Nagin honored with research award

Carnegie Mellon University Professor Daniel Nagin has received the American Society of Criminology's top research award.

Dr. Nagin was given the society's Edward H. Sutherland Award for his research into what makes children physically violent as they mature. His studies have shown that children are most violent as toddlers, but a smaller group then remains violent throughout childhood.

That counters a common theory that children become violent during adolescence with the onset of puberty.

Dr. Nagin received the award not only for those findings, but for developing a statistical method to group children over time based on their behavioral traits.

He holds the Teresa and H. John Heinz III Public Policy and Statistics chair at Carnegie Mellon, and will formally receive the award at the society's November meeting.

Anderson wins Dutch award in science

John R. Anderson, a longtime Carnegie Mellon University psychology and computer science professor, has received a major award from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The academy has named Dr. Anderson the first recipient of its Dr. A.H. Heineken Prize for Cognitive Science. The $150,000 prize is one of six awarded to outstanding scientists and artists every two years by the academy.

"Anderson's work stands internationally as a shining beacon in the ocean of cognitive research," said John A. Michon, a Royal Academy member and honorary secretary for the jury that selected Dr. Anderson.

A pioneer in creating computer simulations of how people think, Dr. Anderson's work has influenced such fields as "cognitive psychology, artificial intelligence, neurocognition, empirical economics and decision making and behavioral and evolutionary biology," Dr. Michon said.