Gavriel Salvendy joins the ranks of Thomas Edison and Orville Wright

For the first time, a psychologist has earned the engineering profession's highest award: Gavriel Salvendy, PhD, an APA Fellow and professor of industrial engineering at Purdue University and head of the department of industrial engineering at Tsinghua University, in Beijing, has received the 2007 John Fritz Medal from the American Association of Engineering Societies. The award recognizes leadership and technical contributions to human engineering and industrial engineering education, theory and practice.

Past recipients of the award include Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Alfred Nobel and Orville Wright. The award was named for German-born mathematician John Fritz.

Salvendy's areas of research involve human factors and ergonomics, and human aspects of information technology. He is the founding editor of two scientific journals: the International Journal on Human-Computer Interaction and Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing.

The American Association of Engineering Societies is a multidisciplinary organization of engineering societies dedicated to advancing the knowledge, understanding and practice of engineering. Members represent engineers in industry, government and academia.

Payne is named fellow at Texas A&M

In recognition of her work in industral/organizational psychology, the Texas A&M University College of Liberal Arts has named Stephanie C. Payne, PhD, a Ray A. Rothrock '77 Faculty Research Fellow.

These fellowships recognize newly promoted associate professors with three-year awards of $5,000 per year. Payne, an associate professor of psychology, is particularly interested in individual differences, organizational commitment, and the measurement and prediction of efficient behaviors in the workplace. She regularly presents her research at APA's Annual Convention and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and has authored several articles in the field's top journals, including the Journal of Applied Psychology.

Feeney earns Europe's top applied psychology prize

A study on couples' relationships published by Carnegie Mellon University has earned social psychologist Brooke Feeney, PhD, first prize at the inaugural Mind Gym Academic Awards in London—Europe's largest award for applied psychology.

Mind Gym is a British organization devoted to helping people succeed by teaching them to be better thinkers, based on rigorous psychological research. The award included a $12,000 prize.

Feeney's research found that people can cultivate a greater sense of independence in their partners by supporting them—and accepting their dependence—when needed. Over time, the dependent partners become more independent and willing to take healthy risks, knowing they have someone to rely on for support and encouragement. Feeney dubbed this discovery the "dependency paradox" and believes it could have important applications for couples' counseling. The research was published in the February issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

NASA honors Dinges for public service

NASA gave its highest award for nongovernmental personnel to psychologist David F. Dinges, PhD, for his important contributions to the agency's mission.

An internationally recognizedexpert on sleep and circadian biology, Dinges is a professor of psychology in the department of psychiatry, chief of the division of sleep anchronobiology, and director of the unit for experimental psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Dinges also serves as the scientific team leader for the Neurobehavioral and Psychosocial Factors Team of NASA's National Space Biomedical Research Institute, where he works to prevent and counter behavioral problems that develop during prolonged human habitation in space.

Aerospace group honors Collins

The Aerospace Medical Association gave its Louis H. Bauer Founders Award to psychologist William E. Collins, PhD, recognizing his career accomplishments in civil aviation safety as an aeromedical scientist and, later, as director of the Federal AviationAdministration's Civil Aeromedical Institute in Oklahoma City. Collins was inducted into the Oklahoma Aviation and Space Hall of Fame in 2004.

Lieberman is new president of Zero to Three

Alicia F. Lieberman, PhD, has started her three-year term leading Zero toThree, the nonprofit group that supports the healthy development and well-being of infants, toddlers and their families. Lieberman is the Irving B. Harris Endowed Chair of Infant Mental Health at the department of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, where she is also professor and vice chair foracademic affairs.

—D. Schwartz