Kudos: Excellence in Writing, Research, Athletics, and More

News subtitle

Honors go to Chee, Hicks Pries, Sizochenko, Swann, and Institute for Writing and Rhetoric.

Image
Image
an iron bannister in Baker Library with the letters D and C worked in a fancy script
(Photo by Eli Burakian ’00)
Body

Kudos is an occasional column that recognizes Dartmouth faculty, students, and staff who have received awards or other honors. Did you or a colleague recently receive an award or honor? Please tell us about it: dartmouth.news@dartmouth.edu.

Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing Alexander Chee’s collection of essays, How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, has been named a semi-finalist for a 2019 PEN American Literary Award, one of 10 essays collections to make this year’s longlist for the $10,000 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. Chee—who himself has served as a judge for several prominent literary prizes, including the PEN Open Book Award, the Morning News Tournament of Books, and the 2017 National Book Award in fiction—is the author of two novels, Edinburgh and The Queen of the Night. Finalists for the 2019 PEN awards will be decided in January, and the winners will be announced at a ceremony in New York City on Feb. 26.

***

Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Caitlin Hicks Pries will received the S.A. Wilde Early Career Achievement Award at the 2018 annual meeting of the Soil Science Society of America on Jan. 9 in San Diego. The award recognizes “significant accomplishment in forest, range, or wildland soil research by an individual up to seven years post completion of a terminal degree program,” the society writes, and honors Wilde’s contributions to the evolution of forest soil science during the 20th century. Hicks Pries will deliver a 30-minute oral presentation at the meeting. “I am honored to be recognized for my research thus far, which has focused on how carbon cycling differs throughout entire soil profiles,” Hicks Pries says. “I hope I can inspire others to look beyond the surface soil when investigating soil responses to global change.“

***

Postdoctoral researcher Natalia Sizochenko’s research project, focusing on alternative approaches to animal use while investigating new drugs to treat diseases caused by bacterial infection, has won an international award, the 2018 Lush Prize in the category “Young Researcher—Americas.” Her “award-winning research will not only replace animals, but also address the rising problem of resistance to antibiotics,” the prize organizers said.

***

Isiah Swann ’20 is has been named the defensive Ivy League 2018 football player of the year, receiving the Asa S. Bushnell Cup from the Ivy League and the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame. Princeton quarterback John Lovett earned the honor as offensive player. Swann, an environmental studies major from Queen Creek, Ariz., was chosen twice as the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week during the 2018 campaign, following victories over Georgetown and Holy Cross. The cornerback also recorded 39 tackles, recovered a fumble, and returned one of his interceptions 54 yards for a touchdown in a 41-18 triumph over Yale. “I never thought that something like this could happen, that I could have a season like this past one,” says Swann. “To be a Bushnell winner, it’s an unbelievable feeling.”

***

The Institute for Writing and Rhetoric’s speech program won the national Rex Mix Program of Excellence Award, competitively selected by the Undergraduate College and University Section of the National Communication Association. Assistant Professor Darlene Drummond and Associate Professor Josh Compton accepted the award in Salt Lake City in November.

Office of Communications