Around the Quad

An acclaimed scientist from the University of Kansas will lead the College of Arts and Sciences into a new era, starting this summer. The appointment of Joy Ward, PhD, associate dean of research and a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, concludes a national search for the successor to Cyrus Taylor, PhD.

Taylor led the college for a dozen years before returning to the physics faculty at the end of 2018.

“Joy’s own exceptional research achievements, coupled with her strong success in catalyzing accomplishments among others, make her the right person to lead the College of Arts and Sciences at this moment,” President Barbara C. Snyder said, upon announcing her appointment in January. Ward is internationally recognized for her studies of how plants are handling global climate change. In 2017, she was selected to lead scientific research in KU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

She’s been groomed for academic leadership. In 2014, KU named her a senior administrative fellow as part of a program to prepare campus leaders for greater opportunities. In 2015, she became a dean’s professor, the highest honor a faculty member in KU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences can receive.

“After 16 years at KU, I recognized that it would take a very special opportunity to persuade me to leave a university that has been so good to me,” Ward said in a statement. “From my first interactions with the College of Arts and Sciences’ search committee, I quickly realized that this is a special place with people eager to contribute and excel in meaningful ways.”

She’s scheduled to start her new job July 1.

Our 2020 award winners have shaped the campus and their professions

The next time you drop your phone and the glass doesn’t shatter, thank

’68, PhD ’70. The scientist and ceramics expert helped develop chemically strengthened glass, an essential material in everything from smartphones to bullet-proof windows to the lifesaving EpiPen.

This fall, Varshneya will be honored by the Case Alumni Association for his professional achievements and his support of today’s students. He will receive the Gold Medal, the association’s highest annual honor, at Homecoming and Reunion Weekend Oct. 9-10.

The 2020 awards ceremony will honor six other distinguished alumni and a good friend of the Case School of Engineering:

Ken Barker ’70, will receive the Samuel Givelber ’23 Award, granted to an alumnus who fosters fellowship in the Case tradition. Barker, a retired financial analyst endowed with a snowy white beard, spends much of the winter bringing joy to people as Santa Claus.

Arkady Polinkovsky ’08, MS ’10, will receive the Young Alumni Leadership Award. He is chairman of the Scholarship Committee of the CAA and has been a volunteer since his student days.

In addition, five men will receive the Meritorious Service Award, which recognizes outstanding service to the alumni association and to Case. They are:

Jim McGuffin-Cawley, PhD ’84, a professor of materials science and the Senior Associate Dean of the Case School of Engineering

Ed McHenry ’67, MBA ’71, a 13-year member of the CAA Board of Directors and the former president of the association.

Jim Kilmer ’00, MSE ’00, a 13-year member of the CAA Board of Directors and one of the association's most active volunteers.

Steve Hasbrouck ’62, a member of the CAA Board of Directors and a three-year member of the investment committee.

Daniel Ducoff, the Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Global Principal Gifts at Case Western Reserve University. Information on Homecoming events, including the 135th All Classes Celebration and Innovation ShowCASE Oct. 9, will be shared in the months ahead.

Announcing a new class of Junior Senior Scholars

Performing one of its most critical functions, the Case Alumni Association awarded 136 new Junior Senior Scholarships in March, propelling deserving students toward graduation from the Case School of Engineering and the College of Arts and Sciences. The scholarships, granted to rising juniors and seniors by the Scholarship Committee of the Case Alumni Association Board of Directors, are designed to help students finish their degree programs at

Case Western Reserve.

The Committee awarded a total of $688,100 to the students based on financial need, leadership potential and academic performance. The median award was $4,800; the top scholarship was $10,000.

Because of the pandemic, the annual Junior Senior Scholar Reception has been postponed. But the scholars now have additional support they can count on.

“These are the cream of the crop and we want to alleviate some of the pressure for them,” said Arkady Polinkovsky ’08, MS ’10, a senior mechanical engineer at Altran and the Chairman of the Scholarship Committee. More than 20 alumni, faculty and CAA staff took part in scholarship interviews. Polinkovsky, himself a Junior Senior Scholar, said the scholarships help students to focus on their research and classes by offering financial relief.

“This is the Case community taking care of its own,” he said. “I think the students realize that. I think they also realize they’ll be expected to help support the next generation. This is money well spent.”

Barbara Snyder was a steadfast friend of the Case Alumni Association

University President Barbara R. Snyder is leaving CWRU to lead the Association of American Universities, the organization that represents North America’s leading research universities, ending a 13-year tenure that saw impressive improvements in academic standards, enrollment and campus facilities.

While many will miss her, Case scientists and engineers share a special fondness for the university president.

Snyder, who took the helm in 2007, helped mend a rift between the university and the Case Alumni Association. She welcomed the CAA and its traditions back to campus and to Tomlinson Hall in 2011, ending a five-year exile to off-campus offices.

She was a familiar face at Case homecoming celebrations, including the Innovation ShowCASE, and braved chilly temperatures to ride in the open-top 1957 roadster of Case Engineer Larry Sears ’69 in the Homecoming Parade. In 2013, the CAA presented her with the Silver Bowl, its highest honor.

Snyder announced in February that she plans to join AAU before the fall 2020 semester and the university board of trustees began a national search for her successor.

“The opportunity to serve as Case Western Reserve’s president has been the greatest professional privilege of my life,” Snyder said in a statement.

The AAU includes such public flagship institutions as UCLA, University of Michigan and the University of Virginia, as well as private schools like Harvard, Yale, MIT, Stanford and CWRU.

At the end of the earth, Allen Foster enjoys a fantastic view of the heavens — and a longer shower

It was summer when Allen Foster arrived at the South Pole in January on a plane that lands on skis. A graduate student in physics in the College of Arts and Sciences, he had come to operate a telescope that CWRU helped design and build at the bottom of the world.

Before he began scanning the heavens, Foster laced up his boots for the annual Half Marathon of the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. He won — besting a 20-runner field in the 13.1 mile race.

Today, that trot across a sunny glacier must seem like years ago. In the frigid Antarctic winter, which stretches from March to October, it’s too cold and dark for scientists “wintering over” to do much outside.

Fortunately for Foster, he has work to do. He’s operating the South Pole Telescope, a collaboration between CWRU and nearly a dozen other universities and research institutions. Since 2007, the radio telescope has sought out electromagnetic radiation from the early universe, lending insight into the structure of the universe and its expansion.

Darkness, elevation and a complete lack of moisture make Antarctica an ideal lookout, said John Ruhl, PhD, a professor in the Department of Physics who helped design and install the telescope. He said Foster and a fellow scientist face a challenging task.

“It’s being the point person continually for eight or nine months,” Ruhl said. “They’re doing data analysis and really looking at everything as it happens. If anything goes wrong, as it often does, they’ll fix it.”

Foster does enjoy a toasty perk. As the winner of the marathon he received, in addition to a medal, 10 extra minutes in the shower.

“Down here, that’s a hot commodity,” Foster told The Plain Dealer. “People definitely try to win for the sake of that alone.”

Follow Allen Foster’s South Pole adventure on his blog https://tinyurl.com/ southpolefoster.