Department News

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to tell you that Josh McDermott has been selected to receive the University of Minnesota Outstanding Postdoctoral Scholar Award for 2008-09. The Award recognizes postdoctoral scholars who have made outstanding contributions to research, scholarship and/or creative activities on a national or international level and acknowledges scholars who have made optimal use of the postdoctoral appointment by actively pursuing opportunities and resources to enhance their intellectual and professional development.

Josh has been working on auditory perception with Andrew Oxenham and lab colleagues. He has been studying mid-level audition, including source separation, texture perception, and the psychoacoustic basis of music.

Congratulations to Josh!

This award to Josh is a timely reminder of the excellence of postdocs in the Psychology department and the critical roles they play in many of our research programs.

Best,

--Gordon

Posted by hwolff at 03:24 PM | Permalink

I am happy to report that Irv Gottesman has received the Alexander Gralnick Investigator Prize from the American Psychological Foundation of APA. The Gralnick Prize is given biennially to “exceptional individuals working in the area of serious mental illness". It comes with a $20,000 research stipend. Irv will accept the award at the upcoming APA convention, where he will also be giving an invited plenary address.

Irv received his Ph.D. from and is currently a Senior Fellow in our Department. Please join me in congratulating Irv on receiving this prestigious award.

Gordon Legge

Posted by hwolff at 10:08 PM | Permalink

The winner of SPSSI's (The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues) Applied Social Issues Internship Award for the 2008 competition is Mark Snyder.

The Kurt Lewin Memorial Award is presented annually to honor "outstanding contributions to the development and integration of psychological research and social action." As this year's recipient of the award, Dr. Snyder has accomplished these goals in every way.

The 2008 Award Committee consisted of Dr. Brenda Major, University of California, Santa Barbara (Chair); Dr. Daphne Bugental, University of California, Santa Barbara; Dr. Jack Dovidio, Yale University; and Dr. Louis Penner, Hudson-Webber Cancer Research Center.

Posted by hwolff at 03:07 PM | Permalink

Congratulations go to Professor Rich Lee who was elected as a Fellow of the Asian American Psychological Association (AAPA) this year. Additionally, he was selected to receive the Okura Community Leadership Award which is given to an individual who “demonstrates outstanding community service and/or leadership that benefits the Asian American community.”

This is great recognition for Rich's contributions.

Best,

--Gordon

Posted by Esther Steenlage at 09:08 PM | Permalink

The Asian American Studies Department is pleased to announce that Department of Psychology professor Rich Lee has received the Asian American Psychological Association's prestigious K. Patrick Okura Award for community service and leadership.

Posted by hwolff at 03:06 PM | Permalink

Clinical Science doctoral student Lindsay Nelson was chosen by peer review as a 2008 Student Grant Competition Winner. The Student Caucus of the Association for Psychological Science presents awards for research each year. There were four winners of this award, and winning students were given the opportunity to present their research in a session at the 20th Annual APS Convention in May in Chicago. Have a look at http://www.psychologicalscience.org/apssc/awards/grant_2008.cfm for information about Lindsay's research.

Posted by Psychology Department Blogs at 04:42 PM | Permalink

Dear Psychology Colleagues,

Bruce Overmier has a truly honorific summer ahead of him. He is scheduled to receive TWO honorary doctorates. Congratulations Bruce!

On June 18, the University of Montreal will confer an honorary doctorate on Bruce. He will deliver remarks at the university convocation.

On August 29, the University of Bergen (Norway) will confer an honorary degree on Bruce, doctor honoris causa. The award letter reads “ … particular emphasis was placed on your central role in psychological research within fields such as learning studies, memory, stress and psychosomatics, your important contributions to research politics, as well as your long term and valuable cooperation with the University of Bergen.”

We all take great pride in this splendid international recognition of Bruce’s wide ranging contributions to psychological science.

--Gordon

Posted by Esther Steenlage at 04:11 PM | Permalink

Dear Colleagues,
Please join us in congratulating Magdalena Wojtcazk and Christophe Micheyl. Magdalena and Christophe are Research Associates in the Department. Both were approved this week to use the working title of Research Assistant Professor. We are very proud of their records of accomplishment!

Sincerely,
Monica Luciana and Gordon Legge
Chair's Office

Posted by Esther Steenlage at 05:12 PM | Permalink

It's a pleasure for me to tell you that John Campbell is a recipient of the 2008 University-wide award for Outstanding Directors of Graduate Studies. Most of us in Psychology already know of John's enormous contributions over the years to the quality and vitality of our graduate program. It's certainly fitting that the University has now recognized John for this crucial contribution.

Please join me in congratulating John for this splendid recognition.

--Gordon

Posted by Esther Steenlage at 02:58 PM | Permalink

Psychology department chair, Gordon Legge will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the State University of New York (SUNY) on June 1, 2008. Conferral by the Board of Trustees will take place at the commencement ceremonies for the State College of Optometry. This is a high honor given to a select few. As the degree criteria states, “the eminence of the person must be widely recognized by the leaders of the field, which the person may represent.”

Please join us in congratulating Gordon for this extraordinary honor.

Posted by Esther Steenlage at 03:39 PM | Permalink

I'm delighted to tell you that Holly Hatch-Surisook has won a 2007-08 John Tate Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising. This is a highly competitive, university-wide award. Please join me in congratulating Holly on this splendid recognition for "...sustained and substantial contributions to undergraduate education at the University of Minnesota ..."

As most of you know, Holly has played the key role in building our academic advising program. We have a program in which we can take great pride, thanks to Holly's creativity, hard work and commitment. Just think about how many Psychology students have benefited from Holly's advice, and from the input they have received from our excellent advising staff.

We all take pride in this wonderful recognition of Holly's contributions to our department and university.

--Gordon

Posted by Esther Steenlage at 03:10 PM | Permalink

Kristian Markon (MN PhD '07 in CSPR, now a tenure track asst prof at U Iowa in the psychology dept) won the 2008 Tanaka Award for best dissertation from the Association for Research in Personality. This is a highly competitive award, and it's also of note that last year's winner was our newest PIB faculty member, Colin DeYoung.

Posted by Esther Steenlage at 06:39 PM | Permalink

I/O doctoral student Richard Landers was awarded the Castellan Award for the best student paper at the conference of the Society for Computers in Psychology conference in Long Beach, CA, on November 15, for his paper "TREND: A Tool for Rapid Online Research Literature Analysis and Quantification".

Posted by Esther Steenlage at 06:36 PM | Permalink

Dear Psychology Friends,

It's a pleasure for me to tell you that Christophe Micheyl has been elected a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America. Chris is a research associate working with Andrew Oxenham. This is a major mark of distinction for Chris, and recognizes his major contributions to psychoacoustics.

We all congratulate Chris.

--Gordon

Posted by Esther Steenlage at 04:39 PM | Permalink

Dear Psychology Friends,

I'm delighted to report that Bill Iacono has been awarded the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the Society for Psychophysiological Research. He will receive the award at next year's annual meeting, which will be in Austin, TX next October.

We all congratulate Bill for his stellar achievements in psychophysiological research!

--Gordon

Posted by Esther Steenlage at 04:10 PM | Permalink