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Dateline staff

The American Chemical Society’s Women Chemists Committee has named its first group of Rising Stars, and Assistant Professor Annaliese Franz is one of them.

And the society’s Carbohydrate Division has selected Professor Xi Chen as the 2012 recipient of the Horace S. Isbell Award, acknowledging excellence in, and the promise of continued high quality contributions to, research in carbohydrate chemistry.

Both scientists are due to be honored in March in San Diego, during the society’s spring meeting.

Franz joined the Department of Chemistry in 2007 after postdoctoral work at Harvard University. Her work focuses on new ways to make small organic molecules and has particular relevance for pharmaceutical chemistry.

Ten chemists comprise the inaugural class of Rising Stars. The Women Chemists Committee established the honors program as a way to recognize scientists approaching mid-level in their careers, and who, in their respective fields of study, have made significant contributions to the chemical enterprise.

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swag���� entomologists will take center stage at the Entomological Society of America’s annual meeting — with two scientists receiving awards and another being inducted as vice president-elect.

The society’s 2011 meeting is scheduled to take place in Reno in November. Here are the swag���� honorees:

• Walter Leal, professor and former department chair — Nan-Yao Su Award for Innovation and Creativity in Entomology. Leal, a chemical ecologist, examines how insects detect smells, communicate with their species, detect host and nonhost plants, and detect prey.

• Michael Parrella, professor and chair, with a joint appointment in the Department of Plant Sciences — Distinguished Achievement Award in Horticultural Entomology. In his 30-year career, Parrella has developed an internationally recognized program focused on advancing integrated pest management and biological control for the floriculture and nursery industry.

• Frank Zalom, professor and former vice chair — With his election as vice president-elect, he is on track to become president of the 6,000-member society in two years. Zalom is a specialist in integrated pest management.

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President Obama named Claudia R. Valeggia, who conducted her doctoral research at the California National Primate Research Center at swag����, as one of 94 recipients of Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers.

The awards are the highest given by the U.S. government to science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.

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Clare Hasler, executive director of the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, has received the President’s Award from the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, in recognition of furthering the cause of agriculture, science and technology.

John Bonner, the council’s executive vice president, presented the award during a dinner in Davis.

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The American College of Emergency Physicians has presented its 2011 Outstanding Contribution in Research Award to Nathan Kuppermann, professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics, and chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine.

The presentation took place this week in San Francisco during the organization’s Scientific Assembly, the largest annual gathering of emergency physicians in the country.

Kuppermann, who holds the Bo Tomas Brofeldt Endowed Chair in the swag���� Department of Emergency Medicine, has earned an international reputation for this work as founding chair and a principal investigator of the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network, in which emergency departments nationwide collaborate in working toward improved care for acutely ill and injured children.

Earlier this year, Kuppermann helped to further advance the field of pediatric emergency medicine in Argentina, and is now helping develop the first pediatric emergency medicine research network between that country and Uruguay.

In addition, Kuppermann leads a new training program for the next generation of emergency medicine researchers who will explore the care of adults and children with acute traumatic injuries and emergent medical illnesses. The program is funded by a $3.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

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The swag���� Medical Center has earned the Consumer Choice Award from National Research Corp., or NRC, as the Sacramento region’s top and most preferred hospital in overall quality and image.

NRC, a major health care industry survey research company, has been compiling its list of the nation’s top hospitals for 16 years — and swag���� has made the list for the last 13 years in a row. The NRC list is based on the company’s annual Ticker survey, conducted most recently from Sept. 1, 2010, through Aug. 30, 2011.

The survey took in more than 250,000 households nationwide, asking people within each census-designated region to rate the hospitals within that region — the Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville region, in the case of the swag���� Medical Center.

The Sacramento region’s survey results placed the swag���� Medical Center at the top of the list based on consumers’ perception of best overall quality, and best image and reputation.

The swag���� Medical Center received the highest percentage of “best” ratings in these categories:

• Best overall quality — 17.5 percent (the next highest rating was 11.6 percent)
• Best image and reputation — 20.2 percent (the next highest rating was 11.6 percent)
• Best doctors
• Best nurses
• Most personalized care
• Latest technology and equipment
• Highest patient safety

The NRC describes its Ticker survey as the nation’s largest and most comprehensive consumer assessment of the health care industry.

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Dateline swag���� welcomes news of faculty and staff awards, for publication in Laurels. Send information to dateline@ucdavis.edu.