Jamie D. Aten, PhD, has been awarded the Federal Emergency Management Agency Community Preparedness Champion Award for his work to engage and equip faith communities to prepare for disasters. Aten, a clinical psychology professor at Wheaton College, is founder and co-director of the Humanitarian Disaster Instituteopens in new window. Aten doesn't just study disasters, he has lived them as a survivor of Hurricane Katrina and a late-stage cancer.
Laura L. Carstensen, PhD, is one of 70 new members elected by the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine. The honor recognizes people who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. Carstensen, who directs the Center on Longevity at Stanford University, is best known in academia for socioemotional selectivity theory, a life-span theory of motivation.
The first-ever APA Prize for Interdisciplinary Research has been awarded to Sara J. Czaja, PhD, and her fellow researchers at the Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE). The new award recognizes interdisciplinary research teams that have one or more psychological scientists in major roles and that have produced significant work. Research by Czaja and the CREATE team seeks to ensure that older adults can successfully use technology and realize the potential benefits of technology.
The National Institutes of Health has presented High-Risk, High-Reward Research Awards to three psychologists: Alia Crum, PhD, an assistant professor of psychology at Stanford University; Uri Hasson, PhD, an associate professor in the psychology department at Princeton University; and Nancy Kanwisher, PhD, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The awards recognize creative and exceptional biomedical research. Hasson studies how the brain processes complex information and interacts with the environment. Kanwisher uses brain imaging to look at the brain's functional organization. Crum's research looks at the role of mindset in overcoming chronic disease.
The University of North Carolina Charlotte has presented the Provost's Faculty Award for Community Engagement to psychology professor Ryan Kilmer, PhD, for his work to support children and families involved in public service systems. Among his accomplishments, Kilmer worked to secure funding for quality preK programs in the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools. Kilmer also co-directs the Community Psychology Research Lab.
The Cognitive Neuroscience Society has presented the Fred Kavli Distinguished Career Contributions Award to Yale University psychologist Marcia K. Johnson, PhD, for her distinguished career, leadership and mentoring in the field of cognitive neuroscience.
Five psychologists have won Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Trust awards, which honor those who inspire students to make a difference in their communities. The trust was established in honor of Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman, PhD, one of the first female psychology professors at Columbia University. The 2016 winners are psychologists Lonnie E. Duncan, PhD, of Western Michigan University (deceased, award to be given to Future 4 Teens organization); W. Daniel Hale, PhD, of Johns Hopkins University; William T. Hoyt, PhD, of the University of Wisconsin; Jan Ewing, PhD, of San Diego State University; Geraldine Downey, PhD, of Columbia University; and psychiatrist John S. Strauss, MD, of Yale University.