Athletic Trainers Association.

Joe Walden, associate teaching professor of supply chain management, was named a recipient of the 2024 Pros to Know Award, Lifetime Achievement category, by Supply & Demand Chain Executive, a leading digital publication covering the global supply chain. 

Tobia Zanotto, assistant professor of occupational therapy education, received the Neurodegenerative Diseases Networking Group Best Poster Award and a Top 30 Poster Spotlight recognition at the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine.

X. Long Zheng, Russell J. Eilers MD Endowed Professor and chair of pathology and laboratory medicine at KU Medical Center, received the 2024 Chinese American Pathologists Association Distinguished Pathologist Award.

Recently in the news

Kristin Bowman-James, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, received the Joseph G. Danek Award in Washington, D.C., which recognized her long-term commitment to enhancing the research infrastructure in Kansas by forging collaborations across institutions and disciplines.

Jacque Eidson, lecturer in the School of Professional Studies, received a Fulbright Specialist Award to travel to France, where she presented on fintech.

Elisabeth Mills, assistant professor of physics & astronomy, and Hartwin Peelaers, assistant professor of physics & astronomy, have received National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Awards for their respective research projects.