The University has announced that this year's Alumni Achievement Award recipients are University of Chicago President Robert Zimmer '68, music manager and record producer Jon Landau '68 and applied mathematics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Bonnie Berger '83.

The honor, whose recipients are decided by the Office of Alumni Relations after discussion with University President Frederick Lawrence and members of his senior team, "recognizes alumni who have made distinguished and outstanding contributions to their professions or chosen fields of endeavor. It is the highest form of University recognition bestowed exclusively on alumni," wrote Lawrence in an email to the Justice.

According to Lawrence, the Alumni Achievement Award was first presented in 1988, with inaugural honorees publicist Terrie Williams '75; Kenyan politician, economist and businessman George Saitoti '67; and mathematician Karen Uhlenbeck, MA '67, PhD '68. "Every year, there are many more deserving candidates than we are able to honor. No more than three people receive the award in any given year," Lawrence wrote.

Zimmer, who has been the president of the University of Chicago since 2006 and has been on the university's staff for about 25 years, was one of the three recipients for this year. Zimmer studied Mathematics at Brandeis, although according to Zimmer, his original intention was to pursue Physics. "I was totally captured by Mathematics at Brandeis," he said in an interview with the Justice.

Zimmer recalled the most influential professors throughout his years at the University, former professors Michael Spivak (MATH) and Al Vasquez (MATH), who "were both extraordinary teachers and just conveyed a wonderful sense about mathematics that was very infectious," he said.

"[Brandeis] was a wonderful place for mathematics ... and led, of course, to my career as a mathematician. ... It left me with a new perspective and an experience that has stayed with me," said Zimmer.

The Mathematics program at Brandeis also influenced Berger, although she started off as a Russian studies major and eventually became a Psychology major prior to concentrating in mathematics. "I had no idea what I wanted to do," said Berger in an interview with the Justice. "Going to a liberal arts school helped me find my true passion."

According to Berger, her Psychology major requirements included basic computer programming and a calculus course and solidified her confidence in her abilities and interest in mathematics and computer science. "Because the psych major made me take all of these science classes, it really showed me where I belong and what I do best," she said in an interview.

Berger said that she was among the first in the Computer Science major, as it had only recently been established as a major and had previously been under Physics. According to Berger, former faculty members Mitchell Modell (PHYS), Ragnar Buchweitz (MATH) and Ellis Cohen (COSI) "really gave me the confidence in my ability to do math at a higher level. ... The teachers were so caring. ... I got a lot of individual attention and intellectual stimulation."

After commencement, Berger took a gap year, during which she acted as a teaching assistant at Harvard University, and proceeded to obtain her Ph.D at MIT. "I never even would have thought about graduate school if it weren't for the professors at Brandeis. They really did change my life," she said in an interview.

Berger moved on to become the first woman ever to earn tenure in the math department at MIT, according to Lawrence. She currently works in computational biology and applying algorithms to molecular biology and is a professor at MIT. She is also still involved at Brandeis as a member of the University's Science Advisory Council, for which she helps the University decide on scientific priorities and direction.

Landau, who has worked for four decades with Bruce Springsteen and serves as executive vice president of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, still contributes to the University community with the Jonathan Landau Scholarship, which fully funds a major in the arts every year, according to Landau in an email to the Justice.  

Although Brandeis did not help lead him to a music career, Landau wrote that the University "trained me to be a critical thinker, to use the past to understand the present, and to write well, among many other things."

As a History major, Landau recalls superb educators, such as former faculty members Norman Cantor in Medieval studies, Ramsay MacMullen in Greek and Roman history, Kenneth Barkin and Heinz Lubasz in European history and current faculty member Prof. David Fischer (HIST), among others. "Leo Bronstein (who taught Early Islamic Art) had a legendary reputation as a classroom teacher, which he surely lived up to during the time I studied with him," wrote Landau.  

"Actually, when I think about it today, the level of teaching at Brandeis in the sixties was just spectacular.  Every good teacher influences your journey and all of these and many others have influenced mine," wrote Landau.

Lawrence will present the awards at a ceremony on June 8 during reunion festivities, according to a Feb. 19 BrandeisNOW article.