all Union in the Media Archive

Valerie Barr, professor of computer science, gave two talks last week. The first was at the University of Massachusetts Amherst on “Disciplinary Thinking, Computational Doing: Promoting Interdisciplinary Computing While Transforming Computer Science Enrollments.” The talk was jointly sponsored by the STEM Education Institute and the university’s Computer Science Department. Her second talk was at Hofstra University titled, “The Toy Aisle Still Matters: The State of Women in STEM.” The talk was organized by Hofstra’s Women’s Studies Program.

An article by Christine Henseler, professor of Spanish and chair of the Modern Languages Department, was published by CCTV, a news media outlet in China. The piece is titled “Chinese Should Recognize True Value of Liberal Arts Education.”

Lewis Davis, professor of economics, presented a paper on "Political Economy of Growth with a Taste for Status" at the Liberal Arts Colleges Development Economics Conference at Lafayette College on Sept. 10. The paper shows that concerns over social status may lead to the adoption of growth-retarding policies in societies with oligarchic or populist political systems.

Joseph Johnson, director of Writing Programs, gave a lecture, "Thoreau and the Liberal Arts: Transcendental Higher Learning for the Twenty-First Century," at St. Michael’s College. His talk was part of the college’s Humanities Center Lecture Series.

Stephen Romero, associate professor of psychology, was a featured speaker this summer for students in the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Summer Internship Program at the National Institute of Health. Romero, an alumnus of the program, spoke on his experience with the NIH and also gave a talk, “Career Plasticity Leads to Studying Neuronal Plasticity.”

Submit your news to gowanc@union.edu

After relentlessly pursuing his interest in auto racing and German engineering, David Merkel ’06 is now a member of the Porsche Motorsport North America track support team.

The group of engineers provides comprehensive technical assistance to Porsche customer teams in a variety of North American sports car racing series, including the International Motor Sports Association-sanctioned Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama and Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin.

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences released a series of studies on the employability and earnings of those who majored in the humanities.

The Academy also included an essay by Christine Henseler, professor of Spanish and chair of the Modern Languages Department.

To read an article on Inside Higher Ed, click here.

Professor Carol Weisse, director of Health Professions, and Rhona Beaton, assistant director of Health Professions, presented “Developing Service-based Learning Opportunities that Promote Reflection and Interprofessional Communication,” an interactive session that was telecast nationally at the annual meeting of the Northeast Association of Advisors to the Health Professions. Beaton described her community placements for students, including new sites for chiropractic medicine, physical therapy and dentistry. Beaton and Weisse also offered a workshop, “Developing and Implementing an MCAT Review Course to Incorporate the New Foundational Concepts.” Weisse also presented a poster “Engaging Students in End of Life Care: Cultivating a Community of Compassionate Caregivers” with Kathryn Martin '17and Dr. Geri Aitken '88. In addition, Weisse was awarded the conference’s Buck Hill ’68 Award for her work promoting better advising of health professions students and her initiatives engaging students in hospice work.

Scott Kirkton, associate professor of biology, has received a $380,000 National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation Award for the acquisition of a high-resolution micro-computed tomography system. This project will enhance the work of the College’s STEM programs by leading students through exciting, hands-on µCT imaging with associated 3-D printing modules.

Ann Anderson, the Agnes S. MacDonald Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Mary Carroll ‘86, professor of chemistry, with co-author Leah Smith ‘14 have published a paper, "Preparation of vanadia-containing aerogels by rapid supercritical extraction for applications in catalysis." It will be published in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology. The National Science Foundation supported the experiments described in the paper. Smith is currently in the Materials Science and Engineering graduate program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

An article by Andrew Huisman, assistant professor of chemistry, was recently published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions. The piece is titled, “Viscous Organic Aerosol Particles in the Upper Troposphere: Diffusivity-Controlled Water Uptake and Ice Nucleation.”

Assistant Professor Andrew Burkett's book, Romantic Mediations: Media Theory and British Romanticism, is under contract with SUNY Press. The book investigates the ways in which Romantic imaginative literature and art become transformed by incipient media systems such as negative-positive photography, phonography, moving images and digital media.

Work by Martin Benjamin, the William D. Williams Professor of Visual Arts, will be on display at Vicolo dell’Oro in Firenze, Italy. The collection of photographs, titled “A.R.T. – American Road Trips,” won LIFE Magazine’s Bicentennial Photography Contest in 1973 in the professional category. The exhibit runs Oct. 2-22.

Samuel Amanuel, associate professor of physics and astronomy, presented a paper on heat of fusion of nano crystals at the fifth European conference on crystal growth held in Bologna, Italy. Alex Clain ‘15 and Caleb Novins ‘15 are co-authors of the paper.

