Achievements & Honors

Recent Highlights

Anna Balazs, Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering, was named the 2013 Mines Medalist by the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology for her pioneering work in predicting the behavior of complex polymeric materials through theoretical modeling.

Thomas E. Starzl

Thomas E. Starzl, Distinguished Service Professor of Surgery, received the 2012 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award—one of the world's most prestigious medical science prizes—for his pioneering work in liver transplantation. Among Starzl's other honors is the National Medal of Science, the nation's highest honor for science and engineering.

In 2012, Nancy Condee, professor of cultural studies and film studies and director of Pitt's Global Studies Center, received the Modern Language Association's (MLA) Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for Studies in Slavic Languages and Literatures for her book The Imperial Race: Recent Russian Cinema.

Toi Derricote, an English professor in Pitt's Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, was elected in 2012 to the Academy of American Poets Board of Chancellors, the academy's advisory board of distinguished poets.

Steven Little, chair of the Swanson School of Engineering's Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, received a 2012 Young Investigator Award from the Society for Biomaterials for his outstanding achievements in that field. Also in 2012, Little received the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award for leadership in education and research in chemical sciences.

Distinguished University Professor Savio Woo of the Swanson School received the 2012 Gold Medal for Innovations in Healthcare Technology from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers for his pivotal contributions to biomechanics and its application to orthopaedic surgery and sports medicine.

David Perlmutter, the Vira I. Heinz Professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics, received the 2011 Shwachman Award from the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition in recognition of his lifelong scientific and educational contributions to the field.

Social work professor John Wallace received the 2012 UAA-SAGE Marilyn J. Gittel Activist Scholar Award for his efforts to improve the lives of children in Pittsburgh's Homewood section.

Sanford Asher, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, received the fourth annual Charles E. Kaufman Award from the Pittsburgh Foundation for what the foundation called his "substantial contributions to science for both the betterment and understanding of human life."

Two professors in Pitt's Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences—cognition scientists Anthony Grace and Christian Schunn—were named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in December 2011 for the advancement of their respective fields.

Elodie Ghedin

Biomedical researcher Elodie Ghedin was one of only 22 persons selected nationwide to receive a 2011 MacArthur Fellowship, commonly known as a "genius grant."

In recognition of his contributions to philosophy and to German-American cooperation in the field, Nicholas Rescher, Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy, was presented with the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit by the Federal Republic of Germany.

Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences

Election to the IOM, one of the highest honors in health and medicine, recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. Pitt's current IOM members include:

Michael Boninger, professor and chair, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2012

Jennifer R. Grandis, Distinguished Professor and vice chair for research, Department of Otolaryngology, 2012

Nancy E. Davidson, professor of medicine, Hillman Professor of Oncology, associate vice chancellor for cancer research, and director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and UPMC Cancer Centers, elected in 2011

Jeannette E. South-Paul, UPMC Andrew W. Mathieson Professor and chair, Department of Family Medicine, 2011

Jeremy Berg, associate senior vice chancellor for science strategy and planning for the schools of the health sciences, 2010

Donald S. Burke, dean of the Graduate School of Public Health and UPMC-Jonas Salk Chair in Global Health, 2009

David H. Perlmutter, Vira I. Heinz Professor and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics, 2008.

David A. Lewis, professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience and director of the Translational Neuroscience Program, 2007

Timothy R. Billiar, George Vance Foster Professor and Chair, Department of Surgery, 2006

David Brent, professor of psychiatry, pediatrics, and epidemiology in the School of Medicine and academic chief,adolescent psychiatry at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, 2005

James M. Roberts, professor and vice chair for research in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, 2002

Karen A. Matthews, professor of psychiatry, epidemiology, and psychology and director of the cardiovascular behavioral medicine research training program at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic and of the Pittsburgh Mind-Body Center, 2002

Ellen Frank, professor of psychiatry and psychology, 1999

Thomas E. Starzl, Distinguished Service Professor of Surgery, 1999

Bruce G. Buchanan, professor of computer science, philosophy, and medicine, 1997

Richard L. Simmons, distinguished service professor in the Department of Surgery, 1994

Bernard D. Goldstein, professor emeritus and former dean of the Graduate School of Public Health, 1991

