September 2016 Union in the Media Archive

Publication Date

Alumni spotlight: Robert Bernhardt '73

Robert Bernhardt '73 was recently featured in the Cleveland Daily Banner. The story focused in his job as maestro of the Lee University Symphony Orchestra and the new season of Lee’s Presidential Concert Series.

At Union, Robert played baseball and soccer, was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and student government, and was a resident advisor.

Publication Date

People in the news

Luke Dosiek, the John D. MacArthur Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, presented two papers at the IEEE Power and Energy Society North American Power Symposium in Denver. They were titled “Variances in Estimates of Power System Inter-area Modes using Lattice Structure - Initial Results” and “A Framework for Assessing Methods of Deriving Frequency Data from PMU Voltage Angles in the Presence of Measurement Noise.”

Irlando Goncalves ’18 met writer Wes Moore after his recent talk at Schenectady County Community College. Work by Moore, a New York Times bestselling author, includes “The Other Wes Moore” and “The Way Home.”

“Intersectional Mothering: A Black Baptist Example,” an article by Deidre Hill Butler, associate professor of sociology and director of Africana Studies, was published in the edited volume, Angels on Earth: Mothering, Religion and Spirituality, by Demeter Press.

Michael Vineyard, the Frank and Marie Louise Bailey Professor of Physics, presented a paper at the Interfaces Against Pollution conference in Lleida, Spain. “Undergraduate Research and Training in Ion-Beam Analysis of Environmental Materials” was co-authored by Scott LaBrake, senior lecturer, Heather Watson, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, Sajju Chalise '19, Morgan Clark '17, Andrew McCalmont '16, Brendan McGuire '18, Iseinie Mendez '17and Joshua Yoskowitz '16.

Pattie Wareh, associate professor of English, delivered a paper, “Social and Theatrical Performance in Love's Labour's Lost," at the British Shakespeare Association meeting at the University of Hull.

Works by Chris Duncan, the May I. Baker Professor of Visual Arts, and Charles Steckler, the Dwane W. Crichton Professor of Theater and Scenic Designer in Residence, are on view at the 30th Anniversary Invitational of the Saratoga Arts Gallery, Saratoga Springs. The exhibition, which continues through Oct. 29, features 30 selected artists who have shown at the gallery in the past three decades.

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Publication Date

Union College gallery features intricate shadow boxes

Times Union

A new exhibit at the Mandeville Gallery, "Charles Steckler: Contrary to What Sometimes Happens,” featuring more than 30 works created “out of the throwaway artifacts of our material culture,” was featured on the cover of Preview in the Times Union.

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Publication Date

Alumni spotlight: Kit Goldstein Grant '05

Kit Goldstein Grant '05 was recently featured on Crazy Town Blog. The Q&A focused on her thriving career as a New Yorker who writes musicals.

During her time at Union she participated in Steinmetz Symposium Day, spent a term abroad in Ireland, and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Mountebanks.

Publication Date

Union gets a charge out of its first electric vehicle stations

Daniel Mosquera, associate professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies, with other supporters of Union's new electric vehicle charging stations.

Daniel Mosquera, associate professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies,
with other supporters of Union's new electric vehicle charging stations.

The College has installed two electric vehicle charging stations as part of its continuing efforts to become a more sustainable campus.

Students, faculty and staff are now able to power up at the stations located in the Facilities parking lot, just left of the Olin Center. The chargers can service up to four vehicles at a time.

They work for both electric-only vehicles and plug-in hybrids, which switch to a gasoline engine when their batteries run low.

“We believe that by making the technology a reality in our campus we can help educate the community about its possibilities and its positive environmental impact,” said Daniel Mosquera, associate professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies.

Mosquera jump-started the idea for the stations. He and his wife, Megan Ferry, chair and associate professor of Chinese and Asian Studies, are among a handful of EV owners on campus. The couple drives an all-electric Nissan Leaf and has plans to trade their Subaru Impreza for a plug-in Prius.

