Clifton E. Dowell, Jr., 79, of Madison, Wis., retired associate professor of Microbiology, died Sept. 22 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.
Born in McKinney, Texas, He attended Texas Christian University and received his doctorate in microbiology from the University of Texas.
Prior to joining the faculty in 1969, he taught at Caltech, Tulane and the University of California, Davis. His research spanned many areas, focusing on the DNA of viruses that infect bacteria.
After his retirement in 1994, he worked with Promega in Madison to produce viruses that could test for safety
Biophysicist Jenny Ross has won one of the top national honors in her field, the 2013 Margaret Oakley Dayhoff Award, from the Biophysical Society of Rockville, Md. It is given to a woman who has achieved prominence for “substantial contributions to science,” while showing very high promise for ideas and leadership in the early stages of her biophysical research career.
Baoshan Xing, professor of environmental and soil chemistry in the Stockbridge School of Agriculture, has been elected a fellow of both the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) and the American Society of Agronomy (ASA).
Members of each society nominate worthy colleagues based on their professional achievements and meritorious service. Only 0.3 percent of each organization’s active and emeritus members may be elected fellows.
The state Department of Public Health’s Western Massachusetts Hospital in Westfield honored associate professor of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning Annaliese Bischoff and alumnus Owen White on Sept. 21 at the grand opening of its therapeutic garden.
Professor Neal Anderson of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department was awarded first place for the Best Oral Conference Paper at the 12th annual Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers International Conference on Nanotechnology (IEEE NANO) held Aug. 20-23 in Birmingham, England.
Richard S. Ellis, professor of Mathematics and Statistics and author of Blinding Pain, Simple Truth: Changing your Life through Buddhist Meditation, received the silver medal in the Meditation/Relaxation category of the Living Now Book Awards on Aug. 23 in Lakeland, Fla.
Biology professor Peg Riley (right) and alumna and astronaut Catherine “Cady” Coleman are among the new class of fellows of the Massachusetts Academy of Sciences (MAS) elected by their peers to its prestigious community of scientists, engineers, research physicians and others who are deeply concerned about science and science education in the Commonwealth.
James D. Capistran, executive director of the UMass Innovation Institute (UMII), has been appointed as a member of the executive committee of the state’s Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative. The appointment was announced Sept. 11 by Gregory P. Bialecki, state secretary of Housing and Economic Development.