UC San Diego Names 2024 Revelle Medal Recipients

“It is a great honor to recognize the outstanding contributions of these esteemed faculty members, whose unwavering dedication has shaped UC San Diego’s legacy,” said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “These distinguished scholars have advanced their fields, enriched our university community and inspired the next generation of innovators, leaving a lasting impact on both our campus and the world.”

Created in honor of Roger Revelle, a visionary who helped establish UC San Diego during his tenure as director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Revelle Medal is the highest honor given by the chancellor to a retired or emeriti faculty member. The medals will be presented at a ceremony on Nov. 15.

The 2024 recipients are:

Fan Chung Graham, Distinguished Professor Emerita, Mathematics and Computer Science & Engineering

Distinguished Professor Emerita of Mathematics and Computer Science & Engineering Fan Chung Graham holds the Paul Erdös Chair in Combinatorics at UC San Diego. She earned her doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and her bachelor’s degree from the National Taiwan University. She worked at Bell Laboratories before joining the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania as the first female tenured professor in mathematics. Her research interests are in graph theory, combinatorics and algorithmic design. 

She has authored more than 240 papers and coauthored the book “Erdös on Graphs” with her late husband, Ron Graham. Chung Graham is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Mathematics Society among others. Chung received the Euler Medal in 2017 and the Allendoerfer Award in 1990. She serves as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Combinatorics.

Stephan Haggard, Distinguished Research Professor, School of Global Policy and Strategy

Distinguished Research Professor at the School of Global Policy and Strategy Stephan Haggard is a world-renowned scholar in the fields of international relations, comparative politics and political economy. Recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Haggard has more than 140 peer-reviewed works translated into five languages, including ten books. 

His research has expanded our understanding of the political economy of the Asia-Pacific, including the rapid growth of the newly industrializing countries and their experience with financial crises and current security challenges. He has made particular contributions with respect to the Korean peninsula, including both North and South Korea. A second body of his work focuses on transitions to and from democratic rule including the process of democratic backsliding. He is the research director for democracy and global governance at the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, where his work centers on illiberal regimes and global governance. 

Douglas Richman, M.D., Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Pathology and Medicine

Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Pathology and Medicine Dr. Douglas Richman is a renowned medical virologist and infectious disease physician. With a career spanning nearly half a century at UC San Diego, he has made groundbreaking contributions to the understanding and treatment of influenza virus, herpesviruses, filoviruses and HIV. He was a leader in the development of most of the antiretroviral drugs and treatment strategies during the first decades of the AIDS epidemic, and his lab was the first to identify HIV drug resistance. In addition to his interest in HIV treatment and drug resistance, his research has also focused on HIV pathogenesis, including the issues of viral latency and evolution.

Dr. Richman’s groundbreaking work has led to the creation of several research programs at UC San Diego including the Center for AIDS Research, the HIV Institute and the Antiviral Research Center.

Robert Schooley, M.D., Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Medicine

Dr. Robert "Chip" T. Schooley, a distinguished professor emeritus of medicine at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, is a leading expert in infectious disease. Throughout his 48-year career, he made significant contributions to the prevention and treatment of some of the most serious infectious diseases of our time, including HIV, and has been recognized for his work in international research and global health. 

Previously holding positions at Harvard University and the University of Colorado, he joined the university in 2005. He was instrumental in the creation of the International Core of the San Diego Center for AIDS Research, the Center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapy, and a collaborative medical training and research program between UC San Diego and Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique. In addition, he led the development of innovative solutions to public health crises, including the Return to Learn Program, which was the university’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jan B. Talbot, Professor Emerita, Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering

Jan Talbot is a founding member of the Department of Nanoengineering at UC San Diego, renamed the Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering earlier this year. Her research helped advance the field of nanomaterials and associated technologies. She also advanced engineering education by joining a team led by then Dean M. Lea Rudee to develop a graduate Material Science program. 

Talbot joined the UC San Diego faculty in 1986 after receiving her doctorate in chemical engineering and materials science from the University of Minnesota. She was the first woman faculty in what was then the Department of Applied Mechanics and Engineering Sciences. Talbot served as chair of the Academic Senate and of the Committee on Committees at UC San Diego and later as Chair of the Committee on Committees for the UC system. She also served as associate dean for faculty affairs and welfare at the Jacobs School of Engineering and as president of the Electrochemical Society.