Monday Memo November 6, 2017

Dean's Message

Dear Colleagues: 

I am pleased to be hearing about all the impressive accomplishments of our faculty and students. Lately, they seem to be rolling in faster than I can even process them!

A special shout out to Physics & Astronomy for their recent list of very notable research achievements.

In other good news, there has been a white squirrel sighting. The sighting was very close to campus, so I am hopeful we will see one on Belknap soon. I am sure this must be a good omen!

Sincerely,

Kimberly Kempf-Leonard, Dean

Announcements

CCHS offers internships to undergraduate & graduate students through Art & Culture Partner Institutions
Including: the Filson Historical Society, Louisville Public Media, and Cave Hill Cemetery. The internships are for course credit and include a $500 stipend. All applications are due by November 20th. For descriptions and more visit louisville.edu/cchs/arts-and-culture-partnerships/internships/spring-2018 or contact Janna Tajibaeva at 502-852-2247 or janna@louisville.edu.

Course Evaluations Fall 2017
This year course evaluations will run longer than prior semesters. Course evaluations will be open from November 14 until December 14, 2017. 

Peer Advising help with student registration Nov. 6th-10th
A&S Peer Advisors will be in Gardiner Hall (A&S Advising Building) the week of Nov. 6-10th from 8am-5pm to assist students who are arranging their Spring 2018 class schedules. To get assistance, students must have already been advised by their academic advisor – no advising holds will be lifted during this time. Students can see our Peer Advisors for help adding classes to their shopping cart or switching class times around!

Kudos & Congratulations

Prof. George Shields (Philosophy) receives special invitation from Edinburgh University Press
In addition to the recent acceptance of a paper by the American Philosophical Association (Pacific) related to the history of science, Prof. Shields has been invited by the editors to contribute a paper to the celebratory volume of the Edinburgh Critical Edition of the Complete Works of Alfred North Whitehead to be submitted to Edinburgh University Press. All Edinburgh University Press volumes are jointly marketed and distributed by Oxford University Press. Says Prof. Shields about the opportunity, "I am so excited about this recognition and opportunity to publish with such a prestigious list of Whitehead scholars. I have my work cut out for me, although this will surely be a labor of love."

Biology students rack up awards at Kentucky Academy of Science meeting
A number of biology students won awards for posters and/or presentations at the annual Kentucky Academy of Science held at Murray State on November 3-4.

• Jacob Lawson - First place in the Ecology and Environmental Science Division for his poster "Insect Pollinator Diversity in Gardens Across an Urban-Suburban Gradient"
• Abhinav Maurya - First place in the Ecology and Environmental Science Section for his presentation “Memory of seeds: Effect of plant volatile exposure to seeds on plant growth, development and defense across generations”
• Kat Ray-King - First place in Science Education for her presentation "The Characterization of Epistemic Beliefs among Scientists"
• Grace Freundlich - Second place in the Ecology and Environmental Science Section for her presentation “Plant-Derived Volatiles Alter Plant Fitness in a Species-Specific Manner”

A&S student makes waves with the Invisible Wound Project 

Alex McGrath, a dual English and Philosophy major who is minoring in Spanish, started the Invisible Wound Project his freshman year with fellow A&S students Praneeth Goli (majoring in Chemistry and minoring in Math and Biology) and Zachary Fowler (majoring in Psychology). The organization brings students to the fight against childhood toxic stress through mentorship, advocacy and education. Alex was recently featured in The Voice-Tribune's "New Voices of Philanthropy" (11/1/17) which stated, "IWP has only been up and running for a year, but Alex and his partners know that the best is yet to come. He recently had the opportunity to participate in the Clinton Global Initiative Conference in Boston, where he presented IWP’s prospective plan and shared their mission with a number of Harvard students and professors. Now, they’re looking forward to sharing it with the local community and gaining the support and interest of Louisvillians. For those who wish to donate or get involved with IWP, visit theiwp.org." 

Special Kudos to Physics & Astronomy

Prof. Sergio B. Mendes (Physics & Astronomy) helped develop an innovative approach to detect and quantify influenza virus molecules
Every year The Optical Society, which has long been the major society of the optics community across the globe, highlights in their December special issue of the Optics & Photonics News magazine the most exciting peer-reviewed research to have emerged over the past 12 months. About 25-30 articles are selected for their breakthroughs of interest to the optics community. The upcoming special issue will include an article lead by Prof. Sergio B. Mendes (Physics & Astronomy) and co-authored by his Ph.D. student Jafar Ghithan, as well as other UofL researchers. Based on a technology pioneered by a former Physics graduate student Xue Han under the supervision of Prof. Mendes, the current team of researchers developed an innovative approach to detect and quantify influenza virus molecules by incorporating an electro-optically responsive biological assay onto their novel photonic device. Early detection and diagnostics of different strains of influenza virus are essential for treatment and for identifying pandemic outbreaks. Furthermore, the newly demonstrated approach opens opportunities for high performance detection and quantification of an immense variety of biological and chemical analytes.

