Congressman John Lewis to Receive the 2011 Louis E. Martin Great American Award from Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies

/PRNewswire/ -- The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies has announced that it will honor U.S. Representative John Lewis (D-GA) with the 2011 Louis E. Martin Great American Award at its Annual Dinner on May 3 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington.

Congressman Lewis will be recognized for more than 50 years of active service to the cause of human rights, civil liberties and the strengthening of the American community.

The award, named after the legendary journalist, presidential advisor and co-founder of the Joint Center, honors an individual who exemplifies Louis Martin's passion for justice, compassion and the bridging of racial and ethnic divides. Previous award recipients include former Presidents Jimmy Carter and William J. Clinton, Congressmen James E. Clyburn and Charles B. Rangel, Muhammad Ali, lawyer and civil rights leader Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., the late civil rights activist Dr. Dorothy I. Height, and the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

A member of the U.S. Congress for nearly a quarter-century, Congressman Lewis first came to national attention as one of the top figures in the civil rights movement, as well as an architect of and keynote speaker at the historic 1963 March on Washington. He has served in the House leadership as Senior Chief Deputy Whip for the Democratic Party since 1991 and has been a leading voice on a wide range of domestic and international issues. He has been referred to as "the conscience of the U.S. Congress" and "a genuine American hero and moral leader."

In announcing the selection, Joint Center President and CEO Ralph B. Everett cited Congressman Lewis' legendary courage and leadership in the struggle for full voting rights. "His refusal to flinch in the face of extreme adversity left an indelible mark on our history, and sent an unforgettable message to the world on the intrinsic value of the right to vote and the scope of sacrifice that is often necessary to secure it," he said.

"Today, Congressman Lewis continues to lead by example, working for racial harmony and to inspire all Americans to make the most of their right to engage in the nation's political and civic affairs," he added.

"Congressman Lewis fits well into the pantheon of leaders whom the Joint Center has recognized over the years with this high honor," said Roderick D. Gillum, Chair of the Joint Center's Board of Governors. "Few people in history have contributed more to helping America live up to its cherished ideals, and the difference he has made throughout his career is something that all of us can see and feel in our everyday lives."

Hosted by the Joint Center each year for more than a quarter century and with this year's theme of Forward Together – Engaging Our Future, the Annual Dinner is the organization's major fundraising event of the year and provides an opportunity for a broad range of elected officials, business, civic and community leaders from across the country to celebrate the success of the Joint Center and its impact on the lives of all Americans.

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President Honors Georgia School for the Deaf Parent with 2010 Citizens Medal

On August 4, President Obama awarded Kimberly McGuiness, a Georgia School for the Deaf (GSD) parent, and 12 others with the 2010 Citizens Medal, the nation’s second-highest civilian honor.

“What unites these citizens – what makes them special – is the determination they share to find a wrong and right it; to see a need and meet it; to recognize when others are suffering and take it upon themselves to make a difference,” said President Obama. “These honorees’ lives stand as shining examples of what it means to be an American. And today, we have an opportunity to tell their stories; to say thank you; and to offer them a small token of our appreciation.”

The Citizens Medal was established in 1969 to recognize American citizens who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens. This year, President Obama chose to use the 2010 Citizens Medal to recognize Americans whose work has had a significant impact on their communities but may not have garnered national attention. In a video message in January, the President called on members of the public to nominate people in their lives who have performed exemplary deeds of service, including:
• individuals who have a demonstrated commitment to service in their own community,
• who have helped their country or their fellow citizens through one or more extraordinary acts,
• whose service relates to a long-term or persistent problem, and/or
• whose service has had a sustained impact on others’ lives and provided inspiration for others to serve.

GSD director Lee Shiver was eager to nominate Ms. McGuiness.

"Kimberly McGuiness has been a true champion for deaf students," said Shiver. "Her persistent letters, phone calls, and visits to state legislators helped spur the passage of the Deaf Child's Bill of Rights in Georgia."

