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For Immediate Release
August 13, 2012

Contact: Todd Kluss
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Hoppmann Earns GSA’s 2012 Baltes Foundation Award

The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) — the nation’s largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to the field of aging — has chosen Christiane A. Hoppmann, PhD, of the University of British Columbia as the 2012 recipient of the Margret M. and Paul B. Baltes Foundation Award in Behavioral and Social Gerontology.

This distinguished honor, given annually, recognizes outstanding early career contributions in behavioral and social gerontology. Individuals who have received their doctorate within the last ten years are eligible. The award is given by GSA in conjunction with the Margret M. and Paul B. Baltes Foundation.

The award presentation will take place at GSA’s 65th Annual Scientific Meeting, which will be held from November 14 to 18 in San Diego. This conference is organized to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers, educators, and practitioners who specialize in the study of the aging process. Visit www.geron.org/annualmeeting for further details.

Hoppmann currently is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia, where she also directs the Health and Adult Development Laboratory. Her research blends theoretical sophistication and cutting-edge methodology in the fields of lifespan human development and health psychology. Her ambitious research agenda involves understanding the proximal and distal mechanisms linking social interrelations to long-term developmental outcomes.

Since joining the faculty at the University of British Columbia, Hoppmann has authored 23 papers in top-tier journals and four book chapters, and has given numerous conference presentations. She has competed successfully for grant funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and the Australian Research Council. In addition, Hoppmann is a recipient of the Peter Wall Early Career Scholar Award, a prestigious honor given at her institution. In 2012, she earned the American Psychological Association’s Division 20 Springer Early Career Achievement Award in Research on Adult Development and Aging.

She has conducted ground-breaking work that examined processes that predict optimal aging among participants of longitudinal studies such as the Berlin Aging Study, the Australian Study of Ageing, the Seattle Longitudinal Study, and the Health and Retirement Study. Her recent research on physical activity, based on the Health Action Process Approach Model, addresses the question of why some older adults adopt and maintain physical activity goals while others do not. The outcomes will be used to inform the health community about psychological underpinnings to engagement in physical activity for older adults.

Hoppmann received her doctorate from the Free University of Berlin, where she also worked as a student research assistant with Paul B. Baltes.

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The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) is the nation's oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging. The principal mission of the Society — and its 5,400+ members — is to advance the study of aging and disseminate information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public. GSA’s structure also includes a policy institute, the National Academy on an Aging Society, and an educational branch, the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education.

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Mildred M. Seltzer Distinguished Service Recognition

Presented to C. Joanne Grabinski, PhD, Eastern Michigan University, and Mary Alice Wolf, PhD, Saint Joseph University.

This award honors colleagues who are near retirement or recently retired. Recipients are individuals who have been actively involved in AGHE through service on committees, as elected officers, and/or have provided leadership in one of AGHE’s grant-funded projects.

Administrative Leadership Award

Presented to Tammy M. Bray, PhD, Oregon State University

This award honors administrators on AGHE member campuses who have made exceptional efforts in support of gerontology or geriatrics education.

David A. Peterson Gerontology & Geriatrics Education Best Paper of the Volume Award

Presented to Nina M. Silverstein, PhD, University of Massachusetts Boston; Elizabeth Johns, MS, University of Massachusetts Boston; and Judith A. Griffin, MA, MS, University of Massachusetts Boston, for the article “Students Explore Livable Communities.” Honorable mention is given to Emily J. Robbins, MS, Miami University; Jennifer M. Kinney, PhD, Miami University; and Cary S. Kart, PhD, Miami University, for the article “Promoting Active Engagement in Health Research: Lessons Learned from an Undergraduate Gerontology Capstone Course.”

The purpose of this award is to recognize excellence in scholarship in academic gerontology in AGHE’s official journal, Gerontology & Geriatrics Education.

Graduate Student Paper Award

Presented to Deborah Gray, MBA, University of Massachusetts Boston, for the paper “Weight and Wealth: The Relationship between Obesity and Net Worth for Pre-Retirement Age Men and Women.”

This award acknowledges excellence in scholarly work conducted by an AGHE Annual Meeting student attendee.

Book Award for Best Children’s Literature on Aging

Presented to Caitlin Dale Nicholson and Leona Morinn-Nelson for “Niwechihaw/I help” in the primary reader (pre-K to 2nd grade) category, and Ann Grifalconi and Jerry Pickney for “Ain’t Nobody A Stranger to Me” in the elementary reader (3rd to 5th grade) category.

This award recognizes portrayals of meaningful aging in children’s literature.