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 A Guide to Arts and Sciences' News, Events and People

July 2011

Contents
A Question of Faith

Pioneering Brain Wave Study

New Buzz on Campus

Meet the New Dean of Special Projects

George Washington Award Winners

26 Unique Topics of Study

Commemorating the Civil War

Local vs. National News

New GWAA Board of Directors

In Memoriam

Books

Published Articles

Awards and Recognition

Columbian College Video

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Upcoming Events
Information Session: Art Therapy Graduate Program
July 22, 1:00 pm
Alexandria, VA

Information Session: Applied Quantitative Risk Analysis Graduate Certificate
Aug. 10, 6:00 pm
Arlington Graduate Education Center

International Student Orientation
Aug. 23-24, 8:30 am
Marvin Center

Colonial Inauguration
Aug. 24, 8:00 am
GW Campus

Freshman Convocation
August 28
Charles E. Smith Center, University Yard

Alumni Events
All Alumni Networking Event
July 19, 6:00 pm
New York, New York

Rome Alumni-Student Dinner with Professors Catherine Anderson and Nadia Volchansky
July 21, 7:00 pm
Roma, Italy

Alumni Reception at APA Annual Convention
Aug. 5, 5:30 pm
Washington, D.C.

Night of Discovery
Aug. 11, 6:00 pm
Virginia Science and Engineering Campus

GW Culture Buffs: Kandinsky at the Phillips Collection
Aug. 25, 8:00 pm
Washington, D.C.

Alumni Weekend
Sept. 15-18
Washington, D.C.

Department News
Academy for Classical Acting

Africana Studies

Anthropology

Art Therapy

East Asian Languages and Literatures

English

Judaic Studies

Media and Public Affairs

Medieval and Early Modern Studies

Museum Studies

Philosophy

Physics

Political Science

Professional Psychology

Public Policy and Public Administration

Regulatory Studies

Romance, German, and Slavic Languages and Literature

Science and Engineering Hall

Solar Institute

Speech and Hearing Sciences

Statistics

Theatre and Dance

University Writing

A Question of Faith: New Books Examine the World's Major Religions
Are Jewish texts inherently violent or peaceful? How did Calvinists deal with the intellectual challenges of the Enlightenment? How has the ancient concept of dharma evolved and developed over the past 2,300 years? What is the role of women in Islamic culture? In a series of books published over the past year, five faculty members from the Department of Religion-Robert Eisen, Alfred Hiltebeitel, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Kelly Pemberton, and Dewey Wallace-made important contributions to our understanding of the world's great religions. Each illuminates the underlying framework and development of Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam.

"When taken as a whole, these books reflect a remarkable breadth of scholarship during a time when issues revolving around faith and one's religious beliefs have become part of  daily dialogue  on a global level," said Wallace, professor and former chair of the Religion Department. Read more.


Brain Wave Study Reveals Persuasive Science of Advertising Images
Are consumers conscious of advertising's impact on their purchases? In a groundbreaking new study, "Regional Brain Activation with Advertising Images," Professor of Communication Clay Warren and researchers from UCLA found that advertising images can evoke different levels in regional brain activity related to the use of logical persuasion and non-rational influence elements.

"Our study indicates that neurophysiologic activity differs when these types of advertisements are viewed, even if subjects have no conscious recall of differences in that information," said Warren. Read more.


New Buzz on Campus: An Urban Apiary Project
Fans of Founding Farmers, the Foggy Bottom restaurant known for its fresh, local and sustainably produced food, now have something new to buzz about. In partnership with GW, Founding Farmers will open the largest known restaurant-owned urban apiary (bee colony) in the nation on the roof of Lisner Hall, two blocks from the restaurant. Founding Farmers also established a $5,000 scholarship that will be awarded to an biology student who will oversee the apiary for the next year.

 "This venture provides an opportunity to not only further expand the university's research goals and enhance our students' educational experiences, it also enables our biologists to play an active role in encouraging local sustainability and green living," said Columbian College Dean Peg Barratt.   Read more.


Meet the New Dean of Special Projects
What makes a great associate dean of special projects? A Columbian College veteran with vantage, vision, and an insatiable curiosity for subjects ranging from ocean liners to American pre-Columbian archeology. The newly appointed Chris Sterling has been teaching and leading within Columbian College since 1982, and has seen the university and the campus evolve as much as his own interests and research.

"GW is a totally different place from the row house school I first knew," said Sterling. "Now it has an immense research presence with an interesting and varied student body from all over the world." Read more.


GW's Highest Honor Goes to Three from Columbian College
The George Washington Award-one of the most prestigious awards bestowed by the university-went to three members of the Columbian College community. They were Department of Chemistry Chair Michael King, recognized for his "first-rate teaching and scholarship and for a record of university service that is beyond extensive;" alumnus Corbb O'Connor, BA '10, honored for his work as a "highly accomplished student, campus leader, and proud advocate;" and alumnus James Isom, BA '75, remembered for his "tireless efforts" with the GW Police Department and nearly 40 years of "unswerving loyalty" to his alma mater. The other award recipient was Eydie Costantino of the University Honors Program. Read more.


Seminars Offer Freshmen 26 Unique Topics of Study
For incoming freshman, the 1960s and 70s may bring to mind images of war protests and bellbottoms. But in "Literature of Beats and Hippies," taught by Professor of English Kim Moreland, students can dissect the poetry and prose of icons such as Jack Kerouac, Hunter S. Thomson, and Kurt Vonnegut and discover how a subculture developed into a counter-culture. Moreland's class is one of 26 Dean's Seminars offered this fall designed to captivate students and kick start their interests in a small classroom setting. Seminar professors incorporate their current research into their syllabi. In partnership with students, professors encourage spirited debates and experiential learning on and off campus. Read more.


