Personal Mention

Shawn Blanton, professor of electrical and computer engineering, received the 2022 National Society of Black Engineers' Golden Torch Award for Lifetime Achievement in Academia during a black-tie ceremony on March 26 in Anaheim, California. The NSBE’s Golden Torch Awards honor individuals, companies and institutions that have produced a consistent body of highly distinguished work, served as role models for others and advanced opportunities for African Americans within the STEM industry. Blanton is a long-time NSBE advocate and decorated researcher in his field. He is the founder and director of the Advanced Chip Test Laboratory, which focuses on developing and implementing design methodologies and associated data-mining techniques for improving the fabrication, operation, security and testing of integrated systems. His work has yielded more than 200 publications and patents. Blanton has served in many key roles at Carnegie Mellon, including interim vice provost for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and, within the College of Engineering, acting associate dean for diversity and inclusion and chair of the diversity, inclusion and outreach committee. Learn more about Blanton and the NSBE.

CMU alumna Leah Lizarondo, CEO and co-founder of 412 Food Rescue, is honored in this year’s Grist 50, a national list of emerging leaders who are working on fresh, real-world solutions to our world’s biggest challenges in climate change and the environment. Grist recognizes people in all areas of the country — not just urban centers — who they call “Fixers.” Lizarondo’s honor comes just in time for 412 Food Rescue's seventh anniversary this month. Chosen from nearly 1,000 nominations, 412 Food Rescue's signature app, Food Rescue Hero, which is currently being used in 16 cities including Pittsburgh, addresses three of the world’s biggest problems at once: food waste, climate change and food insecurity. The tech platform, known as the “DoorDash for Good," mobilizes the world’s largest network of volunteer food drivers. “Rescuing food with the Food Rescue Hero app is an easy and impactful way for everybody to help our neighbors and the planet,” Lizarondo said. “It is one of the fastest-growing movements of climate activists." The only organization in the Greater Pittsburgh Region focused on food that would otherwise be discarded, 412 Food Rescue mobilizes volunteers to bring surplus food from retail locations to nonprofits serving people in need. Learn more about the Grist 50.

Elizabeth Holm, professor of materials science and engineering, received an honorary membership in the American Institute of Mining Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) for her outstanding service to The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society, and distinguished scientific achievements in computational materials science and engineering. She shares this decoration with Andrew Carnegie, who was recognized by AIME in 1905 after his retirement. Carnegie helped the institute find its first headquarters in New York City over 100 years ago and Holm was just named the institute’s incoming president. “I feel a special connection to this because Andrew Carnegie was a foresighted philanthropist,” Holm said. “He was the endower of Carnegie Institute of Technology, now Carnegie Mellon University, and to win an award that he also won is an honor.” Honorary membership is one of the highest honors AIME can bestow on an individual. It is awarded in appreciation of outstanding service to the institute or in recognition of distinguished scientific or engineering achievement in the fields embracing the activities of AIME and its member societies. “In the early 1900s, Andrew Carnegie could never have imagined me in this role,” Holm said. “As a woman in metallurgy, as a professor at his school, and as an AIME officer. I think that it’s just really cool how far we’ve come but how this connection remains."