Faculty/Staff News of Note
March 2006
Michael A. Rutter, assistant professor of statistics, presented “Bayesian Analysis of Presque Isle Bay Brown Bullhead Data” to the Development of Standardized Criteria for the Assessment of Brown Bullhead Lesions and Deformities in Areas of Concern Workshop last month. The workshop was held at the Stull Interpretive Center on Presque Isle and co-sponsored by Pennsylvania Sea Grant.
Tom Noyes, assistant professor of creative writing, was Image journal’s featured artist of the month for February. Image is a forum for writing and artwork that is informed by or grapples with religious faith.
George Looney, associate professor of English and creative writing and chair of the creative writing program, and Sean Thomas Dougherty, lecturer in English, each have received a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) 2006 Individual Creative Artists Fellowship. Looney received a $10,000 award and Dougherty received $5,000, both in the literature-poetry category.
“Economics Isn’t Boring, But Many Economists Are” was the title of a presentation given by Ed Miseta, lecturer in economics, last month at a workshop on economics education held at Robert Morris University.
Port capacity research conducted by Michael Maloni and Eric Jackson, assistant professors of management, recently was covered by several major newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, ChicagoTribune, and Vancouver Sun.
The National Science Foundation has funded a proposal to continue the Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program in Mathematical Biology through May 2009.
The $160,056 proposal was written by Joseph Previte, associate professor of mathematics, Michael Rutter, assistant professor of statistics, and Scott Stevens, assistant professor of mathematics.
Qi Dunsworth, instructional designer in the Center for Teaching and Educational Technology, had the article “Fostering Multimedia Learning of Science: Exploring the Role of an Animated Agent’s Image” published in the journal Computers & Education.
An online version is already available at Penn State’s E-Journals Web site.
Earlier this month James Kurre, associate professor of economics, made the presentation "The Erie Economy Past and Future" to the Eriez Manufacturing Advisory Board and other executives at the company. Eriez president Tim Shuttleworth had seen Jim give the same presentation at the Manufacturers' Association Economic Summit in January, and asked him to repeat it for the company.
Also, Jim and Ed Miseta, lecturer in economics, each presented the program "Education and the Erie Economy" to a class of Erie Ambassadors, a leadership program of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership.
SEET faculty members Ralph Ford, director, Kenneth Fisher, professor of engineering, Chris Coulston, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, Edward Evans Jr., senior lecturer in engineering, and Kathy Holliday-Darr, instructor in engineering graphics, have submitted the proposal “An Integrated Approach for Increasing STEM Enrollments at Penn State Behrend” to the National Science Foundation. The grant requests $499,981 over five years.
Eric Obert, extension director for Pennsylvania Sea Grant, requested an extension to the proposal “Standardizing the Process for Evaluating and Monitoring the Fish Tumor and Other Deformities Beneficial Use Impairment” funded by the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency-Great Lakes National Program. The extension requests $7,371.
Eric and Sean Rafferty, Sea Grant Educational Program Specialist, submitted a two-year proposal to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection titled “Presque Isle Watershed Monitoring Plan.” The grant requests $89,470.
Sea Grant’s Marti Martz, senior research technologist, and David Skellie, coastal land use and economic specialist, have asked the Great Lakes Commission for $9,634 for one year of funding to support “BMP Information for Professional Contractors Working on Lake Erie Bluffs and Tributaries.”
David also submitted the proposal “Penn State Behrend Erosion and Sediment Control Project” to the Commission to request $75,000, and to the Pennsylvania DEP to request $150,900. Both proposals are for one year.
“Penn State Behrend Program for Raising Credit Awareness Among High School and College Students,” a proposal written by Mary Beth Pinto, associate professor of marketing, requests $113,041 over one year from Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.
Phyllis Mansfield, assistant professor of marketing, and Mary Beth Pinto, associate professor of marketing, presented the paper “Exploratory Study of Senor Citizens Credit Card Attitudes and Usage” at the annual conference of The American Council on Consumer Interests held last week in Baltimore, Md.
The paper “Use of mtDNA to Identify Genetic Introgression Among Related Species of Catfish” by David Hunnicutt, assistant professor of biology, student John Cingolani, and Margaret Voss, assistant professor of biology, published in the Journal of Great Lakes Research 31, 482 (2005), was highlighted in the March issue of the Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly. This research was supported by a grant from Pennsylvania Sea Grant.
Ron Krahe, associate professor of engineering, presented the paper “Flexible Approach to Position and Motion Sensing in Material Handling” at the 12th International Conference on Industry, Engineering, and Management Systems (Automation and Soft Computing Track), last week in Cocoa Beach, Fla.