Commemorating the Civil War
In 1861, the U.S. embarked on a deadly and devastating four-year battle that claimed the lives of more than 600,000 Americans, defined states' rights and ended the practice of slavery. Professor of History Tyler Anbinder, an expert on 19th-century American politics, immigration and ethnicity, recently examined the war and its legacy on its 150th anniversary, discussing significant moments in the war, Abraham Lincoln's leadership, and what it was like to be a soldier, among other topics. Read more.


Online Local News Less Popular than Perceived
For those who hoped that online local news sources could take over for shrinking newspaper organizations, the prognosis is grim. According to a new study "Less of the Same: The Lack of Local News on the Internet," authored by Assistant Professor of Media and Public Relations Matthew Hindman, online local news is not only failing to fill the gaps once filled by traditional newsrooms, but the report's data negate the popular assumption that the Internet has expanded the amount of news covered by local online news sources. Read more.


Five Columbian College Alumni Join GWAA Board of Directors
Five Columbian College alumni-Vikram Bakhru, BA '01; Jacqueline Hackett, BA '08, MPP '10; Joshua Hiscock, BA '03; Hsiao Liu, BA '98; Lloyd Winans, BA '83-have been named to the GW Alumni Association (GWAA) Board of Directors. The board, which includes volunteers from across the university, works collaboratively with the Office of Alumni Relations to implement programs and services for the benefit of alumni. The new members will serve a three-year term and assist the GWAA President Jim Core, MA '96, to enhance alumni engagement, strengthen the GW volunteer network, and connect with students. Read more.


In Memoriam: Emeritus Professor of Physics Herman H. Hobbs
We note with regret the passing of Distinguished and Emeritus Professor of Physics Herman Hedberg Hobbs, BS '53, MA '55. In his more than three decades at Columbian College, Hobbs taught over 15,000 students in such diverse fields as quantum physics, solid-state physics, and astronomy. In 1986, he received the Columbian College Award for Excellence in Teaching and received two service awards and four certificates of appreciation from the Alumni Association. He was chair of the Physics Department for ten years and served on numerous university councils and committees. During his tenure, he conducted extensive research in the area of metal-whisker crystal growth.  Read more.


Books
Elaine Peña, associate professor of American studies, authored her first book, Performing Piety: Making Space Sacred with the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Associate Professor of Russian and International Affairs Richard Robin and Assistant Professor of Russian Galina Shatalina co-authored Golosa, Book 1, 5th edition. Golosa has been the world's best-selling beginning college Russian language textbook for the last five years.

Sherri Rose, BA '05, co-wrote Targeted Learning: Causal Inference for Observational and Experimental Data Series.

John Ryan, BA '09, and Julie Silverbrook, BA '09, published nine entries in the Encyclopedia of Bioterrorism Defense, 2nd Edition.

Christopher Sten, professor of English, authored Literary Capital: A Washington Reader.

Brooke Stoddard, MA '73, wrote World in the Balance: The Perilous Months of June-October 1940.


Published Articles
Edward P. Jones, professor of English, authored the story "Shacks" in the Summer Fiction Issue of the New Yorker.

Professor of Physics Frank X. Lee and doctoral student Lai Wang published "Transition magnetic moment of Lambda to Sigma0 in QCD sum rules" in Physical Review D.

Shannan Powers, a graduate student in political science, published "Rwanda's Gacaca Courts Implications for International Criminal Law and Transitional Justice" in American Society of International Law Insight.

Katherine Tiedemann, a graduate student in political science, published "Washington's Phantom War: The Effects of the U.S. Drone Program in Pakistan" in the July/August issue of Foreign Affairs.

Ken Zweibel, director of the GW Solar Institute, was featured in a Danish piece on solar energy "The Woodward Report: Tæt på løsning af jordens energiproblemer?"


Awards and Recognition
Valentina Harizanov, professor of mathematics, is part of the American/Russian/Kazakh group of mathematicians awarded renewal of the bi-national National Science Foundation grant for "Collaboration in Computability."

Thomas Hill, a graduate student in political science, was awarded a Rumsfeld Foundation Fellowship for 2011-2012.

Howard Hogan, adjunct professor of statistics, has been appointed the Census Bureau's Chief Demographer.

Doctoral candidate in statistics Ravi Kalpathy won an Amsterdam Teaching Award and traveled to Poland to present his research on algorithms at the Analysis of Algorithms 2011 conference. 

Matthew Katz, BA '00, won the Livingston Award for international reporting for his series "Mired in Afghanistan" published in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Graduate student in political science Inwook Kim was awarded a Fellowship at Northeast Asia Economic Forum to participate in its Young Leaders Program.

Chris Mitchell, a graduate student in political science, received a research grant from the Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy for his project "Saving the Market from Itself: The Politics of Financial Intervention."

Henry Nau, professor of political science and international affairs, has been appointed W. Glenn Campbell and Rita Ricardo-Campbell National Fellow and the Susan Louise Dyer Peace National Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, for the academic year 2011-12.

Kathryn Newcomer, director of the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration, was elected as a new member of the American Evaluation Association Board.

Koka Nishi
, graduate student in the Professional Psychology Program, was elected by the American Psychological Association to serve as a student representative on the board of the Division 45 of the Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues.

Chester Sherwood, associate professor of anthropology, was awarded $600,000 from the James S. McDonnell Foundation for his project, "Discovering the Evolved Human Brain Phenotype" and $850,000 from the National Institute of Health and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for his project "Hemispheric specialization and communication".

Ajay Verghese, a graduate student in political science, won a Critical Language Scholarship Program Alumni Development Award from the Council of American Overseas Research Centers.

Menachem Wecker, MA '09, was inducted as a member of the National Press Club


 

 

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