December was a great month for public recognition of our outstanding faculty. Our students are fortunate to have such talented and innovative professors to guide their development.
Nicole Mitchell, professor of music in the Claire Trevor School of the Arts and perennial DownBeat magazine top flutist, and her Black Earth Ensemble’s latest album, “Mandorla Awakening II: Emerging Worlds,” was named the top jazz album of 2017 by The New York Times. The newspaper also cited Professor Mitchell’s other 2017 album, “Liberation Narratives,” and followed up with a long article about her, calling her “probably the most inventive flutist in the past 30 years of jazz.” You can learn more about this exceptionally talented and passionate musician and listen to some of her remarkable music here.
Eli Simon, Chancellor’s Professor of drama in the Claire Trevor School of the Arts and artistic director of the New Swan Shakespeare Festival, was named Orange County’s Man of the Year in Theater for 2017 by the Daily Pilot. A renowned teacher of acting and prolific director, Professor Simon created and oversees the Shakespeare festival, which each summer presents “Shakespeare Under the Stars” at the New Swan Theater on campus. The Shakespeare festival is a highlight of Orange County’s arts calendar each year.
Kyriacos Athanasiou, Distinguished Professor of biomedical engineering in the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and director of the Driving Engineering & Life-science Translational Advances @ Irvine lab, has been awarded the 2018 Savio L-Y. Woo Translational Biomechanics Medal by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in recognition of his exceptional contributions to bioengineering. Professor Athanasiou, who primarily investigates the regeneration of cartilage in joints, was cited for his inventions, patents and translational successes in injecting directly into bone marrow.
Five faculty members were included in the latest roster of the world’s most influential scientific minds. The published works of these researchers were in the top 1 percent for most cited in their respective fields between 2005 and 2015, making each of them a global leader in that field. Congratulations to Steven D. Allison, associate professor of ecology & evolutionary biology; Satya N. Atluri, professor emeritus of mechanical & aerospace engineering; Syed Ali Jafar, professor of electrical engineering & computer science; Susan M. O’Brien, professor of medicine and associate director of the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Eric Rignot, professor of Earth system science.
