Awards, Honors, and Professorships

An Award-Winning Film in 48 Hours
Swedish Institute Lauds UW Swedish Studies Program
Other Awards, Honors, and Professorships

An Award-Winning Film in 48 Hours

When Kimberlee Gillis-Bridges suggested to her students that they might want to enter a filmmaking contest, she didn’t realize her house would turn into a set, a cafeteria, and a dormitory for a weekend, but that’s exactly what happened.
In January she and the students learned that their extraordinary efforts had paid off: they were named the winners of Pioneer Electronics’ Project 2880 DVD-making competition. The five-minute film, titled Casual Delivery, chronicles events before, during, and after a blind date.

	Students produced the award-winning five-minute film Casual Delivery—from script to final cut—in 48 hours. Photo by Conor Haggerty.

The project is called 2880 because that’s how many minutes the students had to put together a five-minute DVD based on a scenario provided by the contest organizers. That translates into just 48 hours to get the job done— from script to final cut. Pioneer provides a DVD burner and a $500 stipend.

“We decided to work at my house because it was ‘neutral territory’—it didn’t belong to any of the students,” explains Gillis-Bridges, lecturer in the Department of English. “Plus, it’s near a lot of potential sites for the scenes, like parks, restaurants, and so forth.”

As proctor for the students, Gillis-Bridges did not participate in the filmmaking itself, but she and her husband wound up taking care of food for the students so they could devote every possible moment to making their DVD. And they provided space so that students could sack out when they needed to. At times, there were 20 students in the house during production.

“That the students won, competing against teams from places with well-established film production programs, is a real tribute to their commitment,” says Gary Handwerk, chair of the the Department of Comparative Literature. The team entered the competition through Comparative Literature’s Cinema Studies Program.

While other schools had much equipment available through their film programs—one school even had a shot that required a crane—the UW team had to tap multiple sources for equipment, including the UW’s Center for Advanced Research and Technology in the Arts and Humanities (CARTAH), peers, and local rental outlets. Thanks to their win, equipment might not be such a problem in the future. The winning school gets $10,000 for equipment purchases.

The UW team competed last year, placing fourth, and learned a few lessons along the way. This year they did some planning, such as scouting potential locations and auditioning actors, ahead of time. They also recruited a large enough team so that people did not have to go without sleep to get everything done. The team leader this year was Adam Hart, a double major in English and cinema studies.

“These are driven, motivated students who were able to go out and do this entirely on their own,” Gillis-Bridges says. “I’m proud of what they accomplished.”

Curious to see the DVD? No problem. All the DVD entries are available for viewing at http://www.projectpioneer2880.com.

Adapted from a story in University Week, January 15, 2004.

Swedish Institute Lauds UW Swedish Studies Program

When the Swedish Institute in Stockholm named the UW’s Swedish Studies Program one of the two best in the world, it confirmed what many students, alumni, and friends of the program already recognized. But it was still a thrill to receive the accolade.

	Ia Dubois, Lotta Gavel Adams, and Terje Leiren (from left to right). Photo by Linda Norkool.

The recognition from the Swedish Institute came with a monetary prize of 10,000 Swedish Kronor to support the work of the UW Department of Scandinavian Studies, in which the Swedish Program is located. Particularly cited were Lotta Gavel Adams, associate professor, and Ia Dubois, senior lecturer, both Swedish specialists in the department. (The other institution recognized by the Swedish Institute is the Masaryk University Brno in the Czech Republic.)

“We’re thrilled for all of our very special faculty members and for the entire Swedish program,” says Terje Leiren, chair of the Department of Scandinavian Studies. “A critical part of this program, of course, is the group of thoughtful and innovative students who challenge each of us as faculty members every day to do better and know more.”

As with all other programs in the UW Department of Scandinavian Studies, the Swedish Studies Program offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and research opportunities to students. The program also serves the commercial and non-profit communities, and provides advice and counsel to the federal government.

The Swedish Institute, which presented the award, is a public, government-funded agency working closely with Swedish embassies and consulates throughout the world to encourage knowledge about Swedish history and cultural and political institutions.

Other Awards, Honors, and Professorships

George Bertsch, professor of physics, has been awarded the 2004 Tom W. Bonner Prize in Nuclear Physics from the American Physical Society.

Linda Bierds, professor of English, was named a Byron W. and Alice L. Lockwood Professor in the Humanities.

Herbert Blau, professor of English, was named a Byron W. and Alice L. Lockwood Professor in the Humanities.

Christopher S. Bretherton, professor of atmospheric sciences, has been elected a Fellow in the American Meteorological Society.

Gary Christian, professor of chemistry, received the Scientific Honor Award from the Japanese Association for Flow Injection Analysis for his contribution as “pioneer of flow-injection analytical method.”

Rebecca Cummins, assistant professor of photography in the School of Art, has received the Chancellor’s Award from the University of Technology, Sydney, based on the significance of her work and quality of her Ph.D. thesis.

Joel Durand, professor of music, was named a Donald E. Petersen Professor in the Arts.

Richard T. Gray, professor of Germanics, was named a Byron W. and Alice L. Lockwood Professor in the Humanities.

Peter Guttorp, chair and professor of statistics, has been appointed by the Swedish Association of Graduate Engineers (CF) as their Environmental Professor during 2004/05. This professorship is awarded to stimulate and catalyze Swedish environmental research.

Wick Haxton, professor and director of the Institute for Nuclear Theory, has been awarded the Bethe Prize by the American Physical Society.

Stephen Hinds, professor of classics, was named a Byron W. and Alice L. Lockwood Professor in the Humanities.

Charles Johnson, Pollock Professor of Creative Writing in the Department of English, was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Shelley Lundberg, professor of economics, has been appointed to the Castor Professorship in Economics.

Clifford F. Mass, professor of atmospheric sciences, has been elected a Fellow in the American Meteorological Society.

Charles Nelson, Ford and Louisa Van Voorhis Professor of Political Economy in the Department of Economics, has been elected as a Fellow to the Econometric Society.

Fritz Newmeyer, professor of linguistics, has been named Howard and Frances Nostrand Professor of Linguistics. He is the first holder of the professorship.

Adrian Raftery, professor of statistics and sociology, was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Henry Staten, professor of English and comparative literature, was named a Byron W. and Alice L. Lockwood Professor in the Humanities.

Stephen Turnovsky, Castor Professor in the Department of Economics, has been elected President of the Society for Computational Economics (SCE), an international society devoted to the area of computational economics.

Marek Wieczorek, assistant professor of art history, will be a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton next year and is the recipient of a Charles A. Ryskamp Research Fellowship, administered through the American Council for Learned Societies.

[Winter-Spring 2004 - Table of Contents]