News
Dietrich School Students Recognized for "Spirit of Pitt"
The University of Pittsburgh’s homecoming is a time to celebrate reunions, make new connections and honor traditions new and old. In 2021, the Pitt Alumni Association (PAA) put a new spin on a cherished custom by rebranding the phrase “Homecoming court” to the “Spirit of Pitt.”
The effort is a gender-neutral academic award for two students chosen from a group of juniors and seniors who meet specific criteria, including exhibiting academic excellence, engaging in community service and embodying the values of the PAA.
Dietrich School Distinguished Professor Elected President of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology
Edouard Machery, distinguished professor in the Dietrich School, has been elected president of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology for 2023-24. The society is a professional organization for “philosophically interested psychologists and psychologically interested philosophers” in North America.
Dietrich School Biologists Are Making Fieldwork More Equitable
Doing research outside of the lab is important to career advancement in scientific fields like ecology, geology and paleontology, but it comes with a host of unique challenges. That’s why a team from the Dietrich School’s Department of Biological Sciences developed a guide for making fieldwork safer and more equitable, especially for researchers from marginalized groups.
Dietrich School Chemist Featured in Pittwire
Lillian Chong, a professor in the Dietrich School's Department of Chemistry, creates simulations that mimic biological processes too small and too fast to be observed by even the most sophisticated microscope. The result is videos that show what’s happening with every atom of a protein cell, down to the quadrillionth — a million billionth — of a second. Using this technology, Chong helped crack the mystery of how the coronavirus’s spike protein opens in order to attach to human cells.
Dietrich School Undergraduates Among Inaugural Voyager Scholars
Four juniors from the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences are among the first recipients of the Voyager Scholarship.
The initiative, created by the Obama Foundation and supported by Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky, gives students who want to pursue a career in public service up to $50,000 in financial aid as they finish college and a $10,000 stipend for a “summer voyage” to gain exposure to new communities and experience in their field. The University of Pittsburgh tied with Howard University for the fourth-highest number of Voyager Scholarship recipients of any institution of higher learning in the country, and the most of any school in Pennsylvania.
New Study By Dietrich School Geologists Maps How Metal Pollutants Have Traveled Across the City
Pittsburgh’s steel industry may be largely in the past, but its legacy lives on in city soils. New research led by Dietrich School geologists shows how historical coking and smelting dropped toxic metals in Pittsburgh’s soil, particularly in the eastern half of the city.
Dietrich School Professor’s New Novel Explores Identity, Immigration and Bureaucracy
A stranger on a New York subway platform sent Angie Cruz, associate professor in the Dietrich School's Department of English, on the journey to her next book.
New Research from Dietrich School Neuroscience Team Published in Cell Reports
The brain’s cerebral cortex is made up of distinct regions involved in myriad processes, from sensory perception to cognitive functions like memory, attention and decision-making. Researchers from the Dietrich School's Department of Neuroscience have found that the properties of one neuron subtype — somatostatin-expressing neurons — are specialized in different subregions of the cortex. The study was published Sept. 6 in Cell Reports.
Nominations Sought for Faculty Awards, Deadline October 14
The University of Pittsburgh strives to recognize the efforts and achievements of its faculty. The Provost's Award for Excellence in Mentoring, the Chancellor's Distinguished Awards for Research, Public Service and Teaching, the Diversity in the Curriculum Awards, and the Extended Diversity Experience Certificates of Achievement all promote excellence and innovation across the breadth of the University's faculty.
Dietrich School Associate Dean Named Director of Pittsburgh Quantum Institute
Adam Leibovich, associate dean for research and faculty development in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, will serve as Director of Pittsburgh Quantum Institute (PQI).
Distinguished Professor Wins Humboldt Award
Tia-Lynn Ashman, a Distinguished Professor in the Dietrich School's Department of Biological Sciences, has received the prestigious Humboldt Research Award, which recognizes her entire academic record to date. The award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, based in Germany, comes with a cash prize of 60,000 euros (around $61,200)
Dietrich School Alumna Named VP of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility of Carnegie Museums
Dietrich School alumna Gina Winstead (A&S '05) says her goal in her new role is to make sure that visitors to the four Carnegie Museums — Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Carnegie Science Center, and The Andy Warhol Museum — are able to have the same positive experience she had, regardless of their background.
Dietrich School Graduates Among Distinguished Alumni Fellows
During a June 22 ceremony, the University of Pittsburgh celebrated five new Distinguished Alumni Fellows for 2020 and 2021. The honor recognizes those who have excelled personally and professionally and exhibited outstanding service to the University. Honorees include Dietrich School alumni David Frederick (A&S ’83), Michael Bryson (A&S ’68), and Jack (A&S ’69, MED ’73) and Georgia Smith (A&S ’70).
Dietrich School Faculty Member Elected to International Academy of Molecular Quantum Science
Ken Jordan, Richard King Mellon Professor and Distinguished Professor of Computational Chemistry, and Associate Director, Center for Research Computing, has been elected to the International Academy of Molecular Quantum Science, headquartered in Menton, France.
Community, Physics, Phenomenology: Symposium Series Gathers Generations
The Pheno Symposium series has put Pitt at the center of a worldwide community of particle physicists and astrophysicists for over a decade. At Pheno 2022 in May, that community gathered in person for the first time since 2019 to share an enthusiasm for exploring phenomenology - the theory and practice of matter and forces that make up the universe. The heart of the series is the Dietrich School's Tao Han, a distinguished professor of high energy physics, who has organized the symposium at Pitt almost every year since 2012.