Mohit Arora, visiting assistant professor of economics, published a paper, “Singularity of Input-Output Matrices: Structural Linkages and Spectral Properties,” (with Deepankar Basu) in Economics Bulletin.
Mary K. Carroll '86, the Dwane W. Crichton Professor of Chemistry, and Brandon Schabes, senior lecturer in chemistry, attended the 2026 Biennial Conference on Chemical Education in Madison, Wis., this summer. Carroll was a panelist for the Community Conversation on “Bridging Academia and Industry: Defining Green and Sustainable Chemistry Skills for the Future Workforce.” Schabes gave two oral presentations, both related to materials developed for Union's introductory chemistry courses: “B-I-N-Ga-O: Ionic Nomenclature Game with a Salty Surprise,” and “Beer and Tobacco: Highly Visual Lab Gets Students Applying Molarity and Arriving at Beer's Law,” on a laboratory experiment developed through student and faculty participation in the NSF-funded Chemistry Laboratory Curriculum (CLC) Innovators Project at St. Mary's College of Maryland.
David P. Gillikin, the William D. Williams Professor and Chair of Geosciences, and Anouk Verheyden, senior lecturer of geosciences, co-authored an article with Alaina Chormann ’20 and others published in Journal of Quaternary Science. The article, “Southern Portugal hydroclimate of the last millennium from near-annually resolved speleothem records” combines Chormann’s senior thesis research and her master’s research at Iowa State University (with Alan Wanamaker). The work was funded by the US National Science Foundation, and included several trips to Portuguese caves during Chormann’s time at Union.
Aleena Kuriakose ’27 is co-author of a study, “Stress management, mindfulness, and peer support needs among adolescent and young adult cancer survivors: a qualitative interview study,” published in Frontiers in Adolescent Medicine. A biology and Spanish and Hispanic Studies double major, Kuriakose interviewed AYA cancer survivors on their day-to-day stressors, stress management techniques and the use of mindfulness. These findings may be used to inform future intervention development targeted at their specific needs.
George Shaw, professor emeritus of geosciences, was one of three leaders of a full-day field trip on October 5 for the 18th Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst. The field trip to the Lower Fox Creek Valley in western Albany and northeastern Schoharie counties visited sites that Shaw studied in great detail for several years, resulting in a report on the groundwater hydrology of the Town of Wright in Schoharie County. Shaw provided hydrologic and geologic commentary on both the Schoharie and Albany County localities. The field trip qualified for continuing education hours for New York State Professional Geologists.
Tengteng Tang, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, participated in the 2026 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in July 2026. Tang was selected as a Young Scientist through Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society. The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting is a prestigious international scientific event, bringing together 70 Nobel Laureates and 600 outstanding young scientists from around the world. It provides a unique opportunity for early-career researchers to exchange ideas with leading scientists, build international collaborations and explore interdisciplinary research opportunities.
Francis Wilkin, senior lecturer in physics and astronomy, and observatory manager, has co-authored three papers with Union students. While attempting to verify an exoplanet, Micaela Magno ‘27 and Wilkin inadvertently contributed to the discovery of a brown dwarf. Their results, “TOI-6884b: a low-mass brown dwarf transiting a slightly evolved star,” appeared in the monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, July 2026. Dimitrios-Vasileios Zora ‘26 and Wilkin contributed to the discovery of a planet in the TOI-5806 system, which has at least two planets. Their results appeared in “CAFE follow-up of TESS hot Jupiter candidates left behind I. Five newly confirmed planets and a false positive," by Lillo-Box and collaborators in Astronomy & Astrophysics, September 2026.
During the Fall 2025 “Observational Astronomy course,” tudents chose to participate in a “Key Project” to study the rotation of two asteroids using the Union College Observatory. Glauk Hizmo ‘27 and Wilkin led the publication which included nine students from this course. The paper, "Lightcurves for (631) Philippina and (771) Libera from the Union College Observatory," appeared in the Minor Planet Bulletin's September 2026 issue.
