The American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists has named President Domenico Grasso a 2026 Honorary Member. One or more Honorary Members may be selected each year by the Academy’s Board of Trustees by affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of its members. The individual so honored possesses one or more of the following characteristics: has attained a position of eminence in the field of environmental and/or human health protection; has made a single noteworthy contribution or sustained contribution to the advancement of environmental and/or human health protection; or has rendered outstanding service over a long period of time resulting in the advancement of the affairs of the academy. President since May 8, 2025, Grasso also holds faculty roles across the institution, including professor of civil and environmental engineering at UM-Ann Arbor and secondary appointments in public policy and administration and sustainable engineering at UM-Dearborn. Grasso served as the sixth chancellor of UM-Dearborn, a role he began on Aug. 1, 2018.
Denise Lee will receive the Distinguished Teaching Award and Stephen DeBacker will receive the Distinguished Service Award from the Michigan Section of the Mathematical Association of America. Lee, teaching professor and lecturer II in the Comprehensive Studies Program in LSA, has dedicated nearly four decades to supporting and advancing inclusive mathematics education at U-M. She has overseen the mathematics component in the Bridge Scholars Program, part of the CSP. Since 1993 she has taught CSP calculus and precalculus courses designed to support students from underrepresented or academically underprepared backgrounds. Throughout her career, Lee has focused on expanding opportunities in mathematics for students historically underrepresented in STEM. DeBacker, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor; the Mahendra Parekh Director of the Center for Inquiry Based Learning and professor of mathematics in LSA, is recognized for more than two decades of service to U-M Mathematics. He is cited for creating multiple programs, opportunities, and events for students of all ages, both on campus and in the wider Ann Arbor community. Along with programs for mathematics undergrads and the larger mathematical community, DeBacker has also focused on programs for teachers and pre-college students.
Two Michigan Public staff members have been selected to receive National Gracie Awards. Mercedes Mejia, host of the station’s “The Dish” culinary podcast, won a National Gracie Award for best Interview Feature. Additionally, Kate Wells won for her Public Health coverage as best Reporter/Correspondent. Both awards are for local Public Media [Radio – Non-Commercial Local]. The Gracie Awards recognize exemplary programming created by women, for women and about women in all facets of media and entertainment. They also acknowledge the individuals who have made inspirational contributions to the industry. Named after the late Gracie Allen, an influential comedian and businesswoman, the Gracies honor her legacy of challenging gender norms and inspiring women in the entertainment industry. Mejia, a senior producer for the station’s “Stateside” daily program joined Michigan Public in 2009. She also hosts “The Dish” podcast, which explores Michigan’s culinary stories and the people behind them. Her reporting and producing focus on the intersection of arts, culture, and community. Wells is a Peabody Award-winning journalist who joined Michigan Public in 2012. Most recently, she has covered public health and now reports regularly for the KFF Health News and NPR. She was a 2023 Pulitzer Prize finalist for her coverage of abortion issues. Wells previously co-hosted “Believed,” a nine-part podcast series drawing millions of downloads and numerous awards. Mejia and Wells will receive their Gracie Awards at the 51st Annual Gracie Awards Luncheon on June 16 in New York City.
The Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics has announced the recipients of its 2026 major prizes and awards, which will be presented during the SIAM Annual Meeting on July 6-10 in Cleveland, Ohio. Awardees will be recognized throughout the conference for their outstanding research contributions, career achievements, and service to the applied mathematics and computational science communities. Mark Newman will receive the John von Neumann Prize, and Anthony Bloch will receive the W.T. & Idalia Reid Prize. Newman, the Anatol Rapoport Distinguished University Professor of Physics, professor of physics, and of complex systems in LSA, is being honored for his pioneering contributions to theoretical and algorithmic aspects of network science and to their use in understanding real-world systems. Newman’s work has illuminated notions of structure within networks and has provided widely-used algorithms for finding network structure and for quantifying its impact on the behavior of networks. He has authored multiple books and review papers that have spurred the widespread dissemination of network science concepts across the research community. Bloch, the Alexander Ziwet Collegiate Professor of Mathematics in LSA, is being recognized for his deep scientific contributions to geometric mechanics and control theory, particularly for nonholonomic dynamics and control. Bloch’s research interests include Hamiltonian and Lagrangian mechanics, geometric mechanics, nonholonomic systems and nonlinear control theory and integrable systems. His many publications as an author and coauthor include academic papers as well as the books “Nonholonomic Mechanics and Control” and “The Principle of Least Action.”
