Class Notes
The University recognized the achievements of several notable alumni this spring.
Esther Conwell ’45 (MA)
Honorary Doctor of Science
A research professor of chemistry and physics at Rochester, Conwell was awarded a National Medal of Science last fall by President Barack Obama for promoting women in science and for helping launch the computer revolution by explaining how electrons flow through semiconductors used in transistors. Conwell is the first University faculty member to receive a Medal of Science. She’s also an inducted member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Engineering. Photo: Adam Fenster
Jay Last ’51
Honorary Doctor of Science
Considered one of the “fathers” of Silicon Valley, Last was one of a group of eight entrepreneurially minded scientists who founded Fairchild Semiconductor Corp. in 1957. Fairchild helped establish Silicon Valley as a center for technological innovation and entrepreneurialism and is credited with inventing the technology that drives the computer industry today. Last is also a founder and member of the board of directors of the Archaeological Conservancy, a national nonprofit organization established in 1980 to preserve archaeological sites in the United States. Photo: Adam Fenster
Eric Topol ’79M (MD)
Charles Force Hutchison and Marjorie Smith Hutchison Medal
The director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute in California, which focuses on individualized medicine, Topol is the chief academic officer of Scripps Health, a senior consultant cardiologist practitioner at Scripps Clinic, and a professor of translational genomics at the Scripps Research Institute. A noted medical scientist, Topol led work in the genomics of heart attack that was recognized by the American Heart Association as a top research advance and by Time magazine as a “Top 10 Medical Breakthrough in 2010.” Photo: Adam Fenster
