printable versionFuller wins Cox Medal for fostering undergraduate research
Professor cited for 'attentive mentoring' of undergraduates
BY MARK SHWARTZ
Gerald Fuller
Gerald G. Fuller, a professor of chemical engineering, has been awarded the 2006 Allan V. Cox Medal for Faculty Excellence Fostering Undergraduate Research.
The Cox Medal was established in memory of Allan Cox, a professor of geophysics and dean of the School of Earth Sciences. It is awarded annually to a faculty member who has established a record of excellence directing undergraduate research over a number of years, or to a faculty member who has done an especially outstanding job with just one or two undergraduates whose work is unusually excellent.
Fuller was cited for "for his commitment to Stanford undergraduate education through the pursuit of individual student research; for his attentive mentoring of undergraduates working in his laboratory, ensuring a comprehensive experience as a member of a research team, including exposure to a range of projects and researchers, training in essential laboratory techniques and rigorous intellectual discussion; for his ability to balance guided and independent work to create strong researchers; for his support of publication by undergraduates and for ensuring their participation in the writing process to encourage the effective communication of knowledge; for his ongoing counsel and support for students to pursue experience and contacts in academic and industry; and for his enthusiasm, his joy in the pursuit of research and his commitment to his students."
A member of the Stanford faculty since 1980, Fuller holds three degrees in chemical engineering: a bachelor's degree from the University of Calgary in 1975, a master's from the California Institute of Technology in 1977 and a doctorate from Caltech in 1980.
His lab uses state-of-the-art optical technology to study the deformation and flow of matter, a field known as rheology. "There are numerous processes encountered in nature and industry where the deformation of fluid-fluid interfaces is of central importance," according to his website. "Examples from nature include deformation of the red blood cell in small capillaries and cell division. Industrial applications include the processing of emulsions and foams, and the atomization of droplets in ink-jet printing."
Fuller was selected as a National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator in 1985, a fellow of the American Physical Society in 1993 and a member in the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 2005. At the time of his election to the academy, NAE officials praised him "for contributions to our understanding of the rheology of complex fluids and fluid interfaces and the development of unique rheo-optical techniques."