University Collective
Dr. Zhanbo Yang, an associate professor of mathematics, was recently awarded an NSF S-STEM (National Science Foundation Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) grant for $600,000 over five years. The majority of the grant goes directly to students, including $500,000 of scholarship money and $25,000 for student travel and activities. That level of funding covers 15 full-time students in the BA/BS mathematics programs. Drs. Elizabeth Kreston, assistant professor of mathematics, Flor Garcia-Wukovits, assistant professor of mathematics, and Yang will be the principal investigators, with Yang as lead.
Irene Gilliland and Dr. Jeanette McNeill, both of the School of Nursing and Health Professions, accompanied 10 nursing students for a two-week trip to Tanzania, Africa. The trip was part of a study abroad elective students took in the spring on Global HIV. While traveling, the group visited public and private hospitals and clinics directly involved in HIV care where the students learned about the magnitude of the HIV problem and about international relief efforts. The trip also included a day with a Masai tribe, three days of safari in the Ngorongoro crater and Lake Manyara, a spice island tour and a lesson in slave trade in Zanzibar.
Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Mitchell, professor of theatre arts, was named the 2008-09 UIW Moody Professor at the faculty appreciation luncheon in April. The Moody Professorship is the highest honor that the university bestows and is elected by the faculty. It reflects the level of scholarship, teaching excellence and community service achieved by the recipient. The Moody Professor delivers two public lectures annually and leads the graduation procession for UIW. Mitchell was a guest artist at UIW from 1990-91, and she has been a member of the faculty since 1992. She has worked internationally on costume design, and she has numerous awards for her work in theatre arts. She has presented several exhibitions at the Prague Quadrennial, an international competitive exhibition of scenography and theatre architecture that has been in existence for more than 40 years.
Sr. Martha Ann Kirk traveled with students to eastern Turkey for research in May. Hosted by the Institute of Interfaith Dialogue, Kirk and the students learned more of the roots of Judaism, Christianity and Islam in Turkey and cross-cultural education.
Graciela Lopez-Cox, an instructor in the School of Nursing and Health Professions, received the 2008 Leadership Award from the Medical Center Rotary in May at the Nightingale Gala. The award is named in honor of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, and the award is given each year during National Nurses Week. The award is given in recognition of outstanding leadership, excellent communications skills, strong principles and dedication to service.
Dr. S. Bin Kong
Dr. S. Bin Kong, professor of chemistry, recently co-authored a research article published in “Letters in Drug Design & Discovery,” 2008, 5, 104-107. The title of the publication was “New Peptide Neuroprotectants Against NMDA Neurotoxicity: Synthesis and Biological Evaluations of Linear Complestatin Analogs.” Complestatin is an aromatic acid produced by fungus, Streptomyces species. The therapeutic use of this compound as a new neuroprotectant is limited by its commercial availability due to the
complexity of its synthesis and low extraction rate from the original natural resources.
Dr. Lopita Nath
Dr. Lopita Nath, a visiting assistant professor of history, attended the National Conference of the Association for Asian Studies held in Atlanta from April 3-6. At the conference, she presented a paper to a "Migration and New Homelands" panel. The title of the paper was "The Strength of Weak Ties: Role of Networks in Nepali migration to South and Southeast Asia 1900-2000."