Find out what made 2016 so sweet, and sometimes bittersweet, at CWRU
We’ve compiled some of this year's stories from the campus of CWRU. These news stories originally ran in The Daily, CWRU's e-newsletter for faculty, staff and students.
In the Spotlight:
- Medicine, physics collaboration wins federal Patent for Humanity Award
- Nursing’s Joyce Fitzpatrick receives rare Living Legend honor
- Two School of Medicine faculty members elected to National Academy of Medicine
- CWRU ranks No. 32 nationally in newest rankings
- Engineering alumnus, PhD student receives Fulbright Award to Finland
- HoloAnatomy app tops Google, Sir David Attenborough to win international science media award
- CWRU receives national award for excellence in diversity and inclusion
- Two School of Medicine students named Fulbright Scholars
- U.S. News & World Report graduate, professional school rankings announced
- Eight CWRU faculty honored as Cleveland’s “Health Care Heroes”
- CWRU wins prestigious national award for campus internationalization
On the Cutting Edge:
- Mt. Sinai Autism Research Fund awards research grants to five CWRU-based pilot projects
- New understanding of neural language gives amputees ability to discern light touch to intense pressure
- Prosthesis research to help TBI and stroke patients receives $1.65 million in Department of Defense funding
- Rape kit research to expand with $3 million from U.S. Department of Justice
- CWRU researchers receive NIH grant renewal to build on progress in understanding Crohn’s disease
- Biomedical engineering postdoctoral researcher awarded Hartwell Fellowship for pediatric cancer research
- Researchers lead team in discovering possible approach to slow growth of certain colon cancers
- School of Medicine professor receives two Innovation Grants in pursuit of HIV cure
- Researchers build a crawling robot from sea slug parts and a 3-D printed body
- CWRU leads effort to replace prostheses with engineered cartilage
- Case Western Reserve University researchers land federal grants
- Drug candidate shrinks tumor when delivered by plant virus nanoparticle
- CWRU receives NIH funding to participate in launch of genomics center on Alzheimer’s disease
- Universities team up to pursue energy innovation
- CWRU receives funding to lead research in energy storage for defense, aerospace industries
- CWRU to develop solar energy solutions, more resilient electrical grid as part of Department of Energy project
- CWRU scientist at nursing school to lead new gene-modifying cystic fibrosis research
On Campus:
- CWRU receives $500,000 state grant for technology start-up fund
- Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Judson Services Inc. create joint program
- State of Ohio awards Case Western Reserve, Cleveland Clinic $1 million grant for educational innovation
- $1 million commitment supports Center for Popular Music Studies
- Residence hall’s new name honors the late alumna Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones
- CWRU launches Medicine, Society and Culture track in bioethics
- Alumnus, former Microsoft COO Bob Herbold commits $1.5 million to graduate student scholarships as new engineering institute takes shape
- CWRU School of Law to offer new executive master’s degree in financial integrity
- After D.C., economics’ Susan Helper brings national experiences to CWRU
- School of Law names first associate dean for diversity
- New School of Law mural showcases Cleveland—and collaboration
In the Community and Around the World:
- Ohio awards new grant to Case Western Reserve University School of Law’s Human Trafficking Project
- CWRU law clinic students play lead role in preparing Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against federal government
- VP Joe Biden highlights Case Comprehensive Cancer Center’s collaborations as critical to Cancer Moonshot
- English’s William Marling publishes book 20 years in the making examining world literature
- CWRU, Cleveland Museum of Art announce innovative landscape project: The Nord Family Greenway
- 5 questions with… organizer of Italian Film Festival USA – Cleveland and senior instructor of Italian, Denise Caterinacci
- CWRU students install solar panels in Namibia, thanks to a Weatherhead professor’s MOOC
- Dental school strikes agreement to train faculty of Saudi Arabian university
- Anthropology, engineering students collaborate on global health issues in Uganda
- Dental school strikes agreement to help Egyptian university improve its curriculum
- Dental students and professionals to provide free care to nearly 400 Cleveland children
- 5 questions with… Food Recovery Network leader Shadi Ahmadmehrabi
- CWRU partners with Women in Manufacturing to produce leadership lab
- School of Law establishes concurrent degree program in China
In Pop Culture and On the Field:
- Four tennis players make it to NCAA Individual Championships
- Emmy Award-winning directors Joe and Anthony Russo to host local screening of Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War
- MythBusters’ Adam Savage comes to Cleveland to inspire innovation, invention and creativity
