Zafra Lerman, Ph.D., head of Columbia’s Institute for Science Education and Science Communications (ISESC) has been selected to receive the George Brown Award for International Science and Technology Collaboration from The U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF). The award recognizes Dr. Lerman’s efforts on behalf of peace, cooperation and cultural understanding.
She will receive her award and be honored at ceremonies on Thursday, October 11 in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Lerman, who founded the ISESC at Columbia in 1991 to enhance science education methodology, has won numerous awards for her innovative pedagogy including the 1999 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.
She has also been a life-long peace activist, serving as the primary spokesperson for the American Chemical Society’s efforts toward human rights for scientists worldwide. This work has carried the Israeli native to China, Cuba, many of the former Soviet countries of Eurasia and Russia.
For the past five years Lerman has brought together the science community of 12 Middle Eastern nations for conferences on the island of Malta. The Malta conferences, titled Frontiers of Chemical Sciences: Research and Education in the Middle East – a Bridge to Peace, enabled Middle Eastern attendees to work together to identify collaborative solutions to critical regional problems.
She believes that creating bonds of understanding across cultures and among leaders in the scientific community will ultimately influence political leaders and move them toward diplomatic solutions in the quest for world peace. For full biographical information on Dr. Zafra Lerman visit http://www.colum.edu/Academics/Science_Institute/
“Dr. Zafra Lerman has long been one of the outstanding faculty at Columbia College Chicago,” said Dr. Warrick L. Carter, president of the arts and media college. “Her contributions to science education – particularly as these benefit our creative Columbia students – and her efforts on behalf of global understanding make us all extremely proud. We congratulate her on this latest prestigious recognition of her achievements.”
CRDF is a nonprofit non-governmental organization authorized by the U.S. Congress and established in 1995 by the National Science Foundation. This unique public-private partnership promotes international scientific and technical collaboration through grants, technical resources and training. www.crdf.org.
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