Accolades: July 29, 2002

Jessica Menrath, a member of the incoming Class of 2006 in the School of Architecture, was honored for her artwork with the 2002 Congressional Art Award for the 21st District. Menrath traveled to Washington, D.C. for the awards ceremony on June 25. Her drawing will hang for one year in the pedestrian corridor between the Capitol and the Congressional office buildings. 7/29/02

James Ferris, director of the NY Center for Studies on the Origins of Life and professor emeritus of chemistry, was a plenary lecturer at the meeting of the International Society for Studies on the Origins of Life in Oaxaca, Mexico, June 30-July 7. Two postdoctorals and one student from his group also attended. One of the postdocs, Shin Miyakawa, was awarded the prize for the best poster in which a postdoctoral or student was the principal author and researcher. 7/29/02

James Ferris, director of the New York Center for Studies on the Origins of Life and professor emeritus of chemistry at Rensselaer, recently was a visiting professor at the University of Florence, where he collaborated on research on the origins of life. Ferris presented invited lectures at the University of Florence, the scientific meeting "Solids and Molecules in Space" in San Miniato, and at the scientific meeting "The Origin of Life on Earth" in Cortona. 7/1/02