LAURELS

University Professor of Chemistry M. Frederick Hawthorne has won the annual King Faisal International Prize for science with Koji Nakanishi of Columbia University. Hawthorne was cited for his longstanding contributions to boron and inorganic synthetic chemistry in general and for his work on boron neutron capture cancer therapies in particular. The winners were recently announced by Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, managing director of the King Faisal Foundation. “Hawthorne is one of the most creative and productive chemists in the world,” Foundation officials said. “His research extends over many fields.” Hawthorne will receive the prize at ceremonies in Riyadh in March. The science prize is awarded once every four years in chemistry.... David Sears, a psychology and political science professor and director of the Institute for Social Science Research, has received the Warren E. Miller Prize from the American Political Science Association’s Section on Elections, Public Opinion and Voting Behavior. The group’s highest prize, the Miller Prize recognizes an outstanding career of intellectual accomplishment and service to the profession.... Jerome Engel Jr., professor of neurology and neurobiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine and director of the UCLA Seizure Disorder Center, has been named to the new Jonathan Sinay Chair in Epilepsy. Supported by a $1-million gift from the Resnick Family Foundation, the endowed chair helps ensure the future of epilepsy research at UCLA by providing an ongoing source of private funding.

KUDOS

Gregg C. Fonarow, associate professor of medicine, director of the Cardiology Fellowship Program and director of the Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center, and Karol Watson, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiology, have joined the board of the American Heart Association, Western States Affiliate.... Neal Garrett, associate professor, Division of Advanced Prosthodontics, Biomaterials and Hospital Dentistry, was appointed chair of the systemwide Committee on Committees after completing his service as an elected member and chair of the UCLA Academic Senate Committee on Committees.... William F. Friedman, J.H. Nicholson Professor of Pediatric Cardiology and senior associate dean for academic affairs at the David Geffen School of Medicine, has been awarded the 2002 Founders Award of the American Academy of Pediatrics in the category of cardiology and cardiac surgery. The honor recognizes his contributions to advancing the clinical diagnosis and management of infants and children with heart disease.

IN MEMORIAM

Herbert Weiner, a pioneer in the field of psychosomatic medicine and professor emeritus in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, died Nov. 12 at his home in Encino, Calif. He was 81.

Born in Vienna in 1921, he graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1943 and received his medical degree from Columbia University in 1946. A leader in his field, Weiner spent more than 50 years exploring how the brain and body orchestrate illnesses such as hypertension and asthma. His work was recognized in the United States and Europe by several honorary degrees and awards, including one from the Bonn-based Alexander von Humboldt Foundation that was the first ever given in his field.

From 1969 to 1982, he was chairman of the Psychiatry Department at Montefiore Hospital and Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y. He served as the editor of Psychosomatic Medicine, the leading journal in his field, from 1972 to 1982. From 1982 until his retirement last year, Weiner worked and taught at UCLA. He was chief of behavioral medicine and later professor emeritus, and he was a research scientist at UCLA’s Neuropsychiatric and Brain Research institutes. Days before his death, he completed and published a monograph on psychosomatic medicine, the last of more than 200 papers under his name.

Survivors include his wife of 49 years, Dora, a professor of the medical humanities and history at UCLA. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to The Herbert Weiner Early Career Award, which supports promising young researchers in the field, c/o the American Psychosomatic Society, 6728 Old McLean Village Drive, McLean, VA 22101-3906. Please include “Weiner Award” in an accompanying note.