Chemistry professor receives top honor

University of San Diego chemistry professor Mitchell Malachowski was named the 2014 California Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

Malachowski’s recent research has focused on developing metal organic compounds that can trap greenhouse gases, store hydrogen gas for fuel and serve other purposes in nanotechnology. He is known among colleagues as a leader in promoting undergraduate research, according to USD’s press office.

Malachowski took the Professor of the Year honor after the Carnegie Foundation evaluated nearly 400 top professors across the U.S.

“This award speaks to the overall quality of the University of San Diego’s Chemistry and Biochemistry Department and the value our faculty place on undergraduate research,” Malachowski said in a press release. “Many people here have helped me develop my approach to teaching.”

Malachowski also received the 2014 Council on Undergraduate Research Fellows Award earlier this year.

“We are delighted that Professor Malachowski is receiving this national recognition for his exceptional contributions as a scholar, teacher and mentor who has positively influenced the lives and careers of hundreds of students and made a lasting impact on the field,” said University of San Diego President Mary E. Lyons in a press release.

Property manager recognized for outstanding work 

The local chapter of Institute of Real Estate Management honored Lucinda Lilley, vice president of FBS Property Management, as its Certified Property Manager of the year.

FBS hired Lilley in 2012. Since then, she has helped build the firm’s education department, represented the firm as a member of the executive boards of both the San Diego County Apartment Association and the local chapter of the Institute of Real Estate Management, taught classes for FBS employees and expanded the residential multifamily management program at FBS, according to a press release.

“I am honored that I was chosen for such a prestigious award and feel even more blessed to have been provided this recognition by the 2014 president of our chapter, Gail Scott, CPM, vice president, Lincoln Military Housing,” Lilley said in the press release.

Engineering professor chosen as fellow 

Susan M. Lord, a professor of electrical engineering at University of San Diego, has been selected as a 2015 fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The institute selects fewer than one out of every 1,000 members as fellows each year.

Lord’s work has focused on how to increase diversity in the engineering field, especially among women, Latinos and military veterans.

“Engineers make critical decisions that affect all aspects of society, so it’s vital that members of all our communities be represented in the field,” Lord said in a press release.

In his nomination statement for the honor, Iowa State University Professor Emeritus Edwin Jones, Jr. said Lord’s work “has shown that persistence measurement methods can lead to race and gender biases and thus the critical role that institutions and disciplines play in educational outcomes.”

The nomination by Jones continued to describe how Lord’s work “has explored differences among engineering disciplinary cultures by examining demographics and outcomes of students by race and gender.”

The IEEE honor recognizes Lord’s leadership and contributions to engineering education.

“We are thrilled to see Dr. Lord receive this prestigious recognition for her innovative work in engineering education,” said Chell Roberts, dean of USD’s School of Engineering, in a press release. “Her work is making a national impact and helping us to transform education here at USD.”