Union in the Media

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.

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.

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Anthony Perez '11 was recently featured in The Bronx Chronicle. The story focused on his leadership in the Bronx and his dedication to that community. Anthony is executive director of the Bronx Democratic County Committee, and a native of the New York City borough.

Click here to read the story.

Union has been named a winner of a HEED Award by Insight Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.

This marks the third straight year the school has been honored by the magazine, which recognizes U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion.

HEED (Higher Education Excellence in Diversity) Award recipients were selected based on their institution’s ”exemplary diversity and inclusion initiatives, and ability to embrace a broad definition of diversity on their campuses, including gender, race, ethnicity, veterans, people with disabilities and members of the LGBT community.”

The College’s commitment to diversity is the focus of a cover story in Insight’s October issue, “Union College: Where Diversity Always Has a Seat at the Table.”

Works on paper by Chris Duncan, the May I. Baker Professor of Visual Arts, was featured in a group exhibit, “Abstraction,” at the Carrie Haddad Gallery in Hudson, N.Y., in July and August.

Bunkong Tuon, associate professor of English, was a featured poet at the poetry open mic at Arthur's Market and Café in Schenectady in August. Tuon is celebrating the new release of his full- length poetry collection, Gruel.

David Olio ’17, a double major in English and Environmental Policy with a minor in Classical Civilization, has received a fall 2015 Phi Beta Kappa Writing Internship. The internships are geared for juniors and seniors majoring in the liberal arts or sciences who attend institutions with PBK chapters. Interns make a five-month commitment to the program and prepare a minimum of six publishable articles for The Key Reporter, the society’s news and alumni publication. Olio is a member of the men’s soccer team, enjoys reading early American literature and is interested in how to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. He aspires to attend law school. Founded in 1776, the Phi Beta Kappa Society is the nation’s oldest and most recognized academic honor society.

Lewis Davis, associate professor of economics, organized and hosted the 11th annual Workshop on Macroeconomics Research at Liberal Arts Colleges last month. The workshop hosted an assembly of 45 professors and featured 16 research presentations, five pedagogy discussions sessions and a panel discussion, “Publishing with Undergraduates.” Tomas Dvorak, professor of economics, served as the workshop’s co-organizer, local host, session chair and paper discussant. For more information on the event, click here.

A poem by Kimmo Rosenthal, professor of mathematics, was published in The Fib Review. “Murnane's World” is a poem whose structure (in this case word count) is determined by the mathematical Fibonacci sequence.

Submit your news to gowanc@union.edu.

They come from 31 states and the District of Columbia. Representing 17 countries, nearly 30 percent are international or from underrepresented backgrounds. They were among the brightest students at their high schools, with 70 percent ranked in the top 10 percent of their class.

They are the 571 first-year students (selected from nearly 6,000 applications, a record) who make up the Class of 2019, and after a summer of anticipation, they officially began their Union experience Sunday, Sept. 6.

To read more in The Daily Gazette, click here.

They come from 31 states and the District of Columbia. Representing 17 countries, nearly 30 percent are international or from underrepresented backgrounds. They were among the brightest students at their high schools, with 70 percent ranked in the top 10 percent of their class.

They are the 571 first-year students (selected from nearly 6,000 applications, a record) who make up the Class of 2019, and after a summer of anticipation, they officially began their Union experience Sunday, Sept. 6.

The College recently gave the media a tour of Garnet Commons, a new three-story, 38,420 square-foot apartment style residence on Roger Hull Place and Park Place.

The 80-bed building consists of fully furnished four-, three-and two-bedroom apartments. Each apartment has common living space (kitchen and living room), two bathrooms and closets.

Read a story in the Daily Gazette

Photo gallery in the Times Union

NYQ Books published a book of poetry by Bunkong Tuon, associate professor of English titled “Gruel.” His memoir, “Saying I Love You Khmer-American Style,” honoring his grandmother, was published by Numéro Cinq.

Chad Orzel, associate professor of physics and astronomy, hosted a workshop at the Joint Quantum Institute at the University of Maryland, College Park for science fiction writers (including fiction, poetry and scripts). The workshop, “The Schrödinger Sessions: Science for Science Fiction,” gathered 17 writers for a three-day “crash course” on quantum physics, including lectures by faculty (including Orzel) and tours of the JQI labs. The long-term workshop goal is to inform and inspire new stories based on quantum science, therefore inspiring audiences to learn more about quantum physics. The program is funded by a grant from the American Physical Society. Read about the workshop on his Orzel’s, Uncertain Principles.

An exhibit, “After Life,” featuring the work of Fernando Orellana, associate professor of visual arts, is coming to a close at the Incline Gallery in San Francisco. The exhibit and an interview with Orellana, is featured in an article in the San Francisco Chronicle. Read the story by clicking here.

George Gmelch, professor of anthropology, was featured on NPR’s Morning Edition. The story focuses on why people play sports, and how much winning factors in as a motivation to participate. Gmelch said the need to win declines with age. Learn more here.

A study led by Leo Fleishman, the William D. Williams Professor of Biological Sciences, shows that lizards used an optical illusion to make their colorful throat fans glow; therefore boosting their chances of wooing a female. These findings were featured in a New Scientist article, which can be read here.

Bradley Hays, associate professor of political science, was a recent guest on WAMC’s Congressional Corner. He discussed the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court’s term in October.

Bradley Hays, associate professor of political science, was a recent guest on "Congressional Corner" on WAMC, Northeast Public Radio. He discussed the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court's term in October.

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.