School Notes: Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
May/June 2022

2020 and 2021 Wilbur Cross medalists honored

The Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal is presented each year by the Graduate School Alumni Association (GSAA) to a small number of outstanding alumni. The medal recognizes distinguished achievements in scholarship, teaching, academic administration, and public service, and is the highest honor the Graduate School bestows upon its PhD alums. 

As the pandemic prevented a timely presentation of awards in person, 2020 and 2021 Wilbur Cross medalists were celebrated together at an April 4 ceremony held in the Old Refectory at Yale Divinity School. President Salovey joined Dean Cooley and James Shulman ’87, ’93PhD, (GSAA chair) in presenting medals to each of the eminent scholars in attendance, all of whom were nominated by their peers as leaders and true innovators in their respective fields. 

2020:

Matthew State ’01PhD (genetics) for his contributions to the understanding of the genetic basis of psychiatric disease.

Brenda Stevenson ’90PhD (history), for her pioneering scholarship on race, gender, family, and slavery.

Dorceta Taylor ’91PhD (forestry and environmental studies and sociology), for her breakthroughs at the intersection of environmental science and sociology.

Veronica Vaida ’77PhD (chemistry), for her groundbreaking work toward understanding the chemical processes in Earth’s atmosphere.

2021:

Anat Admati ’83PhD (operations research/management science), for her outstanding scholarship and teaching in the field of economics, and public service pursuing corruption in corporate and internet governance.

Tamer Basar ’72PhD (engineering and applied science), for his research productivity and groundbreaking methodological development of dynamic games, team decision theory, and robust control, and their applications in a variety of domains.

Donald Ingber ’77BA/MA (molecular biophysics and biochemistry), ’84MD/PhD (cell biology), for his pioneering contributions to numerous disciplines including biologically inspired engineering, mechanobiology, cytoskeletal biology, among many others.

Mary Miller ’81PhD (art history), for her scholarship in the art of Mesoamerica and visionary leadership in art history and higher education.