Skip to main content

Six Named Bass Fellows

Awards support faculty for research and teaching

Six Duke University faculty members are new recipients of endowed chairs through the university's Bass Program for Excellence in Undergraduate Education, a $40 million initiative that recognizes faculty who are gifted teachers as well as scholars, Duke President Nannerl O. Keohane announced Thursday. The new chairs are the result of a $10 million challenge gift to Duke by Anne and Robert Bass of Fort Worth, Texas, in September 1996. Under the challenge component, donors may endow a full professorship with a gift of $1.125 million, with the Basses contributing the remaining $375,000 of the $1.5 million required by Duke. The Basses also have established three professorships in their own name. A second component of the program is the Bass Society of Fellows, in which the chair holders meet occasionally to discuss a number of issues, including undergraduate education and its linkages to research at the university. Keohane said the Bass Challenge has been very effective in supporting undergraduate teaching at Duke. "It demonstrates our commitment to excellence in both teaching and research." The newly appointed Bass Fellows, who were recognized at a dinner on campus Thursday, are:

  • Pankaj K. Agarwal, Earl D. McLean Jr. professor of computer science. Agarwal, who came to Duke in 1989, teaches computational geometry, computer graphics, computational complexity and randomized algorithms. His research includes design and analysis of algorithms, especially geometric algorithms that arise in computer graphics, geographic information systems, spatial databases and robotics.
  • Richard B. Forward Jr., Lee Hill Snowdon professor of zoology. Forward, who is in residence at the Duke Marine Laboratory on North Carolina's coast, has been at Duke since 1971. He teaches physiology of marine animals and marine animal navigation. His research focuses on the physiological ecology of marine animals.
  • James T. Hamilton, Oscar L. Tang Family associate professor of public policy studies. Hamilton, who came to Duke in 1991, teaches courses on the regulatory process, and political analysis for public policy. He is the director of Duke's Program on Violence and the Media. His areas of research are the economics of regulation, public choice/political economy, environmental policy and the media.
  • M. Susan Lozier, Truman and Nellie Semans/Alex Brown and Sons associate professor of Earth and ocean sciences. Lozier, at Duke since 1992, teaches atmosphere and ocean dynamics, introduction to oceanography, ancient and modern perceptions of our natural world and introduction to physical oceanography. Her research includes large-scale ocean circulation and climate dynamics.
  • Charles M. Payne, Sally Dalton Robinson professor of history. Payne, who has been at Duke since 1988, teaches courses on the civil rights movement, urban education and African-American activism. His research interests are social change, the civil rights movement and school reform.
  • Gregg E. Trahey, James L. and Elizabeth M. Vincent professor of biomedical engineering. Trahey, at Duke since 1982, teaches diagnostic imaging, advanced diagnostic ultrasound imaging, signals and systems, and medical instrumentation. His research focuses on ultrasonic imaging, breast ultrasound, medical instrumentation and medical signal processing.

 

The six new recipients raise the number of Bass Fellows at Duke to 14. In addition, six new endowed professorships were created through gifts from one anonymous donor and the following five individuals and families:

 

  • The Bishop-MacDermott Family Professorship, created by Archer and Sandie Bishop, their daughter Kristin MacDermott, a 1990 graduate of Duke, son-in-law Michael McDermott and son Thompson Bishop, a current Duke student. The Bishops, who live in Knoxville, Tenn., have served on the Parents Committee, and Sandie Bishop is a member of the Sarah P. Duke Gardens Advisory Board. The MacDermotts live in Los Angeles.
  • The Bridges Family Associate Professorship, established by Robert E. Bridges, a 1978 Duke graduate, and his wife Amy. They have four children, including Charles McMullan, a 1996 Duke graduate, and Timothy McMullan, a current Duke student. The Bridges, who live in Greenwich, Conn., have served on the Annual Fund Executive Committee. Robert Bridges is president of R.E. Bridges and Co., a private investment firm.
  • The Susan B. King Professorship, established by Susan Bennett King, a 1962 graduate of The Women's College at Duke and a current member of the Duke Board of Trustees. King, who lives in Hurdle Mills, N.C., has been the leader in residence in the Hart Leadership Program at Duke's Sanford Institute of Public Policy and has served on the Sanford Institute's board of visitors.
  • The Marcello Lotti Professorship Endowment, created by Diane Britz Lotti, a 1974 Duke graduate, and her daughters, Ariane and Samantha, in memory of her husband, Marcello Lotti, who died in 1990. Diane Lotti, president of American Capital Partners, serves on the Trinity College Board of Visitors and the Capital Campaign Steering Committee for Arts & Sciences. The Lotti family lives in New York City.
  • The James L. and Elizabeth M. Vincent Professorship in Engineering, established by James L. Vincent, a 1961 Duke engineering graduate. He is the father of two Duke graduates: Aimee Vincent Jamison (1991) and Christopher Vincent (1995), the chairman and chief executive officer of Biogen Inc., and a member of the Duke Board of Trustees and the Pratt School of Engineering Dean's Council. The Vincents live in Weston, Mass.