Quine Receives Honorary Degree at Oldenburg

Willard Van Orman Quine, Edgar Pierce Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, received an honorary degree in philosophy at the University at Oldenburg in Germany, where he delivered the Karl Jaspers Lecture, as part of the newly revived lecture series.

1997 Buchan Prize Goes to Study of Llama Meat Legends

Clare Sammells, 1995 graduate of the Folklore and Mythology program, received the 1997 David Buchan Student Essay Prize from the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research. Sammells received the award for her submission, "Folklore, Food, and Seeking National Identity: Urban Legends of Llama Meat in La Paz, Bolivia," which was based on her senior thesis.

Although llama meat is a nutritious food valued by the indigenous population, many members of the middle and upper classes consider the meat contaminated by parasites and diseases. Legends circulate about food vendors and restaurants that disguise llama meat to serve it to unwitting customers.

Morduch Receives Hoover Institution Fellowship

Jonathan J. Morduch, associate professor of economics, is among the recipients of the postdoctoral National Fellowships for the 1997-98 academic year. The fellowship allows junior scholars free time from teaching to advance their professional careers by completing an original and significant research project at the Hoover Institution, based at Stanford University.

Astronomy Professor To Receive UCLA Medal

Fred Whipple, Phillips Professor of Astronomy Emeritus, will receive the UCLA Medal, the university's highest honor for "technological forethought and bold insight that have profoundly enhanced the science of astronomy." The medal will be presented on June 15 at the UCLA commencement ceremony, which marks the 70th anniversary of Whipple's graduation from UCLA. Whipple is known as "the grand old man of comets" for his work in comet study, which has transformed how humanity understands the heavens.

Fellow at Law School Honored by Women's Political Caucus

Susan Roosevelt Weld, a research fellow in the East Asian Legal studies at the Law School and chair of the Massachusetts Asian-American Commission, will be one of five recipients honored on Thursday, June 12, at the Tenth Annual Tribute to Abigail Adams of the Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus for outstanding contributions to promote equal political, economic, and social rights for women. In 1995, Weld was the U.S delegate to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women and she serves as honorary chair of Massachusetts Action for Women. Weld, who received her Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in 1990 and her J.D. from the Law School in 1974, currently teaches Chinese and Japanese law at Boston College Law School.