Savio L-Y Woo, Distinguished University Professor and director of the Musculoskeletal Research Center, 1991

David J. Kupfer, professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and professor of neuroscience in the School of Medicine, 1990

Judith R. Lave, codirector of the Center for Research on Health Care and professor of health economics, business administration, economics, and psychiatry, 1990

Herbert L. Needleman, professor of child psychiatry and pediatrics, 1990

Bernard Fisher, Distinguished Service Professor, 1985

D.A. Henderson, professor of public health and medicine at Pitt and Distinguished Scholar at the Center for Biosecurity at UPMC, 1978

Nathan Hershey, professor emeritus of health law, Graduate School of Public Health, 1974

National Academy of Sciences

NAS is a private, non-profit society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research. An Act of Congress, signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, calls upon the NAS to provide independent advice to the government on matters related to science and technology. Pitt's current NAS members include:

Yuan Chang, Distinguished Professor and American Cancer Society Professor in the Department of Pathology, elected to the NAS's microbial biology section in 2012

Patrick S. Moore, Distinguished Professor and American Cancer Society Professor, Department of Microbiology and Molecular GeneticsNAS section: medical genetics, hematology, and oncology, 2012

Peter Strick, Distinguished Professor, Departments of Neurobiology and PsychiatryNAS section: systems neuroscience, 2012

Angela M. Gronenborn, UPMC Rosalind Franklin Professor and Chair, Department of Structural BiologyNAS section: biophysics and computational biology, 2007

Susan Amara, Thomas Detre Professor and Chair, Department of Neurobiology, and Codirector of Pitt's Center for NeuroscienceNAS section: physiology and pharmacology, 2004

Robert D. Drennan, professor, Department of AnthropologyNAS section: anthropology, 2004

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Founded in 1780, AAAS is an independent policy research center that conducts interdisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. AAAS Fellows currently on the Pitt faculty include:

Lauren B. Resnick, University Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science, elected in 2013.

Bruce A. Freeman, professor and chair, Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, 2012

Peyman Givi, James T. MacLeod Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, and professor, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, 2012

Valerian E. Kagan, professor and vice chair, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, 2012

Allan R. Sampson, professor, Department of Statistics and Department of Biostatistics, 2012

Nuel D. Belnap Jr., Alan Ross Anderson Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, 2008

Mark L. Wilson, professor of philosophy, director of graduate studies, and a fellow of Pitt's Center for Philosophy of Science, 2007

Anil K. Gupta, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, professor of history and philosophy of science, and a fellow of Pitt's Center for Philosophy of Science, 2006

Peter L. Strick, Distinguished Professor of Neurobiology and Psychiatry and codirector of Pitt's Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, 2004 Robert Brandom, Distinguished Service Professor of Philosophy, 2000

John S. Earman, University Professor of the History and Philosophy of Science, 1993

John McDowell, Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy, 1992

Adolf Grünbaum, Andrew Mellon Professor of Philosophy and cochair of Pitt's Center for Philosophy of Science, 1976

Thomas E. Starzl, Distinguished Service Professor of Surgery, 1971

World-Class Achievers

Pitt students have won many prestigious national and international scholarships, including four Rhodes Scholarships between 2006 and 2012. Only 14 U.S. universities and colleges claimed at least four Rhodes winners during that period. Pitt was one of only two public institutions to do so.

Cory J. Rodgers

Rhodes Scholars

Seven Pitt students have won Rhodes Scholarships, the world's oldest and most celebrated international fellowship awards. The scholarship provides full financial support to pursue a degree or degrees at Britain's University of Oxford.

In 2011, the year before winning his Rhodes, Cory J. Rodgers became the first Pitt student to win a Samuel Huntington Public Service Award,for a project benefiting people with HIV and AIDS in Tanzania.

Stacy Stachera

Boren Awards for International Study

Boren Scholarships and Fellowships provide funding opportunities for U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests; 18 Pitt students have received Boren awards.

Clayton Magill

Winston Churchill Foundation Scholarship

Pitt senior Clayton Magill won a Churchill Foundation Scholarship in 2006, the first year Pitt was invited to participate in the competition. The scholarship program offers American students the opportunity to pursue one year of graduate studies in engineering, mathematics, or the sciences at the University of Cambridge's Churchill College.