The EV owners thought putting charging stations on campus would encourage others to explore the technology. Mosquera, with the help of Jeff Corbin, associate professor of biology (who drives a plug-in Prius) and Meghan Haley-Quigley, '11, manager of Sustainability and Green Initiatives, worked on a proposal for a Planning and Priorities grant. The grants are awarded each year for projects that support the College’s Strategic Plan. Hugh Jenkins, professor of English (Chevrolet Volt) was the co-sponsor.

The grant paid for the stations and will cover electricity use during the first year.

The stations have already generated interest from students and parents intrigued by electric cars, Mosquera said. Users must register to access the stations. Contact Mosquera at mosquerd@union.edu Plans are in the works to allow visitors temporary access.

One issue still being ironed out: Non EV users have been parking in the spots, often blocking access to the stations. Mosquera is working with Campus Safety to address the problem.

Sustainability is one of the key priorities of the College’s Strategic Plan. In 2007, President Stephen C. Ainlay was among the first to sign the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), pledging to formally work on reducing, and eventually eliminating, campus greenhouse gas emissions.

“Providing electric vehicle charging stations for our students, faculty and staff is an important opportunity to show that our commitment to sustainability extends beyond the campus gates,” Haley-Quigley said.

Publication Date

People in the news - September 22, 2016

Seven Union students participated in the New York Six Upstate Undergraduate Research Conference and Arts Exhibition Saturday, Sept. 16, at Hamilton College. Sydney Paluch ’17, Kathryn Evans ’17, and Elizabeth Altman '19 gave oral presentations, while Sharmeen Azher ’17 and Gianluca Avanzato ’18 took part in a student forum. Jessica Stark ’17 and James Boggs ’18 shared their research results during a poster session.

An article by Lewis Davis, professor of economics, was published in Kyklos. "Individual Responsibility and Economic Development: Evidence from Rainfall Data" investigates the links between rainfall patterns, individualism and economic development.

Rebecca Koopmann, professor of astronomy and chair of the Physics and Astronomy department, was awarded a $215,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for the Undergraduate ALFALFA Team Project, “Enhancing Undergraduate Research Experiences through Extragalactic Radio Astronomy.” Learn more about the research project here.

Publication Date

People in the news

An exhibit featuring the work of Fernando Orellana, associate professor of visual arts, at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts was featured in various Philadelphia media outlets, including the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philly Voice and BillyPenn.com.

Two books by Lori Marso, the Doris Zemurray Stone Professor of Modern Literary and Historical Studies, were recently released. Routledge published 51 Key Feminist Thinkers, which includes articles by Andrea Foroughi, associate professor of history, and Michelle Chilcoat, associate professor of French. Oxford University Press published Politics, Theory, and Film: Critical Encounters with Lars von Trier, which Marso edited with Bonnie Honig from Brown University.

“Two Early Interactive Computer Network Experiments,” an article by David Hemmendinger, professor emeritus of computer science, appeared in the IEEE Annals of the History of Computing.

Heather Watson, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, was awarded a $292,000 grant from NASA for her project, “Diffusion in Iron-Nickel Alloys and Sulfides: Constraints on Segregation and Crystallization of Early Planetary Cores.” Her project will include education and research training for high school and Union College students from the fields of astronomy, geology and physics. Learn more about it here.

Publication Date

'Competitive' class of 2020 arrives at Union College

Daily Gazette

Union officially welcomed the Class of 2020 when students began moving in on Sunday, Sept. 4.

The 563 first-year students were selected from record 6,647 applications, one of the most competitive admissions cycles in the school’s history. The students hail from 29 states and 23 countries, including Mauritius, Rwanda and Zimbabwe. The class is one of the most diverse, with nearly 30 percent international or from underrepresented backgrounds. It’s also one of the strongest academically, with two-thirds of the students ranked in the top 10 of their high school class.

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