Faculty members win awards, honors

Joining the ranks of Nobel and Pulitzer prize winners, presidents, authors and other influential thinkers is IU’s very own Linda Smith, the chair of the Department of Psychology and Brain Sciences and a noted early childhood development expert. Smith was recently announced as a fellow to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. \nThis year Smith will be a fellow along with former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, filmmaker Spike Lee and former Vice President Al Gore, Jr., according to an IU press release.\nSince 1977, Smith has taught and researched at IU. Her research focuses on the developmental process and the “cascading interactions” of perception, action, attention and language as children between the ages of 1 and 3 acquire their first language, according to the press release. \nThe Academy, which Smith has now joined, has elected Fellows and Foreign Honorary Members as influential leaders from each generation. Currently, the Academy research focuses on science and global security, social policy, the humanities and culture and education.\nPlant biologist Mark Estelle shares similar honors and recognition, having been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Estelle has made contributions to the understanding of how plant growth is regulated. \nHe has uncovered numerous details of previously unknown regulatory systems for hormone action. His research lab recently identified the receptor that binds the plant hormone auxin, which serves as the missing link in the chain of events that controls plant growth and development. What Estelle has discovered in plants reveals the existence of fundamental shared regulatory pathways in plants and animals, even humans.\nMost of Estelle’s projects focus on plant hormones influencing the expression of genes, according to an IU press release.\nEstelle is IU’s 11th member to join the National Academy of Sciences.