A scholar of environmental law and a cognitive neuroscientist receive the prestigious President’s Awards for Distinguished Scholar-Teachers during Fall Faculty Convocation.
Lisa Heinzerling and Chandan Vaidya were recognized with the annual award for their achievements inside and outside the classroom during the Oct. 16 ceremony.
“This medal was designed to recognize those faculty colleagues among us who excel both in research accomplishments and teaching effectiveness,” said Georgetown Provost Robert Groves.“They, therefore, teach us every day that these two sides of an academic are not in conflict, but can be jointly achieved.”
Heinzerling, the Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. Professor of Law, specializes in administrative law and environmental law and has received numerous awards for her scholarship and advocacy in environmental law.
She also has published numerous works on environmental law, including a leading casebook, a cost-benefit analysis in environmental policy and a casebook aimed at teaching environmental law to first-year law students.
Vaidya, professor and chair of the psychology department, researches the functional neural architecture of adaptive mechanisms during a person’s lifespan.
The cognitive neuroscientist’s research involves multidisciplinary methods comprising behavioral, neuropsychological and structural and functional brain imaging.
Her studies include neurotypical children and adults as well as those with developmental disorders such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).
Vaidya also is an investigator at the Children’s Research Institute at the Children’s National Medical Center.