Peter Miller, professor of mathematics in LSA, has been selected for the 2026 Class of Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Fellows. These distinguished members were nominated in recognition of their outstanding research and service to the community. Through their various contributions, SIAM Fellows form a crucial group of individuals helping to advance the fields of applied mathematics, computational science, and data science. Miller is being recognized for contributions to nonlinear waves, Riemann-Hilbert problems, and the nonlinear Schrödinger equation.
Elad Zelingher, assistant professor of mathematics in LSA, won an award at the recent MIDAS AI in Research Symposium for his poster “Explicit formulas for units of ideals in finite matrix monoid algebras,” describing his joint work with Nate Harmon, former IBL post-doctoral assistant professor; Andrew Snowden, professor of mathematics; and Anthropic’s Claude. Also, Jenny Wilson, assistant professor of mathematics, gave an invited address titled “Configuration Spaces in Algebraic Topology” at the AMS Spring Central Sectional Meeting in Fargo, North Dakota.
Diana Louis, assistant professor of women’s and gender studies in LSA, has been elected to membership in the American Antiquarian Society, a 214-year-old national research library and community of learners dedicated to discovering and sharing a deeper understanding of the American past. Louis joins a distinguished roster of more than 1,200 members from forty-eight states, the District of Columbia, and seven other countries. Elected for their achievement in academic or public life, AAS members range from scholars, collectors, and librarians to artists, writers, and history enthusiasts. Since the Society’s founding in 1812, fourteen United States presidents, more than 75 Pulitzer Prize winners, scores of Bancroft Prize winners, many Guggenheim fellows, and several MacArthur Award winners have been elected to membership.
The University of Michigan Mechanical Engineering Department has been named the 2026 Donald N. Zwiep Innovation in Education Award recipient for “transforming manufacturing education through multi-expert instruction, project-based learning, additive manufacturing, and digitally enabled industry-integrated systems.” The award is presented annually by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers to a mechanical engineering department that has made significant contributions to the advancement of mechanical engineering pedagogy. Ellen Arruda, the Tim Manganello/BorgWarner Department Chair of Mechanical Engineering, and Chinedum Okwudire, professor of mechanical engineering, accepted the award last month at the ASME Mechanical Engineering Education Conference in Arlington, Virginia. The award recognizes ongoing work within U-M Mechanical Engineering to immerse students in coursework and educational opportunities that provide strong foundations for careers in the constantly-evolving global manufacturing industry.
A team of researchers from the Frankel Cardiovascular Center led by Eugene Chen, Frederick G.L. Huetwell Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, and professor of internal medicine, of surgery, of pharmacology and of molecular and integrative physiology in the Medical School, recently proved that spring tournament victories aren’t just for U-M athletes. They captured the national title in the STAT Madness virtual tournament run by the health and science media outlet called STAT News. Early this year, STAT’s editors picked 64 notable biomedical research papers published in 2025 to create a bracket of head-to-head matchups. Six of the selected papers were from U-M-based teams, including Chen lab’s paper on the role of triglycerides in aortic aneurysms. Published in the journal Circulation with postdoctoral fellow Yaozhong Liu as the first author, it shows in mouse models a potential pathway for reducing aortic aneurysm risk by targeting triglycerides. Over five weeks, the public could learn about and vote for a favorite in each match, narrowing the field week by week. By early April, Chen’s team was one of only two remaining, and faced off against a team from Florida International University. And just as the U-M men’s basketball team was taking the court in its championship game on April 6, the voting ended and Chen’s team emerged victorious. The tournament, designed to raise awareness of the role of research in advancing human health by piggybacking on the popularity of college basketball, is in its 10th year. This is U-M’s second victory.
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