May

Kudos

Have you reached a milestone, received an award or conquered the world (at least your little corner of it) lately? Let us know at torch@si.edu. We want to toot your horn for you! Be sure to include your contact information and a picture as an attachment.

Johnnetta Betsch Cole, the Director of the National Museum of African Art, received the International Civil Rights Center and Museum’s highest honor. The Alston-Jones International Civil and Human Rights Award was presented during a Feb. 2 gala marking the 53rd anniversary of the sit-ins at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C., to protest segregation.

Washingtonian magazine awarded Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Director Tuck Hines with one of its five Washingtonian Green Awards that recognize local inspirational environmental leaders.

The winners of the 2012 Secretary’s Research Prizes, who were recognized at the Smithsonian Congress of Scholars’ Annual Symposium in February, are:

David DeVorkin and Michael Neufeld (National Air and Space Museum)
Charles Lada (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory)
Pierre Comizzoli (National Zoological Park)
Liza Kirwin (Archives of American Art)
Barbara Clark Smith (National Museum of American History)
Hans-Dieter Sues (National Museum of Natural History)
Nicholas Fraser and David Ward (National Portrait Gallery); Jonathan Katz, State University of New York (co-curator of “Hide/Seek”)

MLK: The Assassination Tapes, which aired on the Smithsonian Channel, won the prestigious Peabody Award as one of the best documentaries of 2012.

Smithsonian Folkways won two awards at the 55th Grammy awards on Feb. 10. Woody at 100: The Woody Guthrie Centennial Collection won for best Boxed or Limited Edition Package and East Los Angeles group Quetzal won for best Latin Rock, Urban, or Alternative Album for Imaginaries.

Michelle DelCarlo, the Spark!Lab National Network Coordinator at the National Museum of American History’s Lemelson Center, was named a World Economic Forum’s Global Shaper. The Global Shapers Community is a network of hubs developed and led by young people who are exceptional in potential, achievement, and the drive to make a contribution to their communities.

Irwin Shapiro, former Director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, won the 2013 Einstein Prize from the American Physical Society. Shapiro received the prize for his outstanding achievement in gravitational physics.

Dr. Jim Moran (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory) was awarded the 2013 Grote Reber Gold Medal. Moran received the award for his pioneering work in the development and application of spectroscopic Very Long Baseline Interferometry.

The 2012 Living Village at Southern Methodist University was dedicated to Cynthia Smith, Curator of Socially Responsible Design at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. The award was given in honor of Smith’s commitment to research and ability to spread knowledge through creative educational exhibitions.

The Center for Digital Education at the National Museum of American History received two Best of the Web Awards from the Center for Digital Education for the mobile and interactive whiteboard-friendly “Tracking the Buffalo” site and the newly redesigned “History Explorer” site. The Best of the Web Awards recognize and honor outstanding K-12 and higher education websites.

David Lathum (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory), Nancy Knowlton (National Museum of Natural History), and Richard Cooke (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute) were elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

On March 11, Smithsonian Gardens received accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums, conferring a high mark of distinction.