PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 22, No. 7, Oct. 3, 2002

agricultural, consumer and environmental sciences
A UI project that aids farmers in decision-making and risk-management has received the American Agricultural Economics Association’s top award for extension programs. The project, farmdoc, is operated out of the department of agricultural and consumer economics with funding support from the Illinois Council for Food and Agricultural Research.

"The farmdoc program encompasses a broad spectrum of expertise and research-based education materials, involving agricultural finance, marketing and outlook, farm management, agricultural policy and law and taxation," said Scott Irwin, a professor of agricultural marketing and price analysis who is the project’s team leader. Other department faculty members providing leadership are Paul Ellinger, Darrel Good, Dale Lattz, Robert Hauser, Gary Schnitkey, Bruce Sherrick, Donald Uchtmann and former UI professor Sarahelen Thompson. Joao Martines is the project manager. A team of UI Extension educators throughout the state also cooperate.

More information about farmdoc is available at www.farmdoc.uiuc.edu/.

Irwin noted that farmdoc has had a measurable impact on decision-making and economic behavior in its target audience. Usage has risen from an initial level of about 10,000 hits per month to nearly 100,000. There have been nearly 60,000 downloads of research reports on the performance of agricultural market advisory services, nearly 4,000 downloads of Farm Analysis Solution Tools spreadsheets on the site and distribution of more than 2,000 FAST CDs.

A number of farm magazines also have given the site a high rating.

engineering
Howard K. Birnbaum, professor emeritus of materials science and engineering, has received the Von Hippel award, the highest honor given by the Materials Research Society. According to the society’s Web site, Birnbaum was recognized for his seminal contributions to the understanding of intrinsic point defects, hydrogen in metals and grain boundary segregation, especially as these effects relate to mechanical properties. He also has stimulated, directed and influenced interdisciplinary research throughout the materials community.

liberal arts and sciences
Benita S. Katzenellenbogen, Swanlund Professor of molecular and integrative physiology and of cell and structural biology, and in the College of Medicine, was honored with a Distinguished Alumni Award from The City University of New York at commencement exercises in May. She was cited for "her distinguished career as a scientist working at the forefront of breast cancer research, treatment and prevention and the endocrine regulation of human cancers that has helped improve the quality of life of women with breast cancer and given them new hope."

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achievements A report on honors, awards, appointments and other outstanding achievements of faculty and staff members