With thousands of students and faculty working to bring change through various academic projects at UW schools, it can be easy to feel as if one’s work isn’t appreciated. This was not the case for a few students and faculty Friday, however, as the Alliant Energy Foundation and the UW System awarded them for their exceptional achievements.
The Alliant Energy Erroll B. Davis, Jr. Academic Achievement Award was given for community-based service by students of traditionally underrepresented minority groups studying business or engineering at UW-Madison or UW-Plattevile, according to a UW System release. There were four recipients of the award this year, two of whom are Madison students: seniors Janerra Allen and Catherine Finedore.
Allen worked on a project last summer investigating brain changes in stroke patients exposed to a computer-based rehabilitative therapy. She is also president of the National Society of Black Engineers–Wisconsin Black Engineering Student Society.
Finedore helped to develop an infant-cardiorespiratory monitor for those in developing countries. She travelled to India as part of the project to test the device on newborns so she and her cohorts could improve the monitor.
The annual Alliant Energy Underkofler Excellence in Teaching Award was also given to faculty with a proven record of commitment to student success, and UW-Madison professor Jennifer B. Smilowitz was one of the 2016 recipients. Smilowitz, a faculty member in the School of Medicine and Public Health, “developed the first lab-based course on the physics of radiotherapy treatment planning,” according to the release. She has taught the course for 10 years.
