Two Women Scientists Named University Scholars at the Flagship Campus of the University of Illinois

Five University of Illinois professors at the Urbana-Champaign campus have been named University Scholars in recognition of their excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service. Begun in 1985, the program recognizes faculty excellence on the three University of Illinois campuses and provides $15,000 to each scholar for each of three years to enhance his or her academic career. The money may be used for travel, equipment, research assistants, books or other purposes.

Barbara Wilson, the executive vice president and vice president for academic affairs for the University of Illinois System stated that “the University Scholars program honors the best of the best, showcasing the phenomenal research and teaching that transform students’ lives and drive progress for our state and nation.”

Two of the new University Scholars are women.

Karrie Karahalios is a professor of computer science. Dr. Karahalios is an expert in human-computer interaction and social computing. She develops interactive visualizations to examine social interactions – assessing communicative behavior and providing additional information for parents whose children have received an autism diagnosis. She holds a Ph.D. in media arts and sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Nadya Mason is a professor of physics. Her research focuses on how electrons behave in low-dimensional materials. The research is relevant to a variety of technologies including novel nano-electronics and quantum computation. Professor Nadya Mason received her bachelor’s degree in physics from Harvard University in 1995 and earned her doctorate in physics in 2001 from Stanford University.