Faculty and Staff Notes

Abby Aresty, technical director and lecturer in TIMARA, and Rachel Gibson '20 presented their paper "Changing GEAR: The Girls Electronic Arts Retreat's Teaching Interfaces for Musical Expression" virtually at the New Interfaces for Musical Expression in NYU Shanghai, June 14-18, 2021. The paper has won an award (Learn to Play/Play to Learn) and honorable mention (Pamela Z diversity award) at the New Interfaces for Musical Expression conference.

Emeritus Professor of Politics Ben Schiff's woodworking is published in Fine Woodworking magazine online.

Danforth-Lewis Professor of Economics John Duca (virtually) presented two studies at the Annual Conference of the French Finance Association in May 2021 which analyzed the effectiveness of Federal Reserve efforts to stabilize the corporate and municipal bond markets during the COVID-19 Recession. One of these appeared as NBER Working Paper 28097 in November 2020 and the other as NBER Working Paper 28437 in February 2021. 

Earlier this year, Applied Economics Letters electronically published a paper that Duca coauthored with Jason Saving, “Media fragmentation and the polarization of the American public.” Together with European coauthors Martin Hoesli and Joaquim Montezuma, Duca also published a timely paper in the Journal of European Real Estate Research, “The Resilience and Realignment of House Prices in the Era of COVID-19.”

Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies and Religion Shari Rabin will speak as part of a discussion on "Jews and Muslims in America" at the Graduate Theological Union's Madrasa-Midrasha Program. The conversation begins at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, June 15. Rabin's talk is titled "Placing Jews in American History" and will consider how Jews have been understood and how Judaism has been transformed in American history, using the 1669 Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina as its starting point.

Associate Professor of Comparative Literature Stiliana Milkova coedited a special issue of the scholarly journal Modern Language Notes (MLN, 136:1, 2021) and published an article in the special issue.

Associate Professor of Geology Zeb Page and Emilie Lozier '18 have coauthored a new paper in Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology with colleagues. This work combines stable isotope analyses of metamorphic garnet made by Lozier while at Oberlin with trace element analyses conducted at the University of Maine and in Mainz, Germany. This approach allows geochemists to decipher a detailed fluid and metamorphic history of an ancient subduction zone in California. Lozier is pursuing a PhD in Chemistry at Northwestern University.

Rob Thompson, emeritus professor of chemistry, has been named the Ohio PKAL STEM Educator of the Year for 2021. The annual award recognizes excellence and innovation in the field of STEM education at the college level and includes $500 for the recipient. Award selection committee chair and Ohio Northern University Professor Bradley Wile said, "Thompson was recognized by his colleagues for his long-standing commitment to creative and engaging classroom and laboratory instruction, and his work with faculty peers within the region. By placing an emphasis on active classroom approaches and communicating scientific concepts within a case study/mock trial framework, he helped build problem solving and communication skills that are critical for today's STEM graduates. His lasting impact on his program, and on STEM education in Ohio, are well-aligned with the mission of Ohio PKAL, and serve as an inspiration to his peers.” Public recognition of the award will be delayed until the 2022 Ohio PKAL Annual Meeting to be held at the College of Wooster, Thompson’s alma mater.

Assistant professor of Creative Writing Chanda Feldman has two new poems at Conjunctions online. The poem "Glance" considers the sculpture "Head of a Negro" by Richmond Barthé, which is in the Allen Art Museum collection.
 

Assistant Professor of Physics Jillian Scudder is a coauthor on a publication describing a large legacy project, aiming to collect and unify overlapping data sets where far-infrared data is present. This project aims to allow easier study of distant galaxies across wavelength.

In celebration of Haitian Flag Day on May 18, the Haitian Times founder Garry Pierre-Pierre featured Associate Professor of Africana Studies and Comparative American Studies Yveline Alexis along with Wyclef Jean, Nedjine Paul Deroly, and Dave Fils-Aime as panelists for a discussion about "Upholding L'Union Fait La Force (Unity is Strength) in our Community."