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UCSD Professors In The Biology and Physical Sciences Divisions Honored For Achievements

November 2, 2000
Media Contact: Kim McDonald (858) 534-7572,
or Jan Jennings (858) 822-1684

Six professors in the Biology and Physical Sciences Divisions at the University of California, San Diego are being recognized for their achievements. They are Kiyoteru Tokuyasu, David Woodruff, Raffi Aroian, Daniel Dubin, Susan Taylor and George Feher.

Tokuyasu, professor emeritus in biology, received the 2000 Distinguished Scientist Award from the Microscopy Society of America. He is the second biology faculty member and the third member of the UCSD community to receive this honor. Tokuyasu studied at Kyushu (Imperial) University in Japan where he received a bachelor's degree in physics and the equivalent of a Ph.D. in medical science. He has been on the UCSD faculty since 1968.

Biology professor Woodruff was awarded the degree of Doctor of Science by his alma mater, the University of Melbourne, Australia, following examination of 100 of his research papers presented in a 1,245-page thesis on Evolution and Conservation of Animal Species. Woodruff received a bachelor's degree in zoology and genetics in 1965 and a Ph.D. in zoology in 1973 from the University of Melbourne. He has been on the UCSD faculty since 1979.

Assistant professor of biology Aroian has received two awards: the New Investigator Award in the toxicological sciences from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund based in North Carolina and the Beckman Young Investigator Award given by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation of Irvine. Aroian received a Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology and completed postdoctoral studies at the University of California, San Francisco. He has been on the UCSD faculty since March of 1997.

Professor of physics Dubin has received the 2000 Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research from the American Physical Society. The award recognizes "a particular recent outstanding achievement in plasma physics research." Dubin received a bachelor's degree in theoretical physics from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and master's and Ph.D. degrees in plasma physics from Princeton University. He has been on the UCSD faculty since 1987.

Chemistry and biochemistry professor Taylor is the recipient of the Francis P. Garvan-John M. Olin Medal for 2001 from the American Chemical Society. The award honors distinguished service to chemistry by U.S. women chemists. Taylor received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin, a Ph.D. in physiological chemistry from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and has been on the UCSD faculty since 1970.

Feher, research professor in physics, has been named a Fellow of the Biophysical Society for important contributions in the use of physical methods to study biological systems and in investigations of the primary processes in photosynthesis. Feher received a bachelor's degree in engineering physics, a master's in electrical engineering, and a Ph.D. in physics, all from the University of California, Berkeley. He has been on the UCSD faculty since 1960.