UW News

January 26, 2011

Etc.: Campus News & Notes

Matthew Krashan

Matthew Krashan

PRIME PRESENTER: Matthew Krashan, director of the UW World Series, was awarded the 9th annual North American Performing Arts Managers and Agents Award for Excellence in Presenting the Performing Arts. The award is given each year to a distinguished presenter in recognition of the awardee’s dedication to the future of presenting the performing arts, professionalism, respect for colleagues, and high ethical standards. The award includes a citation for excellence, and the recipient’s organization receives $1,000 toward its endowment for presenting. NAPAMA, a nonprofit service organization which represents over 130 managers and agents, was founded in 1979 and is dedicated to promoting the professionalism of its members and the vitality of the performing arts.

Gunther Uhlmann

Gunther Uhlmann

ANALYZING MATH: The American Mathematical Society awarded Gunther Uhlmann, professor of mathematics, the 2011 Bôcher Memorial Prize. Awarded every three years, this prize recognizes an outstanding research paper in the field of mathematical analysis that has appeared in the preceding six years. Uhlmann, who is currently on leave at the University of California Irvine, was honored for his work on inverse problems relating to invisibility cloaking (see related articles).

Rajesh Rao

Rajesh Rao

WONDER-FULL RESEARCH: Rajesh Rao, associate professor of computer science and engineering, will present at the 2011 TED Conference on March 4 in Long Beach, Calif. The popular annual conferences motto is “Ideas Worth Spreading,” and the 18-minute presentations by invited speakers are archived online after the event. This years conference theme is “The rediscovery of wonder”; Rao will describe his research using computer models to understand the human brain.

OPENING THE SOURCE: ConferenceXP, originally a product of Microsoft Research, has been developed for distance learning by UW computer science and engineering professor Richard Anderson. Last month a foundation that supports open-source community projects announced that it will host an open source version of ConferenceXP. Research on the tool will continue at the UWs Center for Collaborative Technologies.

Dick Startz

Dick Startz

PROFITABLE PRESENTATION: Dick Startz, Castor Professor of Economics at the UW, will discuss his new book, Profit of Education, at University Bookstore at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1. Teachers are the key to fixing the countrys K-12 education system, but the best college students are going into fields that pay considerably better than teaching, Startz points out in his book. He then explains how to raise salaries as well as the profits to be derived by doing so. Startz will talk for about 25 minutes, then take questions. Copies of the book may be ordered at the event. For more of Startzs thinking, visit his blog: Profit of Education.

PRIME SEAT:  Dr. Peter Rhee, a surgeon who cared for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords after she was shot in Tucson, was one of those who got to sit with the First Lady during the State of the Union speech Jan. 25. Rhee earned a master’s in public health at the UW.