ANN ARBOR—Three University of Michigan faculty members—Clark T.-C. Nguyen, Yoichi Osawa and Yopie Prins—will receive the University’s 2002 Henry Russel Award.

The annual award is given to young faculty members for scholarly achievement and promise. The award will be presented March 12, followed by the annual Henry Russel Lecture given by a senior member of the faculty. This year’s lecturer is Gerard A. Mourou, the A.D. Moore Distinguished University Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Nguyen, who joined the U-M faculty in 1995 as assistant professor of electrical engineering, pioneered developments in microelectromechanical systems or “MEMS.” These devices incorporate tiny diaphragms, beams and other microstructures for measuring pressure, acceleration, rate of turn, light intensity and chemical composition and have important applications in areas such as health care, automotive systems, and many consumer products, including wireless communications. Nguyen is perhaps best known for pioneering work on micromechanical circuit networks capable of doing communication signal processing with substantially smaller size and power consumption than present-day devices. Nguyen was promoted to associate professor in September.

Osawa joined the U-M faculty in 1995 as assistant professor of pharmacology. He is an expert on the mechanisms of hemoprotein inactivation by drugs, environmental toxicants, and other chemical substances that are foreign and harmful to living organisms. In his research, Osawa has outlined the mechanism of tissue damage that may play an important role in the aging process.

Prins, who joined the U-M faculty in 1994 as an assistant professor of English and comparative literature and was promoted to associate professor in 1998, enjoys an international reputation in the areas of Victorian literature, gender studies and the comparative study of lyric. Her book, “Victorian Sappho,” is about English translations and imitations of ancient Greek poetry, and has established Prins as a leading scholar of Victorian poetry and 19th-century Hellenism.

Both the Henry Russel Award and the Henry Russel Lectureship were established in 1925 with a bequest from Henry Russel of Detroit, who received three degrees from the U-M.

Clark T.-C. NguyenGerard A. MouroupharmacologyEnglish