Edward R. Evans, Jr., recently attended a meeting of the ASME Y14.8 Committee in LeSueur, Minn. The committee is charged with revising the national standard for creating and interpreting casting, forging and molded part drawings. Ed was elected to the position of Secretary of the Committee at this meeting.
James Warren, associate professor of biology, served on a grant review panel for the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in Durham, N.C., last week. The group evaluated Thematic Program Project grants designed to establish research collaborations between research-intensive universities and minority-serving institutions.
Physics faculty Chuck Yeung, G.William Baxter, both associate professors, presented at the American Physics Society’s meeting in Baltimore, Md., last week. Chuck’s paper was titled “Role of Initial conditions on Polymer Cyclization,” while Bill discussed “Experimental Study of the Dynamics of Foraging Ants.”
Also, four students of Bruce Wittmershaus, associate professor of physics, presented research at the APS meeting.
Bruce presented the paper “Luminescent Solar Concentrators: From Bioprobes to Glowing Plastic” to the NSF in February.
Project Management: Achieving Competitive Advantage, the 19th book written by Jeff Pinto, professor of management, will be published by Prentice-Hall.
Christine Mangone, lecturer in theatre, presented “The Aftermath of Choosing a Play While in Labor” at a directing/acting symposium held during the Mid-Atlantic Theatre Conference in Chicago this spring.
Brad Comman, lecturer in English, had the literary nonfiction piece “Kano, and Elsewhere” accepted for publication in Fourth Genre. It will appear in the fall.
Senior lecturer in statistics Terry Blakney presented “Chi-Square Analysis: A Vital Six Sigma Tool” to the American Society for Quality – Erie Section 809 on February 23.
Michael Christofferson, associate professor of history, was awarded a $5,000 NEH
Summer Stipend to support research in France for a biography of the prominent French intellectual François Furet (1927-97). He is one of 88 Summer Stipend recipients chosen from over 800 applicants nationwide.
Frank DeWolf, lecturer in management and e-business has submitted a one-year, $83,379 grant proposal titled “RFID Center of Excellence at Penn State Behrend” to Ben Franklin Technology Partners.
Giselle Hudson, staff assistant in the Office of Financial Aid, has been elected to the board of directors of the National Association of Veteran Program Administrators (NAVPA) and will serve as its treasurer.
Roz Fornari, women’s basketball coach, and the Behrend women’s basketball team and staff hosted a clinic last Saturday for girls ages 8 to 13 at Warren Elementary School. The clinic benefited Friends of Warren Basketball, an organization to promote girl’s basketball.
Roz also has been busy traveling as a member of the NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball National Committee. She spent March 2-5 at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, and March 8-12 at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, as the NCAA representative administering the Division III women’s basketball first/second round and Sweet Sixteen/Elite Eight round of the championship. On March 15-19 she assisted seven other committee members to represent the NCAA at the semifinal and championship games at Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Roz is in the third year of a four-year term as a member of the NCAA national committee and chair of the Great Lakes Regional Advisory Committee.
Peggy McCarthy, director of the Center for Corporate and Continuing Education, and Barbara Hido, coordinator for Math Options/STEM Education, presented the session "Mission, Vision, and Passion: Turning a Community Need Into Program Development" at the Penn State Continuing Education Council meeting held March 16 at University Park. The session discussed how Behrend's Math Options Program has now grown into a full-blown outreach program to connect the college’s strong expertise in the sciences, technology, and engineering not only to middle school girls but also with area teachers.
Beginning this June, CCCE will offer a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Summer Institute that will teach educators hands-on classroom activities that incorporate the state’s math, science, and technology academic standards while fulfilling Act 48 requirements. Nine one-credit topics will be taught by Behrend science and engineering faculty.
Leigh-Ann Bedal, lecturer in anthropology, presented “Pools and Gardens of the Bible Lands: Symbols of Royal Power and Prestige” at the Eastern Great Lakes Biblical Society/American Schools of Oriental Research regional meeting held March 23 in Erie.
George Looney, associate professor of creative writing, Tom Noyes, assistant
professor of creative writing, and Greg Morris, professor of American
literature, led a contingent of 11 students to the Pennsylvania College English
Association conference held March 23-25 in Pittsburgh.
Behrend had the largest number of undergraduates at the conference to present scholarly and creative work. Two of those students, Raleigh Lee and Amanda Dziubkowski, were named winners of the awards for best poetry and best fiction. The trip was made possible with support from the office of Senior Associate Dean for Research Robert Light.
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