Awards
Penn State Intercom......March 29, 2001

Assistant professor is
honored with NSF award

Rick O. Gilmore, assistant professor of psychology, is the recipient of a National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Award for research in spatial perception in early infancy.

Gilmore, head of the Brain Development Laboratory in the Department of Psychology, is principal investigator on the five-year project, which was awarded $394,070.

The program is a foundationwide initiative that offers NSF's most prestigious awards for junior faculty.

The NSF research project will examine how spatial perception and action planning develop in early infancy and what factors influence their development. It will study how infants develop the ability to perceive where their bodies are located in space and which way they are moving. This information is crucial for maintaining balance, crawling and walking. The research will provide data that does not currently exist about how these abilities are related to changes in vision that occur early in life.

In addition, the educational activities in the research project will provide students with the latest methods for planning and carrying out research in developmental cognitive neuroscience, the field that studies how the mind and brain develop.

Gilmore is the author of several articles and book chapters, and his book, Brain Development and Cognition: A Reader, second edition, with M.H. Johnson and Y. Munakata is forthcoming. He received his bachelor of arts in cognitive science from Brown University and his master of science and doctorate degrees in psychology from Carnegie Mellon University.

Commission for Women
honors several

At its annual spring banquet, the Commission for Women awarded the Rosemary Schraer Mentor Award to Billie S. Willits, assistant vice president for Human Resources. Willits, who has been with Penn State since 1989, is responsible for management of all aspects of human resources, including training and development, employment and compensation, benefits, wellness and labor relations at all University locations.

The award, created in memory of Rosemary Schraer, former associate provost for Penn State, honors a current University employee who has excelled in helping others to recognize and achieve their potential professionally and personally. Schraer, who died in 1992, joined the University in 1959 as a faculty member in the Eberly College of Science and through her 26-year tenure, was noted for her mentoring abilities. In 1985, she accepted a position as executive vice chancellor and then chancellor of the University of California, Riverside. The award recognizes individuals who have advised, facilitated, encouraged or paved the way for others.

The commission also recognized Achieving Women at the banquet. These women are honored for their leadership and mentoring activities. From the more than 70 nominations received, 14 were chosen to be honored.

The winners are: Jerusha Achterberg, undergraduate student, Department of Anthropology and Schreyer Honors College; Annina Burns, undergraduate student, Department of Nutrition and Schreyer Honors College; Renee Diehl, professor, Department of Physics; Audrey Elion, graduate student, Department of Counseling Psychology; Carolyn Fisher, director of human resources, Auxiliary and Business Services; Kenya Goins, graduate student, Department of Environmental Engineering; M. Kathleen Heid, professor-in-charge of mathematics education, Department of Curriculum and Instruction; Nancy Ellen Kiernan, program evaluator, Office of the Director of Cooperative Extension and associate dean; Laura Maney, groundskeeper, landscape, Office of Physical Plant; Marylouise Martz, coordinator of student health services, Penn State Harrisburg; Janis Smith, coordinator of research initiatives, Office of the Vice President for Research; Anne Stover, administrative assistant, Department of Physics; Mary Judith Tevethia, professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology; and Lois Weaver, resident utility worker, Office of Physical Plant.

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