McGuiness has led workshops, counseled parents, and changed lives by raising awareness and support for deaf education. McGuiness received the Citizens Medal for demonstrating the results one citizen can achieve for an entire community.

"I am grateful for Kimberly's advocacy for deaf students," said Superintendent Brad Bryant. "Her involvement and influence have helped make GSD a school of choice for deaf and hard of hearing students."

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Grady Hospital Awarded Medal of Honor for Organ Donor Program

Grady Health System today announced the receipt of a National Medal of Honor from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for saving lives through organ donation in 2009. More than 104,000 are people listed for an organ transplant nationwide; in Georgia close to 3,000 people are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant. For the third year in a row, Grady received this special recognition for achieving and sustaining national organ donation goals.

Grady works closely with LifeLink of Georgia, a non-profit community service organization dedicated to the recovery of life-saving and life-enhancing organs and tissue for transplantation therapy, to develop best practices for sensitively encouraging organ donation. In the past four years, Grady has seen continued success in donation rates. Because of this, the hospital has achieved a donation rate of 75 percent or more of eligible donors during a 22-month award period (ending in April 2009). The conversion rate is the number of successful donors divided by the number of eligible donors.

“When we joined the collaborative in 2003, our conversion rate was about 38 percent,” said Gaynell Miller, vice president of Patient Care Services and Grady’s organ donation collaborative champion. “By implementing best practices, we met the national goal of 75% conversion rate in 2006 and sustained it for the following year which made us eligible for our first award in 2007. Since then we have been able to exceed and sustain the national organ donor conversion rate and, in so doing, have helped save countless lives. We are very proud to be receiving an award for the 3rd year in a row, because this is validation that we have respected the patients’ and families’ rights to have this end of life choice and participated in making more organs available for those in need.”

Every day, about 77 people get a transplant that gives them a second chance, but nearly 19 others die because then they did not. Chances of getting a transplant increase if a donor and recipient share the same racial and ethnic backgrounds, but more than half of the people on the waiting list for a donated organ are racial or ethnic minorities. Grady’s organ donation program includes a special focus on helping families understand the donation process and deal with the difficult questions that may come up, including religious, ethnic and medical concerns.

For information about the National Learning Congress and the Medal of Honor visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at www.organdonor.gov. To learn more about organ and tissue donation in Georgia visit LifeLink at www.lifelinkfound.org/ga and to designate your decision to be an organ, tissue and eye donor sign-up on Donate Life Georgia’s Organ and Tissue Donor Registry at www.donatelifegeorgia.org or call 1-866-57-SHARE (74273).

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UGA Grady College Dean Receives Sustaining the Dream Award

E. Culpepper Clark, dean of the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, was honored for his contributions to Alabama's "Realizing the Dream" initiative in a banquet ceremony in Tuscaloosa on Friday, Jan. 16.

The ceremony was co-hosted by the Realizing the Dream program and the local chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Clark, a civil rights historian and former dean of the University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences, was instrumental in the development of the Realizing the Dream program and was honored with a Sustaining the Dream Award.

The Realizing the Dream initiative began in 1990 at the University of Alabama to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Friday evening's banquet recognized founders of the Realizing the Dream effort, community leaders and others and commenced a weekend of events including the 20th annual Realizing the Dream Concert.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Realizing the Dream Committee is comprised of faculty and staff from Shelton State Community College, Stillman College and the University of Alabama. The committee coordinates a concert around King's birthday at UA, a theatrical presentation during Black History Month at Shelton State, and an annual lecture series led by Stillman College.

Also receiving Sustaining the Dream Awards were Mercedes Benz U.S. International and the First Missionary Baptist Church of Anniston, Ala.

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Two Georgia Tech Faculty Honored by the White House

Kim Cobb, assistant professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences in the College of Sciences, and Nick Feamster, assistant professor in the School of Computer Science and the Georgia Tech Information Security Center in the College of Computing, have been recognized as two of the nation’s top young scientists with a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). The ceremony was held today at the White House.

The PECASE program recognizes outstanding scientists and engineers who, early in their careers, show exceptional potential for leadership at the frontiers of knowledge. This Presidential Award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on scientists and engineers beginning their careers.