Prof. Benne Holwerda (Physics & Astronomy) awarded observance time on the Hubble Space Telescope
Prof. Holwerda received research grant funding and can use the Hubble telescope from October 2017 through Sept 2018. His research will include: Dust Dwarfs Galaxies Occulting A Bright Background Spiral, The UV attenuation in JWST target VV191, and the Cluster Population of UGC 2885.

A letter from the director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, Dr. Kenneth Sembach, notifying Kentucky Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul of Prof. Holwerda's award, stated "The award of Hubble observing time is an exceptional accomplishment worthy of recognition. Hubble's proposal selection process is highly competitive. Scientists from all categories of organizations, both domestic and foreign, including educational institutions, profit and nonprofit organizations, NASA Centers, other government agencies, as well as the general U.S. public are welcome to submit proposals. Dr. Sembach goes on to say that he "expect[s] their [Holwerda et al] observations to continue to expand the frontiers of astrophysics." 

Prof. Swagato Banerjee (Physics & Astronomy) named ATLAS Distinguished Researcher and invited to speak at 2018 APS meeting
Dr. Swagato Banerjee has been named a 2017-2018 U.S. ATLAS Distinguished Researcher. As one of the selected  researchers, his proposal is viewed as able to make major contributions to ATLAS in the areas of physics analysis. As a Distinguished Researcher, he is also expected to play a leading role in organizing ATC and U.S. ATLAS analysis activities. More about the honor and Prof. Banerjee's proposal can be found at  www.usatlas.bnl.gov/programoffice/scholars.php. Prof. Banerjee was also invited to speak at the April 2018 American Physical Society Meeting of the Division of Particles and Fields. He will speak on “Higgs Physics at LHC [Large Hadron Collider].”

Prof. Chakram Jayanthi (Physics & Astronomy) invited speaker
Prof. Chakram Jayanthi (Physics & Astronomy) was an invited speaker at the "Game Changing Physics Symposium” held on October 20 at Radboud University, Netherlands, in honor of Dr. Annalisa Fasolino and her contributions to science, education, and the position of women in science. Prof. Jayanthi’s talk was entitled “Function-Oriented Design of Two-Dimensional Materials.”

In the News

Week of Valor: Louisville leaders share how military service shaped them (Courier-Journal, 11/3/17) - Prof. Beth Grossi (Criminal Justice) one of four veteran featured who transitioned from military duty to a different successful role in the city. Those featured "contributed immeasurably to the community in their civilian lives."

Film fans react to Forbidden: Undocumented and Queer in Rural America (WFPL, 11/1/17) - Reporter Roxanne Scott attended a screening of the movie (part of the "'Reel' Latin American Film Festival") and spoke to attendees afterwards. 

New Voices of Philanthropy (Voice-Tribune, 11/1/17) - Features A&S student Alex McGrath who started the Invisible Wound Project with fellow A&S students Praneeth Goli and Zachary Fowler.

Get a look at Louisville's creative industry during Open Studio Weekend (Courier-Journal, 11/1/17) - Hite Art Institute invites the public to Open Studio Weekend on Saturday, Nov. 4 and Sunday, Nov. 5.

Open Studio Weekend (LEO, Staff Pick)

Hite Art Institute’s Open Studio Weekend draws UofL artist (UofL News, 10/30/17) - Hite BFA alumna Maria Tinnell to showcase her work in Open Studio Weekend.

Don't Believe Republicans: Tax Reform Won't Be Done by Christmas (Vice News, 10/27/17) - Jasmine Farrier (Political Science) on tax reform in Congress.

120 Louisville Artists Participating In Open Studio Weekend 2017 (WFPL, 10/26/17). Calvert to Present Fine Arts Center Gallery Talk (Arkansas State University News, 10/26/17) - Prof. Calvert (Hite Art) led a gallery talk and exhibit.

Has Strunk and White Struck Out of Writing Instruction? (Ed Surge, 10/25/17) - Ann Hall (Comparative Humanities) wishes people would return to William Strunk and E.B. White’s “The Elements of Style.”

World-Renowned Glass Artist Hank Adams To Give Demonstration At UofL (WFPL, 10/22/17) - Hank Adams gave a demonstration at the University of Louisville’s Cressman Center for Visual Arts Monday night.