The University Record, April 23, 1996
Three faculty receive emeritus status
Three faculty members were given the emeritus title by the Regents at their April meeting.
Those retiring are Samuel I. Outcalt, professor of physical geography; Irwin Pollack, professor of psychology and re search scientist; and Edward M. Sayles, professor of philosophy at the U-M-Dearborn.
Prof. Outcalt joined the U-M faculty in 1970 and his research interests focused on the climate, soils, and surficial processes of high-latitude environments, particularly in the Arctic.
“Prof. Outcalt was one of the first researchers to be concerned about the effects of carbon-dioxide-induced warming on regions characterized by permafrost,” the Regents noted. “He was also one of the first to use computer simulations to study tundra soils, and he has continued to pursue quantitative methods and modeling in the earth sciences as a primary research interest.”
Prof. Pollack, who joined the U-M faculty in 1963, is “internationally known for his novel approaches to the study of the auditory system,” the Regents said. “Over the span of his career, he was interested in the nervous system interpretation of auditory information. He recently focused on an experimental approach that distinguished between two general modes of processing sensory information: ‘within-signal’ and ‘between signal’ sound comparison, which are necessary for auditory discrimination tasks.”
Prof. Sayles, who joined the U-M-Dearborn faculty in 1967, was “instrumental in helping establish the philosophy discipline at the Dearborn campus,” the Regents said. “He developed and taught a wide range of courses, including Philosophy of Language and Darwinism and Philosophy. His students frequently praise his depth of knowledge, his careful and precise explanations, his willingness to work with them outside of class, and his wit. He served as chair of the humanities department in 1970–73 and as interim director of the Honors Program in 1980–81.”
