STAFF AWARDS
El i zab eth Gillis Award Debra Purtee, executive administrator in the Department of Bioengineering, received the 2014 Elizabeth Gillis Award for Exemplary Service. The award, named for the wife of former Rice President Malcolm Gillis, recognizes Rice staff members who demonstrate unflagging commitment and service to the university. Gillis and President David Leebron presented Purtee with the award at the April 2 town hall meeting in Rice Memorial Center. Purtee went to work for Rice in 1994 in the Computer Science Department as its senior administrator. Moshe Vardi, the Karen Ostrum George Distinguished Service Professor of Computational Engineering and professor of computer science who was chair of the department then, described her as “a fantastic administrator who professionally juggled numerous responsibilities: overseeing the department’s staff, managing the department budget, supporting the faculty in research proposal submission and seeing to the welfare of our graduate students.” In 1996, Purtee was recruited to the newly created Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Studies as an assistant vice provost. In 2007, that office split into two divisions — Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies and the Office of Research. Purtee assisted the newly hired Vice Provost for Research, Jim Coleman, and was charged with the management of all supporting business activities of the division. She joined the Department of Bioengineering in 2011. Purtee was recognized with the Centennial Star Award in 2012.
Debra Purtee
K a t h r y n O’ Br i e n
H a rdy B ourl a nd Awa rd Kathryn O’Brien, events administrator for the George R. Brown School of Engineering, was presented with the Hardy Bourland Award at the annual School of Engineering/School of Natural Sciences ice cream social in April. O’Brien joined the Rice University staff in 1998 as an executive assistant in the Center for High Performance Software Research. In 2002, she was promoted to conference coordinator, and was hired by the dean of engineering’s office in 2006. There she is responsible for planning events hosted by the school’s nine academic departments. The award is named for Hardy Bourland, who served as associate dean of engineering from 1975 until his retirement in 2000. It honors a member of the school staff whose contributions significantly improve his or her department, the school of engineering or the university as a whole. O’Brien was also the recipient of the 2010 Outstanding Employee Award, cited for her dedication and expertise.
In M em or i a m J o e H i g h t ow e r Joe Hightower, a professor emeritus of chemical engineering at Rice University who pioneered the fields of catalysis and chemical kinetics and advanced development of the materials essential to the catalytic converters now mandated in motor vehicles, died July 25 at the age of 77. Hightower earned his bachelor’s degree at Harding University in Arkansas and a doctorate in chemistry from Johns Hopkins University. After postdoctoral studies at the Queen’s University in Belfast and the Mellon Institute in Pittsburgh, he joined the Rice faculty in 1967, became full professor in 1970 and retired in 2002. He served as department chair, director of sponsored research, a member of the University Council and secretary of the faculty. He was a faculty adviser to the Student Chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Hightower co-founded and for more than 40 years served Hospitality Apartments, a volunteerrun, 46-unit Texas Medical Center facility providing free housing for families coming to Houston for medical care. Hightower received the Jefferson Prize for Public Service in Houston in 1982.
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