Dan Amira ’07 is part of a team of writers that won an Emmy earlier this week.

The award, for outstanding writing for a variety series, recognizes their work on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” Dan was also a member of the writing team nominated in 2014, in the same category for the same show. Prior to joining “The Daily Show” in January 2014, Dan was senior editor, online, at New York Magazine.

At Union, Dan was active, involved in initiatives like Pizza & Politics. His father, Don Amira ’75, is also an alumnus. For a complete list of Emmy winners, click here.

Molly Guptill Manning, a lawyer and author of the best-selling book, "When Books Went to War: The Stories that Helped Us Win World War II," recently spoke in the Nott Memorial.

Manning’s talk was part of the Common Curriculum Speaker Series.

Manning’s visit coincided with a new exhibit, “We Want Books! Books for the Troops in World War II,” in the Lally Reading Room in Schaffer Library. Curated by Andrew Morris, associate professor of history, the exhibit features books and artifacts from the most notable programs that aimed to provide reading material to U.S. troops during the war. These include the Victory Book Campaign, which sought donations of books for military libraries; the Armed Services Editions, an innovative publishing effort of pocket-sized paperbacks designed to fit in uniform pockets; and the U.S. Armed Forces Institute, which produced correspondence courses for servicemen across the globe.

The exhibit runs through December.

To read more in the Times Union, click here.

The College recently completed a renovation of its Rathskeller, which sustained heavy damage after a flood in July 2014.

To read about it in the Times Union, click here.

To learn more from Union's news site, click here.

David Hemmendinger, professor emeritus of computer science, has been appointed associate editor-in-chief of the IEEE Computer Society journal, Annals of the History of Computing.

Essays by Christine Henseler, professor of Spanish, were published in several outlets. “The Future of Hispanic Studies: An Interactive Conversation with Journal Editors,” was published in the Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies. The essay titled, “Counting (on) Success: Does an Education in the Humanities Count in Today’s Day and Age?” was featured on the Huffington Post.

A book by Jennifer Matsue, associate professor of music and director of Interdisciplinary Programs, was recently published. “Focus: Music in Contemporary Japan” explores music performed in Japan today, from the songs of geisha to the screaming of underground rock. Matsue will also serve as the Founder’s Convocation speaker at Russell Sage College on Sept. 23.

Kristina Striegnitz, associate professor of computer science, has been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to engage in a collaborative project with researchers from Stony Brook University. Researchers will develop a visualization system that can to help increase the ability of citizens to become more knowledgeable participants in an increasingly data-centric society.

Janet Grigsby, senior lecturer of sociology, was interviewed by WAMC about the College’s community service mini-term that travels to Louisiana each December.

An article by Patricia Wareh, assistant professor of English, was published in Interdisciplinary Literary Studies: A Journal of Criticism and Theory. It’s titled “’Base Respects of Thrift’: Hamlet and Slings & Arrows.”

Stacie Raucci, associate professor of classics, co-organized a conference on “New Heroes on Screen” at the European Cultural Centre in Delphi, Greece. The full program can be found here.

Mary Carroll, professor of chemistry, Ann Anderson, the Agnes S. MacDonald Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Bradford Bruno, professor of mechanical engineering, along with co-authors Stephen Juhl '12, Nicholas Dunn '11, José Madero '12 and Michael Bono Jr. '09, have published a paper in the Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids. "Epoxide-assisted alumina aerogels by rapid supercritical extraction," is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation, the College’s Faculty Research Fund, Student Research Grant and Presidential Green Grant programs. Juhl and Dunn are graduate students in the Chemistry Department at Penn State University. Madero is enrolled at Washington University St. Louis, and Bono recently earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Cornell University.

Researchers from the Union College Aerogel Lab gave two presentations at the recent Northeast Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society. Aude Bechu '16 and Zachary Tobin '16 presented a poster, "Copper-alumina aerogels: Fabrication, characterization, and catalytic application," in the Undergraduate Materials Chemistry session. Isaac Ramphal '14 gave an oral presentation, "Catalytic testing of aerogels for applications in the after-treatment of automotive exhaust," in the Materials Chemistry session. Professors Carroll, Anderson and Bruno co-authored that presentation. Ramphal is beginning graduate studies in chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley this fall.

An essay collection co-edited by Andrew Burkett, assistant professor of English, will be out early next year. Romantic Circles Pedagogies will publish “William Blake and Pedagogy.” Burkett also co-authored the introduction with his collaborator, Roger Whitson of Washington State University.

Submit your news items to gowanc@union.edu

Nancy Borowick '07 was featured in Le Temps newspaper recently. The story focused on her photography and the project that chronicled her parents' battle with cancer. "Cancer Family, Ongoing" was also on exhibit during the International Festival of Photojournalism in France.