Four faculty members have received 1998 teaching and research excellence awards from the UConn chapter of the American Association of University Professors..

Stephen Maxson, professor of psychology, and Yaakov Bar-Shalom, professor of electrical and systems engineering, received the research awards. Paul Mason, director of the Storrs MBA program and an instructor in the accounting department, received an award for innovation in teaching. And the teaching mentorship award went to Howard Lasnik, professor of linguistics.

The awards were presented by Senate President pro tempore Kevin Sullivan at a ceremony at the state Capitol on April 28, that was also attended by President Philip E. Austin, Rep. Denise Merrill (D-Mansfield), Sen. Edith Prague (D-Columbia), Sen. William Ciotto (D-Wethersfield) and Rep. Anthony Tercyak (R-New Britain).

Maxson's research has focused on the importance of sex chromosomes in the control of aggressive behavior. His research has also been recognized by his peers, who awarded him the 1998 Dobzhansky Award, a national recognition in the field of genetics.

Bar-Shalom is recognized for his many major contributions in the area of defense and commercial uses of radar. He has been cited numerous times by other scientists for his work in probabilistic data association.

The innovation in teaching award went to Mason for his work in creating a distance learning accounting course. Students ranked the course as excellent. Although the course is taught at five regional campuses, students say they feel the sense of participation and thoroughness of learning associated with the personal presence of the faculty member..

The 1998 teaching mentorship award recognized Lasnik for the role model he has become for students. Many of his former students have gone on to faculty positions, at institutions including Princeton and the University of Maryland. Class recordings and notes of former students have made Lasnik a model emulated in academia and elsewhere.

AAUP President Robinson Grover said "These awards express the commitment of the Association and of its members to excellence in teaching and excellence in research. All of us are proud of the fine scholarship and the exciting research that is done at UConn."