LAS professors Arthur F. Kramer and Gene E. Robinson have been named Swanlund Chairs, the highest endowed titles at the University of Illinois.
Kramer, a professor in the Department of Psychology, is part of the Beckman Institute's Human Perception and Performance Group and is co-chair of the Institute's Human-Computer Interaction research theme.
Known internationally for his work on improving the cognitive function of older adults, he is also director of Biomedical Imaging Center and co-director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Center for Healthy Minds, a multidisciplinary center at Illinois. Kramer also holds appointments in the Institute of Aviation and the Campus Neuroscience Program.
His work deals with cognitive neuroscience, cognitive and brain plasticity, attention, perception, human factors, and aging. For instance, Kramer and his collaborators demonstrated that moderate exercise can increase brain volume in older adults. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Society, a member of the executive committee of the International Society of Attention and Performance, and a recent recipient of an NIH 10-year merit award. Kramer has been with the U of I since 1984.
Robinson is the G. William Arends Professor of Integrative Biology in the entomology department, director of the Bee Research Facility, and director of the Neuroscience Program. He also leads research on neurogenomics at the Institute for Genomic Biology. Robinson, who heads the Honey Bee Genome Sequencing Consortium, pioneered the application of genomics to the study of social behavior. His insight into the behaviors and organization of honey bees is helping us understand how human social behavior is influenced by both heredity and environment.
Robinson has been honored as a University Scholar (1993), Fulbright Fellow (1996), Guggenheim Fellow (2003), and is a fellow of the Animal Behavior Society (2006). He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2004) and the National Academy of Sciences (2005). In addition to entomology, he holds appointments in the departments of cell and developmental biology, animal biology, natural resources and the environment, and political science. Robinson has been on the faculty since 1989.
Robinson and Kramer are two of four new Swanlund Chairs, joining 15 other scholars on campus. Maybelle Leland Swanlund, who received a degree in library studies from the U of I in 1932, provided a $12 million endowment for chairs to attract leaders in the arts and sciences at the University and to recognize faculty who have made exceptional contributions in their fields. The Swanlund awards are for five years and may be renewed.
