University Communications at UC Davis recently brought home three awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District VII conference in San Francisco.

Lisa Lapin, assistant vice chancellor for University Communications, received the Rising Star Award. Lapin, a former newspaper reporter and editor, was recognized for her prolific accomplishments in higher education that distinguish her as a future leader in the profession. In particular, she was cited for her innovation, professionalism and leadership in communication.

University Communications also won two silver medal awards at the regional conference for its redesign of the UC Davis home page and for the campus's annual report. The Web site redesign was accomplished through the work of a large cross-campus team led by Web developer Craig Farris and content editor Susanne Rockwell of University Communications. The annual report resulted from a team effort led by editor Teri Bachman and designer Jay Leek of University Communications.

Carole Hom, a professor and academic coordinator, received the UC Davis Academic Federation's 33rd James H. Meyer Distinguished Achievement Award on Dec. 1. The award is presented to Academic Federation members with a distinguished career in research or public service. As an academic coordinator in the evolution and ecology department, she mentors undergraduate and graduate students. She is also the coordinator for the Integrative Graduate Education Research Traineeship, a $2.6 million interdisciplinary research program aimed at training graduate students to examine the science of biological invasions.

The Modern Language Association recently announced that the third Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for Italian Studies will be presented this year to Raymond Waddington, professor of English, for his book "Aretino's Satyr: Sexuality, Satire, and Self-Projection in Sixteenth-Century Literature and Art," published by the University of Toronto Press. This prize is awarded biennially for an outstanding book by a member of the association in the field of Italian literature or comparative literature involving Italian. It will be presented at the MLA's Annual Convention in Washington, D.C., on Dec 28.

On Nov. 17, the Catholic University presented the Order of Merit Gabriela Mistral award to history professor Arnold Bauer. It is the highest recognition that the Chilean government gives to Chileans and foreigners who have stood out in the areas of culture and education. Bauer has studied many aspects of Central and South America throughout his career and has published a number of works focusing on Chilean rural labor. He recently completed his second turn as study center director in Santiago, Chile, for the UC Education Abroad Program.

Charles Fadley, distinguished professor of physics at UC Davis and senior faculty scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, recently collected two prestigious awards. At a ceremony in Boston Nov. 2, he was presented with the Medard W. Welch Award, the highest honor bestowed by the American Vacuum Society. Fadley has also received a Helmholtz-Humboldt Award, which promotes university research collaborations in government laboratories and universities in Germany.

The Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation presented Professor Bill Hing of the School of Law with its Heritage Award during a ceremony on San Francisco Bay. The award recognizes a descendant of station detainees who has made an outstanding contribution to society. Hing, who has written about his parents' experience on the island, was cited for his long career in teaching, writing and volunteering in the immigrant-rights field.

The Paris Geophysical Institute has awarded Donald Turcotte, professor of geology, the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa in recognition of his contributions to geosciences and his longstanding links with the institute. Turcotte was presented with the honorary degree at a ceremony in Paris in November. This is only the second time in the institute's history that such degrees have been conferred. Turcotte is one of seven to receive the institute's award this year.

Ryosuki Motani, assistant professor in the Department of Geology, has been awarded the Gakujutsu Prize from the Palaeontological Society of Japan. The prize recognizes academic achievements by young paleontologists. Motani studies extinct marine reptiles, especially the dolphin-like icthyosaurs.

Warren Pickett, professor in the Department of Physics, has been awarded a Humboldt Research Award by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany. The foundation grants about 100 of the awards, worth up to 75,000 euros (about $90,000) each, per year to enable internationally recognized researchers to carry out joint projects with colleagues in Germany. Pickett is spending 2005-06 on sabbatical leave in Germany where he will work with colleagues at the Max Planck Institute in Stuttgart, and the Leibnitz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research in Dresden, on magnetism and superconductivity in complex materials.

Marya Welch, a pioneer in establishing women's athletics at UC Davis, was honored in Kansas City, Mo., with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators. Welch was one of five women nationally presented with the honor, which recognizes athletic administrators who are advancing women in sport.

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers has awarded its 2005 Machine Design Award to Bahram Ravani, professor of mechanical and aeronautical engineering. The award recognizes eminent achievement or distinguished service in the field of machine design, including research, development and teaching. Ravani is also associate director of the Advanced Highway Maintenance and Construction Technology Center at UC Davis.

Mark Van Horn, director of the UC Davis Student Farm, recently received the International Agricultural Development Appreciation Award from students in that major. The award honors individuals who contribute both to students' individual achievement and to the development of excellence in international agricultural development education.

Peter Lindert, an economic historian, recently won two book awards for his 2004 book, "Growing Public: Social Spending and Economic Growth since the Eighteenth Century." The Social Science History Association awarded Lindert the 2005 Allan Sharlin Award, for the best book in social science history published in 2004. The Economic History Association named Lindert co-winner of the Gyorgy Ranki Prize for the best book in European economic history published in 2003-2004.