• Dawn Davidson, a La Jolla resident and president of Design Line Interiors, is celebrating two prestigious honors recently awarded to her interior design company. The firm earned gold and silver Best in American Living Awards (BALA) for its work on Brookfield Homes’ Rockrose at The Foothills community in Carlsbad. In praising Design Line’s work, the judges for the 27th annual BALA, held in Orlando, made special note of the “living wall” incorporated into Davidson’s plan. Davidson said the wall showcases a focus on sustainable elements while adding texture and visual interest to the interior space. Honoring the best in custom and spec residential design, for attached, detached and multifamily homes, the BALA recognized 59 winners nationally in 28 different design categories. BALA winners are honored annually for the creativity, innovation and imagination shown in redefining the residential building industry. • Robert MacWright, Ph.D., Esq., was recently named the executive director of the Salk Institute Office of Technology Development. MacWright has extensive experience in academic technology transfer and was the executive director of the University of Virginia Patent Foundation for more than a decade. He also led the creation of a subsidiary that supported faculty start-up companies. He also served as executive director of the Rutgers University Office of Corporate Liaison and Technology Transfer, where he helped to create technology transfer programs. “Robert’s strategic and academic experience will be a huge asset to the Salk,” said William R. Brody, president of the Salk Institute. “His deep understanding of basic research, academia and industry is unique and he is poised to take our technology transfer to new heights.” • Johnny Udartsev, an economics major at the University of California, San Diego, has embarked upon an interesting college job. As an intern at College Works Painting, an exterior house painting company that operates in more than 20 states, he’s getting a taste of what it would be like to operate his own business, from hiring employees to generating clientele to managing the company’s budget. This summer, he will oversee four full-time employees and he hopes to get reference letters from all 20-25 of his clients. College Works Painting has a highly selective interview process designed to test intern candidates’ maturity, resolve and ambition. Instead of offering a spectator’s glimpse into a corporate setting, College Works gives interns an intensive, hands-on experience where they learn all aspects of business management. • At a recent meeting of the Air Force Association (AFA), San Diego Chapter 118, two ROTC scholarship awards were announced. Competition among several deserving cadets was strong, and the two finalists and scholarship award recipients are Jonathan R. Gebo and Elan A. Sherazee. Gebo desires to become a Air Force fighter pilot and Sherazee hopes to become an Air Force physician. Scholarships are funded by proceeds from the Air Force Association annual golf tournament, which took place on April 3. • Nobel Laureate and distinguished Salk professor Renato Dulbecco, has been awarded the President’s Medal for Excellence by Indiana University. One of the highest honors an IU president can bestow, the award was first presented on Sept. 20, 1985, to members of the Beaux Arts Trio. Criteria for recipients include distinction in public service, service to IU, achievement in a profession and extraordinary merit and achievement in the arts, humanities, science, education and industry. A founding fellow of the Salk Institute and president emeritus, Dulbecco was one of four Nobel Laureates who worked together at IU in the life sciences during the late 1940s. He is credited with playing a pivotal role in the development of modern molecular biology and revealing the biochemical basis of our genetic codes.
