UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Eberly College of Science has selected five alumni to be honored with the Outstanding Science Alumni Award for 2024. The Board of Directors of the Eberly College of Science Alumni Society established this award to recognize alumni who have a record of significant professional achievements in their field and who are outstanding role models for students in the college. The winners were presented with an award during an event held on the University Park campus on April 4.

Recipients of this year’s award:

• Randal R. Betz, 1973 bachelor of science degree in premedicine
• W. Howard Cyr, 1966 master of science degree and 1972 doctoral degree, both in biophysics
• Maria Demaree Hutchinson, 1990 bachelor of science degree in computer science
• Rashid S. Njai, 2000 bachelor of science degree in biology
• Mitchell Weiss, 1980 bachelor of science degree in biophysics

Randal R. Betz

Randal R. Betz is a pediatric spine surgeon with the Institute for Spine & Scoliosis in Princeton and New Brunswick, New Jersey. He was previously on the staff at the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Philadelphia, where he served as the chief of staff from 2000 to 2012 and was the medical director of the Spinal Cord Injury Program from 1983 to 2014. He is board certified in both orthopedic surgery and spinal cord injury medicine.

Betz became a member of the Scoliosis Research Society in 1986 and served as education committee chair. He started the International Meeting on Advanced Spinal Techniques in 1994. He proposed the initiation of the SRS Traveling Fellowship in 1990. He served as the senior mentor for the Scoliosis Research Society Traveling Fellows in 2013. He also served as president of the Scoliosis Research Society in 2005. He has been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Scoliosis Research Society, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Spinal Injury Association, and the A. Estin Comarr Memorial Award for Clinical Service from the American Paraplegia Society.

Betz co-founded several multi surgeon pediatric spine clinical study groups, including the Harms Study Group and the Children’s Spine Study Group.

He is married to Betsey Betz and has four children and 13 grandchildren. He enjoys fishing, golf, skiing, and sharing time with family.

W. Howard Cyr

As a doctoral candidate in biophysics at Penn State from 1965 to 1970, W. Howard Cyr envisioned a career as a radiation biologist. By the time he retired in 2007, he had completed laboratory research and scientific reviews in areas he never anticipated, including cancer risk assessments, sterilization of medical devices, and the photobiological effects of ultraviolet radiation from sun lamps.

As a senior research biophysicist at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Cyr was part of an AIDS-related research team that determined that latex condoms are the most effective barrier to viruses. He and David Lytle, also a Penn State graduate, were awarded a U.S. patent for the test device, which they used in experiments. Cyr also assisted a friend in writing articles for the gay community of Washington about this research and about new discoveries presented at the International Conferences on AIDS. Later in his career, he led a group to monitor three laboratory studies, sponsored by the FDA, designed to re-evaluate the safety of cell phone emissions. They determined that the small amount of thermal heating generated by cell phones does not cause adverse health effects.

Cyr joined the FDA as a commissioned officer of the U.S. Public Health Service in 1974. In 2012, he received the FDA Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Award. He also served on the Alumni Society Board of Penn State’s Graduate School for six years. He resides in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, with his husband. 

Maria Demaree Hutchinson

Maria Demaree Hutchinson has been a part of Lockheed Martin for over 30 years. She is currently the vice president and general manager of the National Security Space line of business at Lockheed Martin Space. She leads a workforce of over 7,500 team members while managing a $6 billion-plus customer portfolio.

Within Lockheed Martin Space, Hutchinson is a proven thought leader in software-defined satellite architectures, joint all-domain command and control, software factory and digital transformation and remote workforce initiatives. Moreover, she is an ardent advocate of digital and business transformation, workforce engagement, technology methods evolution and integration (Agile, artificial intelligence, cyber), and embodies an unwavering commitment to the customer mission.

Hutchinson is passionate about developing the next-generation workforce across the space industry and is ardent advocate for diversity and inclusion as well as women in STEM. She has served on the corporation’s Executive Inclusion Council, as chairman of the Zeta Associates Board of Directors, on the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, on the National Space Security Association, and with the Colorado Chamber of Commerce.

Hutchinson was spotlighted on the 2023 Executive Mosaic Wash100 list and the 2018 FedScoop’s Top Women in Tech list. She is also a March of Dimes Heroine in Technology Lifetime Achievement award recipient.

Rashid S. Njai

Rashid Njai is a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Public Health Service, where he serves as lead for the Minority Health and Health Equity Science Team at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office of Health Equity. He holds a doctorate and master of public health degree from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, where he was both a W.K. Kellogg Health Policy Fellow and an American Psychological Association Doctoral Fellow. His public health credentials are complemented by a master’s degree in social work from Boston University’s School of Social Work, Clinical Track. 

Njai’s accomplishments include co-creating a dynamic ecosystem to enhance non-profit impact assessment through UPHOLD, a venture he founded to support community wellness and amplify the impact of community serving organizations. He champions work focused on the epidemiology of mental and physical health disparities among disproportionately affected populations, as they relate specifically to the social determinants of health, social behavioral resiliency and wellness. 

Njai’s accolades include a Commendation Medal from the United States Public Health Service, commencement speaker at the University of Michigan's School of Public Health, the National Minority Quality Forum's 40 Under 40 Leaders in Health Award, and recognition for his contributions to emergency response efforts during the West Africa Ebola outbreak. Njai has a passion for helping individuals develop achievable personal wellness plans and realize visionary career goals as well as working with organizations to create strategies that redefine their workplace culture.

Mitchell Weiss

Mitchell Weiss is a physician-scientist who cares for pediatric patients with blood diseases and performs related laboratory research. In addition to his Penn State degree, he also holds doctorates in medicine and philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He also completed postgraduate training in pediatrics and pediatric hematology at Boston Children’s Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and Harvard University.

He served on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for 15 years and rose to the rank of professor of pediatrics with tenure. In 2014, he became chairman of the hematology department at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Weiss’ research focuses on understanding the biology of blood development and adapting modern genome-engineering tools to treat genetic blood disorders. He is currently leading a team of scientists and physicians in a project to treat sickle cell disease by using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing to modify blood forming cells. He has published over 170 original research papers and has been funded continually by the National Institutes of Health since 2002.

He has mentored more than 40 trainees, most of whom have progressed to higher learning and productive careers in academia or industry. Weiss’ mission as hematology chairman at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is to facilitate cutting-edge basic, translational, and clinical research, foster faculty and trainee development, and promote outstanding clinical care for patients with classical hematology disorders.