When his mediation and conflict resolution strategies were used in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, Herman C. Kelman knew his ideas were pretty important.

And now, those ideas have netted him a hefty award and more world-wide recognition.

Kelman, Cabot professor of social ethics at Harvard, won the $150,000 Grawemeyer award for "ideas improving the world order," the University of Louisville announced Tuesday.

"It felt good," the professor said yesterday. "It was a validation for the kind of work we've been doing here. I appreciated it."

Kelman's method of mediation, which he has been developing since the 1970s, "prepared the groundwork for what I consider to be the very important breakthrough of the Oslo agreement," Kelman said.

The 1993 Oslo accord was the first peace agreement endorsed by both the Israeli government and the Palestine Liberation Organization.

The mediation strategy, which Kelman calls "joint ideas," encourages two parties to focus more on human issues than political issues, according to the award's web site.

Kelman said he has not decided what he will do with the $150,000, which will be given to him over five years, beginning in October.

"I will use it in one way or another for furthering my research," Kelman said. "I haven't figured out the details."

Kelman's colleagues at Harvard said that the professor deserved his recognition.

"My first reaction is: Wonderful! My second is: High time," said Robert Rosenthal, Pierce professor of psychology.

"The kind of research, the kind of scholarship, the kind of practice he has," he said. "It's all rolled into one."

The award was based on a series of eight articles--dating back to 1995--that Kelman wrote about his method of conflict resolution.

"They were all published in different places," Kelman said. "Some are chapters in books, some are in journals such as the Journal of Palestinian Studies."

The Grawemeyer awards were established at the University of Louisville by graduate and philanthropist H. Charles Grawemeyer in 1the categories of music composition, education and religion, in addition to ideas improving world order, which Kelman received.

The prize for ideas improving world order is decided on the basis of originality, feasibility and potential impact, according to the Grawemeyer web site. It was first given in 1988.

Kelman taught Social Analysis 44: "Individual and Social Responsibility" through 1995, and he currently teaches graduate-level seminars dealing with international issues