Sohini Ramachandran, assistant professor of biology in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department, was one of 126 U.S. and Canadian researchers to receive a research fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation this year, the foundation announced on Wednesday. The fellowships are given to early career scientists and scholars whose achievements and potential identify them as rising stars, the next generation of scientific leaders. Besides the recognition, Ramachandran will receive $50,000 to further her research. She said she is honored to receive a research fellowship, noting that her father-in-law, David Mumford, professor emeritus of applied mathematics, received the award early in his academic career. “The freedom of the award gives my research group the opportunity to pursue innovative projects that are difficult to fund traditionally,” Ramachandran said. “This award also recognizes the strong and supportive environment for young faculty at Brown, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and our Center for Computational Molecular Biology.” Ramachandran came to Brown in 2010. She earned her doctorate in biological sciences from Stanford University.

Huajian Gao has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering. The academy announced the election of Gao and 65 other new members on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012, for outstanding contributions to engineering in research, practice, or advances in the field. Gao was recognized for his contributions to micromechanics of thin films and hierarchically structured materials, according to a statement from the NAE. Gao is the Walter H. Annenberg professor in the School of Engineering. His current research interests are focused on nanomechanics of engineering and biological systems, including mechanical properties and behaviors of bone, gecko, cell, protein, DNA, carbon nanotubes, thin films, and nanocrystalline materials. He is also a fellow in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Institute of Physics. There are 2,254 U.S. members and 206 foreign associates in the NAE.

Forrest Gander, the Adele Kellenberg Seaver Professor of Literary Arts and Comparative Literature, has been named a National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) 2011 finalist. He was nominated in the poetry category for his book Core Samples from the World. The NBCC Awards are unique in that they are chosen by the critics themselves, seeking every year to “honor the best literature published in English” as well as to “foster a national conversation about reading, criticism and literature.” The winners will be announced at a ceremony on March 8. 

A program organized by the President’s Staff Advisory Council (SAC) in partnership with the Brown University Bookstore collected nearly 400 books for the school library at the Segue Institute for Learning, a middle school in Central Falls, R.I. Throughout the fall, the Bookstore offered titles selected by Segue’s library staff and teachers for customers to buy at a 15-percent discount. The Segue School book benefit was part of SAC’s pilot program, called “Building Rhode Island — Book by Book,” which has collected approximately 750 books for local nonprofit organizations including Books are Wings and Dorcas Place. SAC member Tanita Sello says they hope to expand the initiative on campus and in the Providence community. “The idea is that we could continue to collect or supply books to agencies in need while also providing staff the opportunity to directly engage in literacy efforts with these groups to help build the community.”