Robert R. Birge, PhD ’72, The Harold S. Schwenk, Sr., Distinguished Chair in Chemistry at the University of Connecticut, has won the 2009 Connecticut Medal of Science, the state’s highest honor for scientists. “Dr. Birge’s pioneering work in protein engineering and biomolecular electronics has led to seminal discoveries in the fields of vision, quantum computation, and protein-based data processing,” said Frank W. Ridley, chairman of the Board of Governors for Higher Education. Birge was the first scientist to propose using proteins to store data. A protein-based disk drive that his research group developed in 1982 was the first such memory device ever produced. (See Graduate Notes for further information.)
Ethan Bronner ’76, assistant editorial page editor of the New York Times, delivered the annual Philip Hallie lecture in the College of Letters Lounge at Wesleyan on Sept. 17, 2003. His talk was titled “The Ethical Challenges of Journalism (As Viewed from the New York Times),” and he drew from his own experiences to discuss the ethical dilemmas reporters face in attempting to cover countries where the flow of information is tightly controlled, such as Syria, versus those where information is freely available, such as Israel. A COL graduate himself, he is a Wesleyan trustee and the author of Battle for Justice: How the Bork Nomination Shook America (1989).
Barbara Casey ’71 was honored at the 10th annual Angels in Adoption awards ceremony, held in Washington, D.C. The program is organized by The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute to raise awareness about children, in foster care and orphaned, in need of permanent, loving homes; Senator Arlen Specter nominated Casey, who directs Adoption Associates, LLC, a licensed Pennsylvania adoption agency, and also heads a law firm specializing in adoption issues. She is a fellow of the Pennsylvania Academy of Adoption Attorneys, the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, and Resolve. She earned a master’s degree, as well as a JD, from the University of Pennsylvania.
TriWest Healthcare Alliance, the largest contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense, headquartered in Arizona, named Blake Chaffee ’73 vice president of the Behavioral Health division. He will oversee the administration of the psychological health programs offered in the government’s TriCare System. Chaffee, a former Navy clinical psychologist and widely published author, earned a Ph.D. and a master’s degree in psychology at American University.
Prince Chambliss ’70 was named one of America’s leading litigators by Black Enterprise magazine. Chambliss, a partner with Stokes, Bartholomew, Evans & Petree, in Memphis, Tenn., is a graduate of Harvard Law School, with more than 30 years of litigation and mediation experience. “He has been lead counsel in jury trial verdicts in areas ranging from contractual disputes to class action personal injury suits to insurance and securities fraud,” the magazine notes, in addition to being “the first African American partner of a majority law firm in his state and the first African American president of the Memphis Bar Association.” Other attorneys named in this all-star list include Michele Roberts ’77 and Ted Shaw ’76.
K. Ceajer Chan ’79 was appointed secretary for financial services and the treasury by Chief Executive Donald Tsang for the Hong Kong Ministry. Previously, he had been dean and Professor of Finance for the Business School at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. An economics major at Wesleyan, he earned his doctorate from the University of Chicago.
Lisa Alter ’78 and her daughter, Jordana Alter Confino, the co-founders of Girls Learn International, are National Organization for Women’s 2007 Susan B. Anthony honorees. This award is given to a grassroots activist “who has advanced the cause of women’s rights or improved the lives of women.” A government major while at Wesleyan, Alter received her JD from New York University and, with her daughter, founded GLI in 2004 as a nonprofit service-learning initiative involving American students in the international effort for girls’ education. Chapters in U.S. middle and high schools are paired with partner classrooms in communities in which girls have traditionally been discouraged from pursuing education, and they undertake a variety of educational, communication, advocacy, and outreach projects. (See girlslearninternational.org.)
Eric Asimov ’79, a columnist on food and wine for the Dining In, Dining Out section of the New York Times, has been named chief wine critic. “Eric is an authority in the worlds of wining and dining who has earned the trust of readers and colleagues alike,” said Sam Sifton, dining editor for the newspaper. “He has a rare and wonderful palate, and a big brain filled with memories of wines tasted, spat out, and savored. He has a populist’s touch to explain it.” Asimov is co-author of The New York Times Guide to Restaurants 2004. His previous book, $25 and Under: A Guide to the Best Inexpensive Restaurants in New York, was published annually by HarperCollins from 1995 to 1998.
Paul Mason ’77 was promoted to senior vice president of ABC News, with responsibility for Nightline, This Week, ABC News Radio, World News Now, World News This Morning, and Good Morning America’s news inserts. In addition, Mason will oversee ABC News’ coverage of the political conventions and general election. A 23-year veteran of ABC News, Mason is an Emmy award-winning producer whose credits range from international coverage to investigations for World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, Primetime Live, and 20/20. He was part of the ABC News team that was honored with the George Foster Peabody and Alfred I. DuPont awards for coverage of the 9/11 terror attacks. He holds a master’s degree from the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University.
Elise Bean ’78 was selected as one of this year’s most influential women lawyers in Washington, by the National Law Journal. She was chosen as one of only 33 in this category, based upon reporting over the past year and nominations from the D.C. legal community. Bean is the Democratic staff director and chief counsel of the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The Journal credits Bean and her fellow honorees, which include the two Supreme Court justices, with setting the legal agenda in the nation’s capital. Bean leads a team of Capitol Hill investigators who have explored commodities trading, money laundering, offshore tax evasion, and foreign corruption. Bean has worked for the subcommittee’s chairman, Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), since 1985 and has served as the Democratic staff director since 2003. A Phi Beta Kappa government major at Wesleyan, she earned her J.D. from the University of Michigan.
