Six Women Scholars Who Have Been Recognized With Prestigious Honors or Awards

Laura Haas, dean of the College of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, is the recipient of the IEEE Computer Society’s 2019 Computer Pioneer Award. The award recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to early concepts and developments in the electronic computer field that have clearly advanced the state of the art in computing. Dr. Haas is honored for her pioneering innovations in the architecture of federated databases and in the integration of data from multiple, heterogeneous sources.

Dr. Haas is a graduate of Harvard University. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas.

Kristy Edmunds, executive and artistic director of the Center for the Art of Performance at the University of California, Los Angeles, has been named the inaugural recipient of the Berresford Prize from United States Artists. The $25,000 prize will be given annually to honor a cultural practitioner who has significantly contributed to the advancement, well-being, and care of artists in society.

Edmunds holds a bachelor’s degree in film direction from Montana State University and a master’s degree in playwriting and theater direction from Western Washington University.

Carolina Lavoie, associate professor of landscape architecture and environmental planning at Utah State University, has received the 2019 Council of Education in Landscape Architecture (CELA) Faculty Award of Excellence in Design Studio Teaching at the Senior Level. The award recognizes an individual’s ability to direct design studio projects that demonstrate outstanding quality and/or emphasize the critical thinking and creative process.

Professor Lavoie holds a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Montreal.

Muyinatu Bell, an assistant professor in the Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, has been named Outstanding Young Engineer by the Maryland Academy of Sciences and the Maryland Science Center. Since 1988, the award has recognized and celebrated the extraordinary contributions of young Maryland engineers. Dr. Bell was honored for her pioneering and innovation contributions to the field of photoacoustic-guided surgery.

Dr. Bell is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she majored in mechanical engineering with a minor in biomedical engineering. She holds a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Duke University.

Michele McDonnall, a research professor and director of the National Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision at Mississippi State University, has received the Corinne Kirchner Research Award from the American Foundation for the Blind. The award honors individuals whose leadership and dedication illuminate the most pressing needs of people with vision loss through timely, innovative, and authoritative research.

Dr. McDonnall holds a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University, a master’s degree from Mississippi State University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas.

Jeanine Basinger, the Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies and special advisor to the president at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, has had a studio at South Dakota State University named in her honor. The South Dakota Public Broadcasting Jeanine Basinger Studio is located on the university’s Brookings campus.

Professor Basinger holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree both from South Dakota State University.