February 2014 Union in the Media Archive

Publication Date

People in the news - February 28, 2014

Charles Steckler, the Dwane W. Crichton Professor of Theater, participated in a “Tartuffe mini-residency” last December at the John Sayles School of the Arts in Schenectady, presenting his work in scenic design and leading discussions with students in the theater program about the staging of Moliere’s theatrical world. He also spent a day at the Buckingham, Browne and Nichols School in Cambridge, Mass., presenting a portfolio of his art, design and photographic work to students in the theater and art program. His show, “Charles Steckler: Passing Time,” is currently at the Annex Gallery at Albany International Airport.

An article by Associate Professor of Economics Lewis Davis has been accepted to the Journal of Economic Education. “How to Generate Good Profit Maximization Problems” presents an algorithm for developing profit maximization problems that are “theoretically interesting, economically plausible and computationally simple. Read the article here.

Carol Weisse, professor of psychology and director of the Health Professions Program, was a featured speaker at the evening branch of the Women’s Alliance for the Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady. She spoke on the challenges of end-of-life care.

March brings a full month of performances for Hilary Tann, the John Howard Payne Professor of Music. On March 2, the San Domenico Virtuoso program will feature "Water's Edge" for string orchestra. On March 3, violinist Madeleine Mitchell will perform excerpts from "Seven Poems of Stillness" at the Bangor Music Festival in Wales in a concert titled "Night and Day." Also, Tann will be the composer- in-residence at the Women in Music Festival in Hartford, Conn., which includes performances of “Shoji” and “The Walls of Morlais Castle.” Her transcription for piano and solo saxophone of her concerto for oboe and small orchestra, "Shakkei," will be performed by Chien-Kwan Lin and Pi-Lin Ni at the Vienna Saxophone Festival (Austria), Youngstown State University and the North American Saxophone Alliance at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne. Her "Songs of the Cotton Grass" will be performed at Gallery 263 in Cambridge. Mass., on March 22 in an unusual concert titled "Witness," where the audience is asked to be blindfolded.

Jillmarie Murphy, assistant professor of English, published an essay on Ralph Waldo Emerson. "A National Icon" appears in Emerson in Context. (Cambridge University Press)

Christopher Chabris, associate professor of psychology, was quoted in a recent article in Bloomberg Businessweek on Google Glass. Chabris talked about the “visual illusion” that the web-surfing glasses could give drivers who think they’re paying attention to the road. Read the article here.

Geology Professor John Garver was on The Weather Channel's "Waking up with Al" program this week. Garver, who has studied ice jams for years, talked with host Al Roker about a new system along the lower Mohawk River that monitors ice jams. Read more about the ice jam camera here.

Publication Date

Health expert Dr. Alfred Sommer has tips for all leaders

Claire Hughes - Times Union

Dr. Alfred Sommer ’63, a global leader in public health whose pioneering work in studying vitamin A deficiency has helped to save millions of children’s lives and eyesight, delivered the keynote address at Founders Day Thursday, Feb. 27, in Memorial Chapel. The event commemorates the 219th anniversary of the College’s charter.

To learn more about Sommer in a Times Union story, click here.

Publication Date

Congressional Corner with Brad Hays

WAMC

Brad Hays, associate professor of political science, was a recent guest on "Congressional Corner" on WAMC, Northeast Public Radio.

Northeast Public Radio is a member of National Public Radio serving parts of seven northeastern states. These include New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.

Publication Date

Waking up with Al

The Weather Channel

John Garver, professor of geology, was interviewed on The Weather Channel's "Waking up with Al," program this morning. Garver, who has studied ice jams for years, talked with host Al Roker about a new system along the lower Mohawk River that monitors ice jams.

To learn more about the new system, which features a "jam cam," click here.

Publication Date

How you really make decisions

BBC

A crew from the popular BBC "Horizons" science documentary series was on campus last June to film a segment about a study by Christopher Chabris, associate professor of psychology. Chabris and some of his students re-enacted the "Fight Club" study to demonstrate inattentional blindness, the failure to see something unexpected because one's attention is focused on something else. The segment is part of documentary on how people make decisions. It will air in the UK this week and later in the U.S.

To view a clip, click here.

Publication Date

People in the news - February 20, 2014

European Romantic Review recently accepted an article by Andrew Burkett, assistant professor of English, for publication. “Photographing Byron’s Hand” will appear later this year for the journal for the North American Society for the Study of Romanticism.

Donald Rodbell, professor and chair of the Geology Department, was the featured speaker at a meeting for the Hudson-Mohawk Professional Geologists Association in Albany. His talk was titled “Glaciation and Climate Change Recorded in Moraines and Lake Sediments in the Tropical Andes Mountains.”

Submit your items to People in the news to gowanc@union.edu.

Publication Date

Agony of defeat

Justin Mason - The Daily Gazette

The women's hockey team gathered at Messa Rink to watch the Olympic gold medal game between the United States and Canada. The U.S. team featured Julie Chu, a former assistant hockey coach at Union.

To read a story in the Daily Gazette, click here.

Publication Date

Your senior project: Get a real job

Eric Anderson - Times Union

Bob Soules, director of the Becker Career Center, was quoted in a story on the job prospects for this year's seniors.

To read the article in the Times Union, click here.

To view a clip about Becker's recent Career Fair, click here.