News Briefs

Local angle: Bethesda, Md.

Briefs

UNC to host NCAA regional baseball finals;
some roads will close temporarily for games

UNC will host the National Collegiate Athletic Association regional baseball finals June 2-5.

Ridge Road and several campus parking lots will be impacted because of the games.

The section of Ridge Road from Country Club Road by UNC's School of Law to Stadium Drive by Avery and Parker Residence Halls will be closed to through traffic beginning approximately 11:30 a.m. Friday (June 2) and 12:30 p.m. Saturday-Monday (June 3-5). The road will reopen after the games.

The S10 Boshamer Lot, S3 Lot, Lower Ehringhaus K Lot and the S4 Avery Lot will be closed beginning at 6 a.m. Friday (June 2) until 9 p.m. Monday (June 5).

For more information about the games, go to www.tarheelblue.com. For parking questions, call (919) 962-3951.

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UNC's Reed to give keynote speech at workshop
on computing research challenges in biomedicine

Dr. Daniel A. Reed, UNC's vice chancellor for information technology and the Chancellor's Eminent Professor, will be the computer science keynote speaker at the Computing Research Challenges in Biomedicine Workshop.

The workshop, sponsored by the Computing Research Association and the National Institutes of Health, will be June 15 in Bethesda, Md.

The workshop will address the challenges faced by computing and biomedical researchers as they work together. A 2004 National Institutes of Health report noted that computing is essential to progress in biomedicine. Biomedical researchers are having to embrace cutting-edge computing research, and computing researchers are needing to understand current and future biomedical needs.

Reed serves as chair of the board of directors for the Computing Research Association and is a member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

He also directs the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI), a UNC-based partnership with Duke University and North Carolina State University that combines the strengths of the three institutions with the social, business and research opportunities of the Research Triangle Park and the state.

To download a photo of Reed, go to http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/faculty/reed_dan.jpg

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Johnson receives national award
for outstanding young chemists

Dr. Jeffrey S. Johnson, assistant professor of chemistry at UNC, has been named a 2006 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar.

The national award recognizes outstanding research accomplishments and demonstrated excellence in teaching by young faculty in the chemical sciences. The $75,000 award is given by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, which was created in 1946 to promote the chemical sciences.

Johnson came to UNC in 2001. His research involves developing efficient methods for the preparation of complex organic molecules.

Among his many accolades are a 3M Nontenured Faculty Award, UNC's Junior Faculty Development Award, a Lilly Grantee Award from Eli Lilly and Co. and a Johnson and Johnson Focused Giving Award, a grant given to advancement of medical research technology.

He also received a GlaxoSmithKline Scholar Award and a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, which supports early career development of teacher-scholars who are likely to become leaders in their area of research.

Johnson, a synthetic organic chemist, also received the 2006 Ruth and Phillip Hettleman Prize for Artistic and Scholarly Achievement at UNC, which recognizes the achievements of outstanding junior tenure-track faculty or recently tenured faculty.

Johnson earned his bachelor's degree with highest distinction in chemistry from the University of Kansas in 1994 and a doctorate in organic chemistry from Harvard University in 1999. Before coming to UNC, he was a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley.

To download a photo of Johnson, go to http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/faculty/johnson_jeff3.jpg

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UNC's Harris receives national award
for innovative work in career services

Marcia Harris, who directs University Career Services at UNC, has been selected to receive the 2006 Outstanding Achievement Award for Innovative Programs in the Career Services Field.

The award, given annually by the National Association of Colleges and Employers and the Chevron Corporation, was presented to Harris at the association's national meeting this week in Anaheim, Calif. Harris also received a plaque and $1,000.

Harris was honored for introducing to UNC's Web site Optimal Resume-College Version, an online resume creation tool. The program guides students through the process of creating a resume and allows UNC staff and job recruiters to review resumes more quickly.

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Information Technology Services contact: Beth Millbank, (919) 843-9201 or beth_millbank@unc.edu
News Services contact: Lisa Katz, (919) 962-2093 or lisa_katz@unc.edu