Points of Distinction

College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

  • Physics professor receives prestigious Templeton Grant

    Physics professor Sergei Shandarin received a $300,000 from the John Templeton Foundation to support his research into cosmic complexity, specifically life and intelligence beyond the solar system.

    It is part of a broader $5.6 million award to the University of Chicago for the project New Frontiers in Astronomy & Cosmology. The project involves 20 scientists from the United States and other countries, as well as about high school and college student essayists worldwide.

    Shandarin's co-investigator is Rien van de Weygaert, a professor of astronomy at the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. They will explore the origin of the complexity in the universe by quantifying the structural growth of the universe itself.

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  • English professor earns Hugo Award for science fiction writing

    Kij Johnson, assistant professor of English, won a 2012 a Hugo Award in the Best Novella category for her work “The Man Who Bridged the Mist.”

    The Hugo Awards, named for pioneering science fiction magazine editor Hugo Gernsback, are considered the most prestigious U.S. honor for science fiction writers.

    Johnson's novella also won the 2012 Nebula Award.

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  • Communication studies professor receives national award

    Dave Tell, associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies, received the Karl R. Wallace Memorial Award for research from the National Communication Association.

    Tell’s research uses the traditions of rhetoric to better understand American culture. In November, the Pennsylvania State University Press will publish his first book, “Confessional Crises and Cultural Politics in Twentieth-Century America.” It argues that debates over the meaning of confession have influenced six perennial issues in American cultural politics — sexuality, class, race, violence, religion, and democracy.

    Tell came to KU in 2007.

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  • Chemistry professor receives NSF research award

    Chris Elles, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, received the prestigious Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation for his research on chemical reactions initiated by light

    Elles received a five-year, $650,000 CAREER Award for research that will focus on reactions involving technologically important molecular switches activated by light. Elles joined the KU faculty in 2009.

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  • 2 professors named American Chemical Society fellows

    Two KU professors have been named fellows by the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific association.

    Named were Joseph Heppert, professor of chemistry in the College of Liberay Arts & Sciences; and Jeff Aube, University Distinguished Professor of Medicinal Chemistry in the School of Pharmacy.

    The selection of fellows is based on such achievements as outstanding and creative scientific research, superior achievements in the teaching of chemistry, managerial excellence, and volunteer service.

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  • 26th KU student wins Rhodes scholarship

    KU student Kelsey Murrell, an English literature and creative writing major, has become the 26th KU student to win a prestigious Rhodes scholarship.

    She will receive funding to attend the University of Oxford for one or two years, where she will pursue graduate degrees in migration studies and refugee and forced migration studies.

    Murrell will graduate from the University Honors Program and with highest distinction from KU in May 2012.

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  • President of Colombia, a KU alumnus, receives distinguished achievement award

    Juan Manuel Santos, president of the Republic of Colombia and 1973 University of Kansas graduate in economics and business, received the Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award, the highest honor bestowed by the KU College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, in a campus visit Sept. 24, 2012.

    Other events during his visit included meetings with students and a conversation at the Dole Institute of Politics led by institute director Bill Lacy.

    Before his election in 2010, Santos, 58, served three years as defense minister and two years as finanace minister.

     

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