MadProfessah on Vacation in South Africa

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I'm on vacation in South Africa from March 11th through March 28th. I'm flying from LAX (Los Angeles) to LHR (London Heathrow) to CPT (Cape Town) and then after 9 days up to JNB (Johannesburg) where we'll spend 5 days and then back to Los Angeles via London again. 22,526 miles on the Star Alliance (United and South Africa Airways). It's basically a day and a half of travel time in each direction, with 14 days spent on the ground.

I will have internet access, but blogging will be much lighter than usual, with some favorites (such as Monday's Eye Candy and Thursday's Reviews and Celebrity Friday programmed to post automatically).

Mad Professah Named NOGLSTP's LGBT Educator of the Year

I wasn't sure if I should really blog about this but I decided that if I had found about it about someone else, I probably would have blogged about it, so here goes. Plus, I usually give some indication of my travel schedule (although not always why I am travelling) so I figured I would do so this time.

Mad Professah is in DC this weekend, to pick up the National Organization of Scientists and Technical Professionals' LGBT Education of he Year Award!

Two Occidental College professors have been recognized for their scholarly and teaching acumen by national academic and professional organizations. 

Associate mathematics professor Ron Buckmire has been chosen as the 2011 Educator of the Year by the National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals, and psychology professor Nancy Dess has been elected a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. 

Buckmire was chosen for his "outstanding achievements in mathematics and education on race and [gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender] issues," said John Burke, a member of the organization's board of directors. Buckmire's research areas include computational aerodynamics, numerical analysis, and applying mathematics to "real world" situations. He joined the Occidental faculty in 1996. 

The Oxy mathematics professor will be honored at a reception and dinner on February 20 during the annual conference in Washington of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which is affiliated with the gay and lesbian scientists and technical professionals group.

So, yeah that's why I'm in DC this President's Day weekend. (And blogging will be light)

If you have suggestions for people who should win the award next year, here are the criteria.