Subscribe to LSUWire
Send this to a friend
| Subscribe to LSUWire
|
|
Send this to a friend
|
| BATON ROUGE -- Receiving career recognition for decades of outstanding research, LSU professors Steven A. Soper and Robert C. Mathews will be named Distinguished Research Masters in a May 14 ceremony at the LSU Faculty Club. The annual awards are given in two categories: engineering, science and technology, and arts, humanities and social sciences. Each winner receives an annualized salary supplement and the University Medal, the highest mark of distinction at LSU. Steven Soper, the William L. and Patricia Senn Jr. professor of chemistry and professor of mechanical engineering, pursues research in biomedical technology, particularly the creation of miniaturized systems for identifying genetic mutations, important in molecular diagnostics and DNA forensics. Soper directs the Center for BioModular Multi-Scale Systems, a collaborative research effort spread over five universities in Louisiana and funded by the Louisiana Board of Regents and the National Science Foundation. The center supports the Human Genome Initiative by designing tools for diagnosing diseases including breast and colorectal cancers, sickle cell anemia and cystic fibrosis. An early proponent of the university’s synchrotron facility, the Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices, or CAMD, Soper utilizes its unique capabilities to build biological microelectromechanical systems, or BioMEMS, a technology that may revolutionize medicine and DNA forensics. Soper received his Ph.D. in 1989 at the University of Kansas and conducted post-doctorate research at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Human Genome Center. After coming to LSU in 1991, he secured numerous high-profile federal and state grants totaling more than $30 million, resulting in more than 200 publications and several startup companies, an unmatched accomplishment in the LSU College of Basic Sciences. Dean of the College of Basic Sciences, Kevin Carman, calls Soper’s ability to generate research and lead interdisciplinary teams “simply outstanding,” citing his ability to recognize important research problems, motivate team members and communicate these strengths to federal funding agencies. Robert Mathews is professor of psychology and founder and head of the LSU Department of Psychology’s cognition and development doctoral program. He is also director of research for the department and co-director of the Office of Applied Cognition. He is currently the human subjects administrator for LSU, responsible for the safety of all participants in university research. Mathews received his Ph.D. in 1976 at Yale University and came to LSU immediately thereafter. He specializes in the phenomenon of implicit learning, or the acquisition of knowledge through experience without conscious intent to learn. He was among the first to identify the characteristics of this mode of learning and apply them in the laboratory setting. Among other implications, Mathews’ experimental research proves that implicit learning can be consciously accessed; that it can be generalized to new situations; and that it can be more effective in some situations than explicit learning. These findings have broad application to education and workforce development, as reflected by the diversity of agencies supporting Mathews’ research and the spectrum of more than 50 journals and books in which his research is published. Speaking in support of Mathews’ nomination, University of Missouri cognitive psychologist Michael Stadler describes Mathews’ career achievements as “groundbreaking, creative, wide-ranging and influential.” Recipients of the Distinguished Research Master award are selected by the Council on Research, an advisory body of LSU faculty and administrators. Also honored at the May ceremony will be the 2007 recipients the Distinguished Dissertation Awards, given in recognition of exceptional graduate research and scholarship. -30- Matt Mullenix Office of Research and Economic Development 225-578-5841 |
 |  |  |
|