The Franklin Institute has presented its Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science to Paul Slovic, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of Oregon and a pioneer in the field of decision science. Slovic studies decision-making during times of risk, including the type of apathy people develop when confronted with an overwhelming crisis. He is also the co-founder and president of Decision Research, a nonprofit organization that conducts basic and applied research on decision-making.
The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) has presented its Innovation Award to Florida State University psychologist Amy L. Ai, PhD. The prize honors scholars who have advanced the field of traumatic stress. The society honored Ai for her interdisciplinary research, which focuses on trauma, resilience, existential crises, and positive psychology; uses mixed-methods; and covers diverse populations and events. The award also honors her seminal book, Assessing Spirituality in a Diversified World.
The University of Louisville has presented this year’s $100,000 Grawemeyer Award in Psychology to Terrie Moffitt, PhD, for her insights on antisocial behavior in youth, which have changed the way courts prosecute juveniles. Moffitt is on the faculty at Duke University and King’s College, London. Her research identified two distinct types of antisocial behavior in juveniles—one that persists from early childhood to adulthood, is relatively rare, and seen mostly in men, and another that occurs as a part of normal adolescent development and is seen in both men and women.
Geoffrey T. Fong, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of Waterloo and senior investigator at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research has been appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest honors. Fong is the founder and chief principal investigator of the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project, heading a team of more than 150 researchers across 31 countries in studying the effectiveness of the tobacco control policies of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The global treaty calls upon 181 countries to implement measures such as smoke-free laws, anti-smoking campaigns, and limits on tobacco advertising.
The University of Maryland, College Park, has named psychologist Karen M. O’Brien, PhD, as the faculty ombuds officer, as which she will guide faculty and administrators on resolving workplace conflict. O’Brien has been a member of the Maryland faculty for more than 25 years and has served as the associate chair for undergraduate studies in the psychology department since 2018.
The University of Pennsylvania has established the Robert A. Rescorla Undergraduate Research Fellows Endowed Fund in memory of emeritus psychology professor Robert A. Rescorla, PhD, who passed away in March 2020. Rescorla’s wife, Shirley A. Steele, made a gift to the university to establish the fund. It will support research by undergraduates participating in Penn’s MindCORE summer fellowship program, which pairs students with mentors to conduct research on the mind.