Margherita Heyer-Caput, an associate professor of Italian at UC Davis, has been awarded the Italian Literary National Prize Grazia Deledda within the Criticism-Deleddian Studies section for her article "To Uncover 'The Secret of the Solitary Man,' by Grazia Deledda."

The award ceremony took place in late 2005 at the Teatro Eliseo in Nuoro, Italy, where Grazia Deledda, the recipient of the 1926 Nobel Prize for Literature, was born in 1871. The National Literary Prize Grazia Deledda was established in 1952 by writer Marino Moretti and is funded by the Region of Sardinia, the Province of Nuoro, the city of Nuoro and the Chamber of Commerce of Nuoro.

Pamela Tom, Seafood Extension program manager and director of the Seafood Network Information Center, was recently chosen to receive the Cal Willey Achievement Award from the Institute of Food Technologists. The award, to be presented in June at the organization's annual national meeting in Orlando, Fla., recognizes individuals for their "continuing, meritorious and imaginative service" to the institute.

William Casey, professor of chemistry at UC Davis, has been elected as a geochemistry fellow by the Geochemical Society and the European Association for Geochemistry. The title is "bestowed upon outstanding scientists who have, over the years, made a major contribution to the field of geochemistry." The new fellows will be introduced and their certificates presented at the 16th annual Goldschmidt Conference in Melbourne, Australia, Aug. 27 to Sept. 1.

Zhendong Su, assistant professor in the UC Davis Department of Computer Science, and M. Saif Islam, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, have both received 2005-2006 Early Career Awards from the National Science Foundation. Su studies ways to prevent and correct errors in complex information systems. His research proposal describes a novel systematic analysis framework to address database and Web application vulnerabilities. Su will also develop an interdisciplinary course on engineering robust database-intensive applications. Islam is developing techniques for putting nanotechnology into mass production and plans to develop a new undergraduate course on nanostructured devices.

Harry Dwyer, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and Marshal Miller, a senior development engineer at the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS-Davis), along with four UC Davis alumni, have received the Vincent Bendix Automotive Electronics Engineering Award from the Society of Automotive Engineers. The annual award, established in 1976, recognizes the authors of the best paper relating to automotive electronics.

The other awardees, all UC Davis alumni, are: David J. Grupp, Altergy Systems; Christie-Joy Brodrick, assistant professor at James Madison University and co-director of the university's Alternative Fuels Program; Matthew E. Forrest, a senior mechanical engineer at DaimlerChrysler RTNA, Inc; and Pippin G.L. Mader, an air resources engineer for the California Air Resources Board. The award will be presented during the SAE World Congress in Detroit, Mich., April 3-6.

Dan Chang, Ray B. Krone Professor of Environmental Engineering in the UC Davis Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, received the Lyman A. Ripperton Environmental Educator Award from the Air and Waste Management Association. The award is presented for distinguished achievement as an educator in some field of air pollution control. It is awarded to an individual, who by precept and example, has inspired students to achieve excellence.

Kari Lokke's book, "Tracing Women's Romanticism: Gender, History, and Transcendence," has been awarded the 2005 Jean-Pierre Barricelli Book Prize. This highly selective and prestigious prize is awarded to the book deemed the most significant book of the year in Romanticism studies. Lokke teaches "Women Writers" (both lower- and upper-division) in comparative literature at UC Davis, as well as an upper-division course on Romanticism and a graduate seminar in English on "Romantic Literature." As graduate adviser in comparative literature this year, she is teaching the Graduate Colloquium.

Michael Savageau, UC Davis professor and chair of biomedical engineering, gave the 79th annual Josiah Willard Gibbs Lecture to an audience of over 4,000 at the national meeting of the American Mathematical Society in San Antonio, Jan. 12. Previous Gibbs lecturers include Albert Einstein, Vannevar Bush, Kurt Gödel, Freeman Dyson and Edward Witten. Savageau spoke on "Function, Design and Evolution of Gene Circuitry," presenting a mathematical approach to understanding intact biological systems in their natural environment.