Page 37 - Winter 2008

National News
Elaine Moran
Acoustical Society of America Melville, New York 11747
Administration. Zurk is one of only 56 researchers nationally to receive the award this year.
Zurk was nominated by the National Science Foundation (NSF), which in 2006 selected her for a five-year, $400,000 NSF CAREER Award for her proposal, “Electromagnetic Scattering and Propagation in Random Media at Terahertz Frequencies,” which explores the properties of the terahertz (THz) spectrum with a specific application of THz spectroscopy to the detection of explosives and to biomedical imaging.
Lisa Zurk joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) in PSU’s Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science in January 2005. She founded and directs the Northwest Electromagnetic and Acoustics Research Laboratory in the Maseeh College, which involves 10 graduate and undergraduate students and several ECE faculty members.
Zurk’s current research interests are primarily in the area of sensing phenom- enon and have such relevant applications as remote sensing of the Earth’s surface, detection of explosives or bio-agents, and underwater acoustics (e.g., mapping coral reef habitats and estimating salmon populations). She is the author of over 50 technical publications and serves on numerous professional committees.
Lisa Zurk was recently awarded the Office of Naval Research Entry-Level Faculty award for a proposal entitled “Mid-Frequency Bottom Scattering Model Development and Validation.” This special research award in ocean acoustics provides funding for three years at the level of $100,000 per year and began January 2006. Another five- year, $500,000 research initiative with The Nature Conservancy is scheduled to kick-off January 2008. The funding supports the Conservation Technology Initiative, which partners PSU with the largest conservation organization in the world having a goal to rapidly harvest advanced technology for environmental monitoring and management.
Before moving to Portland State, she spent 10 years at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, conducting research in understanding the physics of electro- magnetic and acoustic wave propaga- tion through modeling and measure- ment to devise advanced, physics-based signal processing techniques. While at MIT, Zurk took a one-year sabbatical to teach and conduct research as a visiting Fulbright Professor in the University of Helsinki Math Department. Prior to MIT, she spent four years in the bio- medical instrumentation industry.
Lisa Zurk is received a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, an M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Northeastern Univ. in 1991 and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington in 1995.
She is a member of the Acoustical Society of America and serves as Chair of the Committee on Women in Acoustics and is a member of the Technical Committee on Underwater Acoustics.
Jerry Ginsberg awarded Per Bruel Gold Medal
Jerry Ginsberg, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, was recently awarded the 2007 Per Bruel Gold Medal for Noise Control and Acoustics by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The award recognized
Lisa M. Zurk
Lisa M. Zurk, associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science at Portland State University, was honored with the 2006 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). The award ceremony was held on 1 November 2007 in the Presidential Hall of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building, located in the White House Complex. A reception and photo session with President Bush followed in the Indian Treaty Room.
PECASE is the nation’s highest honor for professionals at the outset of their academic careers, whose work shows exceptional promise for leader- ship at the frontiers of scientific knowl- edge during the 21st century. Established in 1996, the PECASE awards recognize scientists and engi- neers nominated by the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of Education, National Institutes of Health, Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Aeronautics and Space
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