Daniel Armanois

Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships

Fifty-one Pitt students have won Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships, which are awarded to college sophomores and juniors who plan to be scientists, mathematicians, or engineers.

Critical Language Scholarships for Intensive Summer Institutes

Three Pitt students have won U.S. Department of State-sponsored scholarships to study Arabic, Bengla, Hinki, Punjabi, Turkish, Urdu, and other critical-need foreign languages.

Fulbright U.S. Student Program

More than 30 Pitt students have received Fulbright grants for individually designed study/research projects or English Teaching Assistantships.

Katherine MacCord

Gates Cambridge Scholarship

In 2009, Pitt student Katherine MacCord won a Gates Cambridge Scholarship, awarded to students from outside the United Kingdom for graduate-level study at the University of Cambridge.

Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships

Twelve Pitt students have been awarded Gilman Scholarships to participate in study-abroad programs worldwide.

Marshall Scholarships

The Marshall Scholarship, created by the British Parliament in honor of U.S. Army General George C. Marshall, provides access and funding at any university in the United Kingdom for two years of study toward a degree. Ten Pitt students have won Marshalls—most recently Paras Minhas, in 2013.

Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowships

Three Pitt students have won Pickering Fellowships, which provide funding as they prepare academically and professionally to enter the U.S. Department of State Foreign Service.

Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship

Two Pitt students have been awarded SMART Scholarships, established by the U.S. Department of Defense for students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines.

Harry S. Truman Scholarships

Established by the U.S. Congress, the Truman Scholarship is a highly competitive, merit-based federal award to college juniors who wish to attend graduate or professional school in preparation for careers in government, the nonprofit sector, or elsewhere in public service; 11 Pitt students have won Trumans.

Udall Scholarships

Seven Pitt students have been awarded Udall Scholarships, established by the U.S. Congress to recognize U.S. students with excellent academic records and demonstrated interest in careers in environmental health policy, health care, and tribal public policy.

Whitaker International Fellows and Scholars Program

The Whitaker International Program sends emerging leaders in U.S. biomedical engineering overseas to undertake self-designed projects that will enhance their careers within the field. Nine Pitt students have received Whitaker Program grants, including graduating senior Lisa Volpatti and doctoral candidate Noah Johnson in 2013.

Changing the World

From launching the biotech industry to winning Nobel Prizes, University of Pittsburgh graduates have made their marks on the world—and changed it for the better.

Arts and Entertainment

Pitt graduates have excelled on stage and on the page. The following are some of the University's A&E high achievers.

Bebe Moore Campbell

Bebe Moore Campbell, author of three New York Times bestsellers

Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist

Gene Kelly, Oscar-winning actor, choreographer, dancer, and director

Lorin Maazel, world-renowned symphony conductor

Gerald Stern, acclaimed poet and author

Athletics

For many Pitt student-athletes, the glory doesn't stop after graduation. Pitt alumni have medaled at the Olympics, coached teams to championships, and shared their sports knowledge with fans via TV, radio, print, and the Web.

Mike Ditka, Pro Football Hall of Fame player and Super Bowl-winning coach

Tony Dorsett, the first player to win a college football national championship (not to mention the Heisman Trophy) and the Super Bowl in back-to-back years

Roger Kingdom, two-time Olympic gold medal-winning hurdler

Billy Knight, NBA player and general manager

Dan Marino

Dan Marino, NFL Hall of Fame quarterback and CBS-TV analyst

Mark May, Outland Trophy-winning Pitt lineman, Super Bowl-winning NFL player, and ESPN analyst

Art Rooney II, President of the Pittsburgh Steelers

Trecia-Kaye Smith, triple jump world champion

John Bain "Jock" Sutherland, who coached Pitt to five national college football championships

John Woodruff, Olympic gold medal winner in the 800-meter run

Business and Entrepreneurship

Graduates of Pitt's Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, College of Business Administration, and other units are among the nation's leaders in business and entrepreneurship.

Bibiana Boerio, finance and strategy director for Ford's International Operations and former managing director of Jaguar Cars Ltd.