- CWRU student quartet travels to Texas for prestigious music competition
In Memorium:
- Remembering longtime Weatherhead School Professor Richard L. Osborne
- Thomas J. Knab remembered for bridging divide between art and technology
- CWRU mourns passing of alumnus, longtime faculty member and administrator Arthur P. Leary
- CWRU mourns passing of Kulas Music Library Director Stephen H. Toombs
- University mourns passing of Gregory Graham—alumnus, faculty member, and doctoral student
- Triple alumnus, retired administrator Kenneth L. Kutina passes away
- Remembering undergraduate student Diego Barrera Bayona
- Professor Emeritus of Humanities & Art History Harvey Buchanan dies; tribute to be held at April 22 lecture
- Senior biomedical engineer Henry Wu passes away
- CWRU mourns loss of Pat Kilpatrick, alumna and university’s first female VP
- Remembering pre-med student Donald Harris
Scientist Richard Garwin, architect Frank Gehry awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom
Two members of the Case Western Reserve University community joined Ellen DeGeneres, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jordan, and Bill and Melinda Gates last week, as part of the final class to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama. Richard Garwin (CIT ’47, HON ’16) and Frank Gehry (HON ’13) were among 21 artists, athletes and innovators to receive the award from President Obama. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honor awarded, and is designated for individuals who make significant contributions to “the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”
Garwin was recognized for his scientific contributions to society and work in defense and intelligence technologies throughout a decades-long research career. After graduating from the Case Institute of Technology, Garwin completed his PhD in physics at just 21 years old under the guidance of physicist Enrico Fermi at the University of Chicago. Early in his career, Garwin spent summers at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, where he played a key role in developing the first hydrogen bomb. A longtime scientific adviser and defense researcher, President Obama described Garwin as “an architect of the atomic age.” Garwin has advised nearly every president since Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Beginning in 1958, Garwin consulted the newly established President’s Science Advisory Committee and served as a member of the committee from 1962 to 1965 and 1969 to 1972. In 1952, Garwin began working at IBM’s research laboratory, where he worked on such projects as low-temperature and condensed matter physics and in nuclear magnetic resonance. He later served as the company’s director of applied research, director of the Thomas J. Watson Research Center and an IBM fellow, a position he held from 1967 through his official retirement in 1993. As a fellow, Garwin made contributions to various modern technologies, including touchscreens and laser printing.
Garwin has 47 patents and more than 500 publications to his name. He was elected into the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine, and received the Enrico Fermi Award and National Medal of Science from the U.S. government. Earlier this year, the university awarded Garwin an Honorary Doctor of Science for excellence in his field.
Internationally renowned architect Gehry has left his mark on cityscapes across the world, from the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain to the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. At Case Western Reserve, Gehry designed the Peter B. Lewis Building—known as one of the most architecturally interesting buildings on campus with its swooping angles and stainless steel siding. After the Peter B. Lewis Building at Case Western Reserve University, Gehry went on to design the Peter B. Lewis Science Center at Princeton University.
After the 2010 World Architecture Survey was released, Gehry was dubbed the “most important architect of our age.” Gehry has been recognized for his work with the Pritzker Prize in Architecture, the National Medal of Arts and the Cooper–Hewitt National Design Award for Lifetime Achievement. He, alongside his longtime friend, the late Peter B. Lewis, received honorary doctorates from Case Western Reserve in 2013.
(Photo credits: Getty Image News/Chip Somodevilla)
Final Installment of Our Three-Part Podcast Available in December
The Alumni Association's 2016 Alumni Awards were presented to six accomplished individuals during this year's Homecoming Luncheon: civil rights lawyer Fred Gray, JD (LAW '54, HON '92), self-made businessman and philanthropist Morton Mandel (HON ’07, CWR ’13), Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation and Professor of Artificial Intelligence Tshilidzi Marwala, PhD (CWR '95) of the University of Johannesburg, physician-scientist Aleksandra V. Rachitskaya, MD (MED ’08), lifelong leader and community volunteer Donald Foster (ADL '50), and dedicated alumna Nancy Fink (WRC '73).
