Professor honored for research in language acquisition
Lila R. Gleitman, professor of psychology and linguistics, has received the American Psychological Association’s 2003 Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions.
Professor Gleitman, who was honored for her research in language acquisition, mental representation, and processing of human language, received her B.A. in literature from Antioch College and her Ph.D. in linguistics from Penn. She has been a member of the Penn faculty since 1972.
In announcing the award, the APA cited her “major empirical and theoretical advances in some of the most central questions in language acquisition,” particularly in the acquisition of word meaning.
The award recognizes individuals making distinguished theoretical or empirical contributions to basic research in psychology. Professor Gleitman is one of 11 Penn faculty to have received this honor since its inception in 1956.