“I’m delighted that the achievements and extraordinary potential of these two exceptional faculty members are being recognized by the National Science Foundation and by the President of the United States,” said Gary Schuster, interim president of the Georgia Tech. “This is outstanding news for them – a PECASE award and the accompanying support can have a lasting positive effect on a research career. And this is yet another indicator that Georgia Tech’s reputation is strong as a leading research institution. I am proud to serve at a university that has such dedicated and committed faculty members.”

Kim Cobb

Cobb’s research focuses on understanding climate change using geological archives such as corals and cave stalagmites. By reconstructing the climate from the past few decades to the last several millennia, Cobb aims to inform current climate models that help predict how changes might occur in the future.

“I’m happy that my climate change research seems to be a focus on the national stage,” said Cobb. “I hope that it serves to emphasize the importance of paleo-climate research in this field.”

She joined the faculty at Georgia Tech in 2004 after earning her Ph.D. in oceanography in 2002 from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography and spending two years as a postdoctoral fellow at Caltech.

“Models can only take you so far in seeing how the climate may change over the next few decades,” said Cobb. “In many cases, the data is too short, so the paleo-climate data is added to make a more complete record, so we can see how temperature and precipitation patterns respond to climate forcing.”

Cobb has spent time in the caves of Borneo, analyzing stalagmites in search of clues about the climate of the earth’s past. This month, she’s traveling to the Bahamas to take high-definition footage of coral reefs so they can be rendered in a 3D virtual environment.

The multidisciplinary research team, which also includes Frank Dellaert from Tech’s College of Computing and Brian Magerko from Tech’s Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, will also be using the hi-def images they take of the reef to create a virtual ecosystem that scientists can use to collaborate and share data.

“This current research has educational uses for schools and museums, but we can also use the technology to capture large tracts of the reef in detail so other scientists can see species diversity and coral health without having to spend the money to go there,” she said.

Feamster received his Ph.D. in computer science from MIT in 2005, and his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT in 2000 and 2001, respectively. He joined the faculty at Georgia Tech in January 2006.

He is developing techniques, tools and systems to make it easier to manage and protect network operations. Networks, particularly communications networks, have become larger, more complex and virtually ubiquitous. This makes them more valuable to users, but also more vulnerable to problems and attacks.

“A lot of people have figured out that you can make a quick buck with spam or phishing attacks, and securing networks has become a really big problem,” Feamster said. “You have people out there who are not just trying to do damage or inflict harm to the network, but to make money.”

Much of Feamster’s current research focuses on making it easier for network operators and managers to do their jobs well. Network operators have to make the network highly available and secure at the same time, and that means monitoring network conditions, detecting problems that can be fixed and quickly taking steps to fix them. But when networks go down or suffer outside attacks, he says, operators often don’t have a complete picture of what happened and have to rely on anecdotal data gathered from individual users who have called a help line or reported a problem.

“If we could automate some of that and gather data from the edge of the network where the individual machines and users are and somehow push that information back into the network, it would help network operators figure out the problem and fix it faster,” he said.

Feamster also is working on solutions to unwanted network traffic—spam and phishing attacks. He says current fixes, such as applying spam filters based on words in an e-mail or the IP address of the sender’s computer, are too specific, and spammers have quickly figured out how to get around them. In his research, Feamster focuses on identifying some key and unchanging characteristics of spam so computer scientists can develop broader protections against it.

“The number of recipients is a good example,” he said. “If an e-mail has hundreds of recipients, there’s a good chance it’s spam. Also legitimate users of e-mail send messages that vary greatly in length, from one-liners to maybe several pages. The length of spam is almost always within a certain, limited range.”

Cobb and Feamster were nominated for the PECASE by the National Science Foundation. Eight federal departments and agencies annually nominate scientists and engineers at the start of their careers whose work shows exceptional promise for leadership at the frontiers of scientific knowledge during the twenty-first century. Participating agencies award recipients up to five years of funding to further their research in support of critical government missions.

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