About the Honorary Degree Recipients
Fitzhugh Mullan, M.D.
Murdock Head Professor of Medicine and Health Policy
George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services
Doctor of Humane Letters
Fitzhugh Mullan, M.D., is the Murdock Head Professor of Medicine and Health Policy at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services and a professor of pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine. He is also a member of the medical staff at the Upper Cardozo Community Health Center in Washington, D.C.
In 1972, Mullan was commissioned in the United States Public Health Service, practiced in New Mexico as one of the first physicians in the National Health Service Corps, and later served as its director. He was appointed Director of the Bureau of Health Professions in the Health Resources and Services Administration in 1990 and to the rank of Assistant Surgeon General (Rear Admiral) in 1991. In subsequent years, he served on both the President's Task Force on Health Care Reform and the Council on Graduate Medical Education. His current research and policy work focuses on U.S. and international health workforce issues.
Mullan graduated from Harvard University in 1964 with a degree in history and from the University of Chicago Medical School in 1968. He is the founding president of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship and the recipient of the American Cancer Society's 1988 Courage Award. He is also a contributing editor to the journal Health Affairs, serves as vice chair of the board of trustees of the National Health Museum, and is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.
Stanford Ovshinsky
Co-Founder, Energy Conversion Devices, Inc.
Founder, Ovshinsky Innovation LLC
Doctor of Science
Stanford Ovshinsky founded Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD) with his late wife Iris Ovshinsky. A pioneer in sustainable energy technology and information, he is the primary inventor of ECD's technology, including the Ovonic thin-film photovoltaics and the nickel metal hydride (NiMH) rechargeable battery that is used in cell phones, computers, and hydrogen storage systems. His research in amorphous semiconductors revolutionized the materials used in solar cells, computers, optical memories, and electric cars, as well as those used in photocopy and fax machines and LCD displays. Ovshinsky Innovation LLC was formed in 2007 to accelerate his work in alternative energy and in the information field.
Ovshinsky holds 360 U.S. patents and is the author of 300 scientific papers. He serves on various scientific, educational, and civic boards, and has received numerous international accolades, including Time magazine's "Hero for the Planet" designation; the American Chemical Society's Heroes of Chemistry 2000 (with his late wife); The Economist's Innovation Award for Energy and the Environment; the Karl W. Boer Solar Energy Medal of Merit awarded jointly by the University of Delaware and the International Solar Energy Society; and the Walston Chubb Award for Innovation awarded by Sigma Xi, the scientific research society.
He is a fellow of both the American Physical Society and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; a member of the Michigan Center for Theoretical Physics, University of Michigan; a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers; and a member of Sigma Xi.