Eight Women in Academia Who Have Received Notable Honors or Awards

Jennifer L. W. Carter, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, has been named the 2019 Young Leaders International Scholar by the Metals, Minerals, and Materials Society (TMS) and the Federation of European Materials Societies (FEMS). TMS and FEMS established this joint award to strengthen collaboration between their organizations. TMS identifies one or more young leaders to travel to the FEMS meeting to present a paper. The chosen international scholar also spends a few days visiting select industrial facilities, research labs or universities. On their return, they write an article about their experiences for their host organization’s publication.

Dr. Carter holds a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from Ohio State University.

Johnetta Betsch Cole, former president of Spelman College in Atlanta and Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina, is the recipient of the Rosa Parks Award from the American Association for Access, Equity, and Diversity. The award honors an individual who is a role model and leader for others through his or her personal achievements, excellence in a chosen field; commitment to human, civil rights and social issues and contributions to the betterment of society.

Dr. Cole is a graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio where she majored in sociology. She holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. both in anthropology from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Rebecca Wright, the Druckenmiller Professor of Computer Science at Barnard College in New York City, has been named the recipient of the 2019 Distinguished Service Award from the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Algorithms and Computation Theory. She is honored for her extraordinary service to the theoretical computer science community and beyond.

Dr. Wright is a graduate of Columbia University where she double majored in computer science and mathematics. She holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. both in computer science from Yale University.

Amy Blackstone, a professor in the Margaret Chase Policy Center and Department of Sociology at the University of Maine, is the recipient of the Feminist Activism Award from Sociologists for Women in Society. Her research focuses on childlessness and the childfree choice, workplace harassment, and civic engagement. She is the author of Childfree by Choice: The Movement Redefining Family and Creating a New Age of Independence (Dutton, 2019).

Dr. Blackstone is a graduate of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.

Tressie McMillan Cottom, an assistant professor in the department of sociology in the College of Humanities and Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University, is the recipient of the Doris Entwisle Early Career Award from the American Sociological Association. The biennial award honors an early career scholar in the field of sociology of education who has demonstrated exceptional achievement that has advanced knowledge in the field. Dr. Cottom is a leading expert in the study of inequality, work, higher education, and technology. She is the author of Lower Ed: The Troubling Rise of For-Profit Colleges in the New Economy (The New Press, 2017), and Thick: And Other Essays (The New Press, 2019).

Dr. Cottom holds a Ph.D. from Emory University in Atlanta.

East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania has dedicated the Dr. Jane Huffman Wildlife Genetics Institute in honor of its founder, Jane Huffman, a former Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences who passed away in 2017. Dr. Huffman began her career at the university in 1986 and retired in 2015. She was dedicated to serving students studying biological sciences, particularly those in wildlife microbiology and parasitology. In 2005, she supported the university’s efforts to develop The Northeast Wildlife DNA Laboratory. She also served two years as the president of the Pennsylvania Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Huffman held a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree both from the University of Connecticut, and a Ph.D. in microbiology from Rutgers University-Newark.

Megan Pfitzinger Lippe, an assistant professor and simulation specialist in the Capstone College of Nursing at the University of Alabama, has received the Hospice & Palliative Nurses Association’s New Investigator Award. The award honors the work of an individual in the beginning of his or her research career who has done quality research focused on clinical care, professional development, or advancement of palliative nursing. Dr. Lippe’s research focuses on palliative and end-of-life care education.

Dr. Lippe holds a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and a Ph.D. in nursing from the University of Texas.

Mary Atwater, a professor in the mathematics and science education department in the College of Education at the University of Georgia, has received the 2019 Distinguished Contributions to Science Education Through Research Award from the National Association for Research in Science Teaching. The award recognizes an individual whose research has made outstanding and continuing contributions and whose leadership has made a substantial impact in the area of science education.

Dr. Atwater is a graduate of Methodist University in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where she majored in chemistry. She holds a master’s degree in physical organic chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Ph.D. in science education with a minor in chemistry from North Carolina State University.