Applause

Computer Science Professor Judea Pearl and American University's Akbar Ahmed have joined forces to promote understanding in the Middle East while defying the terrorists who murdered Pearl's son, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, in 2002. The two have been traveling the country to speak at a series of "Daniel Pearl Dialogues for Muslim-Jewish Understanding." For their efforts, Pearl and Ahmed won a $100,000 Purpose Prize from Civic Ventures, a San Francisco-based think tank. The Purpose Prize is a new initiative to invest in Americans over 60 who are leading a new age of social innovation…. Warren Mori has been appointed director of the Institute for Digital Research and Education (IDRE ). Mori, who has a joint appointment in physics and astronomy and in electrical engineering, has been a key originator of the concept behind IDRE . As director, he will help organize and integrate computational science and engineering activities across campus.… Jan-Christopher Horak was selected as an Academy Film Scholar by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. A visiting professor of critical studies/archival training, Horak will receive $25,000 from the academy to write a biography of Saul Bass, a designer of movie posters, studio publicity materials and film credit sequences.