While on campus, this year’s Alumni Awards recipients sat down to discuss their achievements. These conversations are featured in a three-part CWRU Spotlight Podcast.
Volunteer Spotlight: Kevin Bracy, Summer on the Cuyahoga
Kevin Bracy (CWR ’93, GRS ’94, computer engineering) of Avon, Ohio, is an active volunteer currently involved with Summer on the Cuyahoga (SOTC), a unique program that combines a summer internship with an immersive, Cleveland-centric experience for select students from Case Western Reserve, Colgate, Cornell, Denison, Ohio Wesleyan, Smith, University of Chicago and Yale.
Describe your volunteer activities through CWRU:
I’m currently involved with SOTC. In the past, I’ve been a member of the Case Alumni Council and over the years have also participated as an [alumni admission] ambassador for CWRU at high school college fairs.
What volunteer activity are you most active/excited about and what is your favorite moment/experience from volunteering?
The most exciting part of volunteering as an alum is meeting the current students and hearing about the wonderful things they are doing. It’s always a very impressive list of activities and accomplishments!
How many hours does this volunteer activity take up per week or month?
SOTC is up and down. At its height, it was 4 hours/month. Most of the year, it’s an hour or less. When I was serving on the CAA council, the time commitment was closer to 4 hours/month with a few more hours required for special events (e.g. scholarship interviews).
How did you first get involved with volunteering?
I don’t remember the exact time when I started. For SOTC, it’s such a great concept and was a way to support both Case and Cleveland that I wanted to get involved. For CAA, I was the beneficiary of a scholarship when I attended Case and I wanted to give back in acknowledgement of the gifts that were given to me.
Why do you continue to volunteer?
It’s a great way to make an impact. The students are amazing and it’s good to get involved to interact and hopefully make an impact on the direction the school and students take.
What would you say to others who are interested in getting involved with this volunteer opportunity?
I’d encourage everyone to participate in a way that is meaningful to you. The rewards of participating will outweigh the costs and you’ll meet many amazing people along the way.
Get more information about Summer on the Cuyahoga
Add Comfort and Joy to Your Holidays with CWRU Alumnus Jim Brickman
The holiday season sparkles as CWRU alumnus Jim Brickman, renowned pianist, songwriter and recording artist, takes his music and charm across the country with his Comfort & Joy tour. In honor of his 20th holiday tour, Brickman will debut original songs for the season plus the hits that made him “America's Piano Sensation.” Joining Brickman will be female vocalist and fellow CWRU alumna Anne Cochran (WRC ‘83), electric violinist Tracy Silverman, and season eight winner of American Idol, Kris Allen.
Alumni in the Cleveland area are cordially invited to Comfort & Joy: A Reception and Concert with Jim Brickman on December 22 at the landmark Severance Hall. This exclusive event begins with a complimentary reception in the Frank Hadley Ginn Suite, immediately followed by a performance.
If you can't make it to Cleveland, catch him on one of this many other tour stops. CWRU alumni are invited to reach out to Jim Brickman's team to meet with him after the show (wendy@jimbrickman.com).
Like a Christmas Villain Whose Heart is Two Sizes Too Small?
On Friday, December 9, CWRU's Center for International Affairs welcomes students, staff, faculty and alumni to Playhouse Square to see Dr. Suess' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical. The discounted event is part of the organization's Cleveland Bucket List.
'Tis the Season to Spend Time with Fellow Alumni...
12.9: Cleveland - Dr. Suess' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical
12.11: Seattle - Holiday Party at Chihuly Garden and Glass
12.22: Cleveland - CWRU Alumnus Jim Brickman's Comfort & Joy performance at Severance Hall
1.10: NYC - New York Alumni and Student Networking Event
1.12: D.C. - Baltimore/D.C. Alumni and Student Networking Event
View the University and Alumni Relations Events Calendar for more upcoming events on campus and around the country.