Sam Colella, venture capitalist who specializes in life-science investing

Robert Colwell, chief architect of four generations of the Pentium chip

William S. Dietrich II William S. Dietrich II, business leader, investor, author, and philanthropist who gave Pitt the largest individual gift in its history, a $125 million fund

Frances Hesselbein, former CEO, Girl Scouts of the USA

Kevin Sharer, board chair and CEO of Amgen Inc.

Ray Smith, retired board chair and CEO, Bell Atlantic

John Swanson, engineer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder of ANSYS Inc.

Burt Tansky, retired president and CEO, Neiman Marcus

Thomas Usher, board chair of Marathon Oil, formerly CEO and COO of U.S. Steel

Education

Pitt has long been an international leader in education, preparing students to be teachers, researchers, public policy experts, and administrators.

Lap-Chee Tsui

Steven Beering, president emeritus, Purdue University

Catherine DeAngelis, medical educator and editor-in-chief, Journal of the American Medical Association

Lap-Chee Tsui, Chinese-Canadian geneticist and vice chancellor and president of the University of Hong Kong

Community Service and Human Rights

Along with teaching and research, public service is a core mission of the University of Pittsburgh. Pitt students continue that legacy of service after they graduate.

C. Scott Harrison, orthopaedic surgeon who cofounded CURE International to treat disabled children

Abul Hussam, inventor of a simple, inexpensive filter that removes arsenic from drinking water and is saving lives in developing countries

Wangari Maathai Wangari Maathai, Kenyan environmentalist, political activist, and Nobel Peace Prize winner

Holmes Rolston III, "father of environmental ethics" and winner of the Templeton Prize for advancing peace, social justice, and human knowledge

Bill Strickland, founder and CEO of the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, author, and MacArthur "Genuis" Fellow

Journalism

Generations of Pitt alumni have informed the public as reporters, editors, broadcasters, and bloggers, including the following individuals.

Frank Bolden, pioneering African American newspaper reporter

Lynette Clemetson, director of StateImpact (a reporting project between NPR and member stations) and a former reporter for The New York Times and Newsweek

Myron Cope Myron Cope, award-winning sportswriter and broadcast voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers

Al Primo, broadcast journalist who created the "Eyewitness News" format.

Law, Politics & the Military

The following are among the national, state, and foreign leaders who earned Pitt degrees.

Ralph J. Cappy, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

Orrin Hatch, senior U.S. Senator for Utah

K. Leroy Irvis, Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Dick Thornburgh

Mahmoud Jibril, who served as acting prime minister of the Libyan rebel government during the 2011 civil war that drove Moammar Gadhafi from power

Roscoe Robinson Jr., first African American four-star Army general

Dick Thornburgh, Pennsylvania governor and U.S. Attorney General

Science/Health

Pitt graduates have expanded the boundaries of knowledge, from life-saving medical breakthroughs to searching for signs of life on Mars.

Herbert Boyer, genetic engineer whose research on the DNA molecule launched the biotechnology industry

Bernard Fisher Bernard Fisher, pioneering oncologist whose research fundamentally altered understanding of breast cancer

Kevin Guskiewicz, a sports medicine scholar and MacArthur "Genius" Fellow who was among the first to identify the long-term threats to athletes of multiple concussions

Philip Hench, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering the hormone cortisone and its effectiveness in treating rheumatoid arthritis

Norman Horowitz, biochemical evolutionist who devised NASA experiments searching for signs of life on Mars

Paul Lauterbur, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for research that made magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) possible

Bert W. O'Malley, "father of molecular endocrinology" and National Medical of Science winner

James Theodore, pioneer in heart-lung and lung transplantation

Vladimir Zworykin, Russian-American inventor, engineer, and pioneer of television technology

'Green' Gold

Five Pitt buildings and renovation projects have received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council since 2005: the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, the Swanson School of Engineering Benedum Hall renovations, the Chevron Science Center addition, and the Thomas E. Starzl Biomedical Science Tower 12th-floor renovation.

The McGowan Institute was the first LEED Gold-certified laboratory in Pennsylvania.

In 2012, the Mascaro Center won an international Education Facility Design Award from the Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute.

