May 25, 2006

Honors

Paul Greenberger, M.D., professor of medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine, has received a Distinguished Service Award from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

Greenberger received the award in recognition of his service to the academy as a leader of the Education and Research Trust since 1995, as a program director and as a member of the Residency Review Committee.

He also was elected secretary-treasurer of the academy and will be its president in 2009.

Greenberger is a noted researcher in the areas of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, drug allergies, idiopathic anaphylaxis and severe asthma.

He has been a faculty member in the division of allergy/immunology at Feinberg since 1977 and is director of the medical school’s Allergy/Immunology Fellowship Program.

Wei Chen, associate professor of mechanical engineering, has received the Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award from the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International, the premier society dedicated to advancing mobility engineering worldwide.

Chen, along with nine others, received the award during the SAE 2006 World Congress held in April. Established in 1965, the award recognizes outstanding engineering educators and offers them the opportunity to meet and exchange views with practicing engineers in their fields.

Chen’s research focuses on developing rational design methods based on mathematical optimization techniques and statistical methods for use in complex design and manufacturing problems. Her current research includes robust design, decision-based design under uncertainty, response surface modeling, model validation and simulation-based multidisciplinary design.

Janine Spencer, assistant chair of French in the department of French and Italian and director of the Multimedia Learning Center (MMLC), has been named to the Order of the French Academic Palms.

Founded almost 200 years ago by Napoleon Bonaparte, entry is awarded for devotion and accomplishment in teaching, scholarship and research. Spencer was honored for creating Internef, a Web site for the continuing education of American teachers of French, and other activities designed to broaden scholarship and understanding of French culture.

Internef offers opportunities for teachers to improve their language skills and expand their knowledge of French culture as well as encourage them to incorporate new technologies in their teaching practices. Thousands of American teachers and many French instructors around the world have been involved in the project Spencer led.

In 1998, Northwestern’s French program and MMLC were awarded a grant from the French Embassy to develop online teaching units that revolve around videos produced under Spencer’s leadership.