Vikram Potdar, 17, a junior at East Chapel Hill High School, performed a solo piano concert at the Whitley Auditorium at Elon University on Jan. 22, 2009.

The highlights of the program were the "Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue" by J.S. Bach, the "Ballade No. 1" by F. Chopin, and the monumental "Sonata in B Minor" by F. Liszt.

Vikram has been training with concert pianist Victor Recondo since 2005 and has already performed several solo and orchestra concerts in Burlington and Chapel Hill. All the while, Vikram has maintained straight A's in school. He is fond of soccer, tennis, and swimming.

Carly A. Helman of Chapel Hill, a sophomore at Beloit College, achieved academic distinction during the fall term of the academic year and was named to the Dean's List, which recognizes students who have maintained at least a 3.4 cumulative grade point average for the semester.

Benjamin B. Farrell, founder and president of Custom Benefit Auctions in Chapel Hill, was awarded the 2009 Reserve Champion Auctioneer award at the North Carolina Auctioneer Championship Competition in Greensboro.

The auctioneers were evaluated on their style, clarity, voice control, and overall effectiveness of their auctioneer "chant." Each auctioneer also participated in an interview with the panel of judges.

Farrell is a member of the Auctioneers Association of North Carolina (AANC) as well as the National Auctioneers Association (NAA). With more than 7,000 members from throughout the world, the NAA is the largest of its kind dedicated to promoting the auction method of marketing and enhancing the professionalism of its members.

Alexander J. Mette of Chapel Hill, a junior at Beloit College, achieved academic distinction during the fall term of the academic year and was named to the Dean's List, which recognizes students who have maintained at least a 3.4 cumulative grade point average for the semester.

Caitlin Moran of Chapel Hill was named to the Dean's List for the 2008 autumn quarter at DePaul University. To be named to the Dean's List, full-time students must earn a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or above on a 4-point scale.

Michael Reiter of UNC was recognized by an international computer organization for his innovations in computer security.

Reiter, the Lawrence M. Slifkin Distinguished Professor of Computer Science in the College of Arts and Sciences, was named a fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery, the world's largest educational and scientific computing society.

Reiter's work focuses on the development of critical computer security protocols and defenses, ranging from Web privacy technologies to techniques for enhancing the robustness of network services against attacks.

He is among 44 new fellows chosen from industries, universities and research labs around the world for their contributions to computing technology innovations in industry, commerce, entertainment and education. The fellows will be honored in San Diego, Calif., on June 27.

Corey T. Waters, a history and A.V.I.D. (Advancement Via Individual Determination) teacher at Chapel Hill High School, has been named the winner of the North Carolina Association of Educators Excellence in Equity Award.

Each year, NCAE honors one or more individuals or groups for their long-term dedication, commitment and energy toward the goal of making North Carolina a more equitable community.

Ryan Meyer graduated magna cum laude on Dec. 20 from the University of Missouri School of Journalism with a major in strategic communications and a minor in Business. He begins his master's degree studies at Missouri this month.

Robert D. Blackwell has been promoted to vice president for Managed Care and Payer Contracting for the UNC Health Care System. In his new role, Blackwell will lead the managed care function for all hospitals within our network, including UNC Hospitals, Rex Healthcare and Chatham Hospital.

Blackwell played an invaluable role in recent managed care negotiations, most notably the successful renegotiation of UNC Health Care's agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield. He first came to UNC Hospitals in 1981. He has served as an assistant director of the Hospital Managed Care Office at UNC Health Care since August 1998. He previously held positions including network development specialist, manager of budgets and supervisory roles within the McLendon Laboratories at UNC Hospitals.

He has a bachelor's degree in medical technology from UNC-Chapel Hill, a master's degree in business administration from UNC-Greensboro and is a certified public accountant.