Award-Winning Architecture

The Chevron Science Center and the Greensburg campus's Frank A. Cassell Hall were honored as part of the Master Builders' Association (MBA) of Western Pennsylvania's 2012 MBA Building Excellence Awards competition. Chevron won in the "New Construction Between $10-25 Million" category, and Cassell Hall was the winner in the "New Construction Under $10 Million" category. The MBA Building Excellence Awards are the region's most prestigious awards in the commercial construction industry.

The Chevron Annex within the Chevron Science Center won the 2012 Society for College and University Planning Excellence in Architecture for Building Additions or Adaptive Reuse Honor Award.

Benedum Hall (constructed in 1971) has received an Honor Award as well as a Distinguished Building Award from the Pennsylvania Society of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

The Biomedical Science Tower 3 (2003-05) has won awards from AIA/New England and AIA/Pittsburgh as well as an Award for Design from the Boston Society of Architects.

The Center for Biotechnology and Bioengineering (1993) won an Award for Excellence in Architectural Design from the Pennsylvania Society of Architects in addition to an Honor Award from AIA/Pittsburgh.

AIA/Pittsburgh honored Hillman Library (1965-68) with a 1996 Timeless Award for Enduring Design.

The Petersen Events Center (2002) won a 2003 Innovative Architecture & Design Honor Award.

The Thomas E. Starzl Biomedical Science Tower (1990) received a Lab of the Year Award from R&D Magazine.

Cathedral of Learning

The 42-story Cathedral of Learning is the iconic heart of the University of Pittsburgh. A landmark listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, the Gothic Revival skyscraper is the tallest educational building in the Western Hemisphere.

Other Historic Landmarks

Like the Cathedral, Pitt's Allegheny Observatory is designated as a landmark in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The Greek Revival astronomy facility was constructed between 1900 and 1912.

Four Pitt buildings have earned Pennsylvania State Historical Designations: the Allegheny Observatory, Salk Hall, the Stephen Foster Memorial, and the William Pitt Union.

The following Pitt buildings are Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks: the Allegheny Observatory, Allen Hall, Alumni Hall, Amos Hall, Bellefield Hall, Brackenridge Hall, Bruce Hall, the Cathedral of Learning, the Chancellor's Residence, the Child Development Center, Gardner Steel Conference Center, Holland Hall, McCormick Hall, Salk Hall, the Stephen Foster Memorial, Thaw Hall, and the William Pitt Union.

Championship Legacy

Pitt's 19 varsity teams compete at the highest level of U.S. collegiate athletics. In addition to traditionally fielding competitive football and men's basketball teams, Pitt has produced dominant squads in baseball, women's basketball, gymnastics, swimming and diving, volleyball, and wrestling.

Scholar Athletes

Each year, the Pitt Alumni Association honors student-athletes who earned GPAs of 3.0 or higher during the previous calendar year. In 2011, 163 Pitt student-athletes earned GPAs of 3.0-3.49. Another 121 posted GPAs of 3.5 or better, including 18 student-athletes who achieved a perfect 4.0.

Gridiron Glory

Pitt has won nine national football championships, the most of any major college program in the Eastern United States and the sixth-highest total ever. Among the Panthers who went on to highly successful NFL careers are Mike Ditka, Tony Dorsett, Larry Fitzgerald, and Dan Marino.The Panthers were the first football team to wear numbered jerseys, travel by plane, and play in a game broadcast on radio.

Round-ball Winning Streaks

From 2001 to 2011, the Pitt men's basketball team was one of only three to advance to the NCAA tournament and win at least 20 games each season. The women's basketball team made its fifth consecutive post-season tournament appearance in 2010; that five-year stretch included Sweet Sixteen NCAA tournament appearances in 2008 and 2009.

Olympic Medalists

Pitt students and alumni who have medaled in the Olympics include John Woodruff (gold medal, 800-meter run, 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin), Herbert Douglas Jr. (bronze, long jump, London 1948), Dick Rydze (silver, 10-meter diving, Munich 1972), and Roger Kingdom (gold, 110-meter hurdles, Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988). Marisa Pedulla took fourth place in women's judo in Atlanta in 1996. Pitt Professor Savio Woo is the only engineer to win an Olympic Gold Medal—for sports medicine.