People Notes June 2022

Ideas

Max Fu, F23, Qi Qi, F17, a doctoral student in economics and public policy and Fletcher School predoctoral research fellow, and Priyanka Upreti, F23, wrote blogs about Fletcher alumni Mathew Lee, A18, F19, Zerin Osho, F18, and Kartikeya Singh, FG17, for the CIERP/CPL AAPI Heritage Month Blog Series in the Climate Policy Lab blog, Community Voices.

Kelly Sims Gallagher, professor of energy and environmental policy and academic dean at The Fletcher School, led a session on climate cooperation after the energy crisis for the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) that included the former U.S. special envoy for climate change, the current ambassador at large for climate diplomacy for the European Union, the president and CEO of Energy Foundation China, and the head of secretariat for clean energy for an international energy agency.

Justin Hollander, A96, professor in the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning (UEP), wrote an op-ed calling for free public higher education in the Bay State Banner.

Amy Myers Jaffe, research professor and managing director of the Climate Policy Lab at The Fletcher School, was a keynote speaker at the annual Hawaii Energy Conference. The conference’s theme was “Electrification: Where are we now? What does the future hold?”

Seth Owusu-Mante, F21, Fletcher School junior research fellow, wrote “Chain Effect: Industrial Energy Policy in Africa in an Era of Captive Power - Aligning Energy Policies with Industrial Development Goals in Developing Economies: A Case Study of Ghana and Kenya” in EnergyNet Limited.

Monica Duffy Toft, Fletcher School professor of international politics and director of the Center for Strategic Studies, and Jayashri Lokarajan, F21, wrote the policy brief “Climate Change-Induced Disrupting Threats and US National Security” for Climate Policy Lab.

Abay Yimere, Fletcher School postdoctoral scholar, co-wrote “Current and Future Irrigation Water Requirement and Potential in the Abbay River Basin, Ethiopia” in Sage Journals.

Kudos

Alexandra Chreiteh, Mellon Bridge Assistant Professor of Arabic Studies, was named a Berlin Prize Fellow by the American Academy in Berlin. The Berlin Prize is awarded annually to American or U.S.-based scholars, writers, composers, and artists who represent the highest standards of excellence in their fields. With the fellowship, Chreiteh will work on Sweetmeats, a novel and fiction podcast in Arabic. Set in a border town between Lebanon and Syria on the cusp of the Syrian revolution, the project probes the relationships between gender and labor, global migration and ecological disaster, and mounting nationalism and domestic violence, tracing the intricacies of becoming a stranger in one’s home and one’s own body. Additionally, she will work with refugee actors and artists in Berlin and hopes to begin her first novel in English.

Nick Dorian, a doctoral candidate in biology, was named a 2022 American Society of Naturalists (ASN) Student Research Award recipient. Awards are presented to student members whose research advance the goals of the American Society of Naturalists, namely the conceptual unification of ecology, evolution, or behavior.

Scott K. Epstein, M84, A15P, professor of medicine and medical director of the physician assistant program at Tufts University School of Medicine, has been honored by the Massachusetts Medical Society as the 2022 recipient of the Grant V. Rodkey Award, an honor recognizing a Massachusetts physician for outstanding contributions to medical education and medical students.

Fresh at Carm won the 2022 Gold Loyal E. Horton Residential Dining Facility Award by the National Association of College and University Food Services. The award celebrates innovative ideas in college and university culinary arts. Since March 2021, Fresh at Carm, the rebranded Carmichael Dining Center, does not serve food containing gluten, peanuts, or tree nuts, creating an environment that lets students with food allergies have the same mealtime experience as those who don’t. Read more on Tufts Now.

Erin Kelly, professor of philosophy, was a co-winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Biography for Chasing Me to My Grave, in which she helped the late Winfred Rembert tell his life story of growing up in the Jim Crow South.

Freeden Blume Oeur, associate professor of sociology, won the American Sociological Association’s Section on Children and Youth Distinguished Early Career Award.

Edward Saltzman, academic dean at Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, received the 2022 Excellence in Nutrition Education Award from the American Society for Nutrition Foundation.

The Science and Engineering Complex (SEC) on the Medford campus was recognized by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment as a recipient of a 2022 COTE Top Ten Award, the industry’s best-known award program for sustainable design excellence. Each year, 10 innovative projects are recognized by the AIA for their integration of design excellence with environmental performance. The SEC was honored for its innovative teaching and research space that supports cross-departmental collaborations in an environmentally responsible manner.

Ayanna Thomas, professor of psychology and dean of research for the School of Arts and Sciences, was elected as an Association for Psychological Science board member. Thomas will serve a three-year term as a board member-at-large.

Tufts School of Engineering awarded its 2022 Dean’s Medals to Asad Madni, H22, and Brett Boghigian, E07, EG10. The Dean’s Medal is a way to honor and celebrate Tufts alumni, volunteers, and friends, and is the only medal awarded by deans of the individual schools within Tufts. The Dean’s Medal are awarded to show appreciation for loyal service, to acknowledge major contributions, to honor those whose ideas or discoveries have been important to the university and academic fields, or to recognize any other actions that benefit a school of the university.

Tufts University was honored for its leadership in sustainability at the second annual Casella Sustainability Leadership Award Ceremony. This award represents a commitment to creating a better tomorrow and showcases the grit, drive, and determination that has led award recipients down their own individual sustainability paths. Tufts, along with six other winners, were selected out of dozens of qualifying nominations including municipalities, colleges and universities, community organizations, industrial manufacturers, food and beverage producers, and more. Tufts was recognized for its campus-wide sustainability priorities over the past few years, establishing itself as an innovative leader for higher education institutions. These initiatives include specialty recycling for film, foam, and textiles, move-out donation days, and the Tufts Eco-Rep Program in which over a dozen students support sustainability in the residence halls.

Alexander Vilenkin, Leonard Jane Holmes Bernstein Professor of Evolutionary Science, was inducted to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) after being elected to join the NAS in 2020. NAS membership is a widely accepted mark of excellence in science and is considered one of the highest honors that a scientist can receive. Members are elected to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their distinguished and achievements in original research.