Faculty/Staff News of Note
March 2005
Charles Burchard, senior lecturer in computer science, attended the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE 2005) Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education February 22-26 in St. Louis, Missouri.
Mathematics faculty members Andrew George and Paul Olson, along with retired faculty member Ann Kraus and two Behrend students, Matt Futternam and Larry Glick, served as volunteers at MATHCOUNTS on Saturday, February 26. MATHCOUNTS is a math competition created by the National Society of Professional Engineers to inspire youth. Sixth-, seventh- and eight-grade students may participate. Trophies and prizes are given to individuals and school teams, and those who excel can move on to national competition.
A paper by Dr. James Fairbank, assistant professor of management, has been accepted for presentation at the 2005 Academy of Management Meeting to be held in August in Honolulu, Hawaii. The paper is titled "Interorganizational Monitoring: Processes, Choices, and Outcomes," and it is co-authored with Giuseppe Labianca of Emory University.
Dr. James A. Kurre, associate professor of economics, presented "The Erie Economy in 2005: Summit or Valley?" at the 2005 Economic Summit of the Manufacturers Association of Northwest Pennsylvania on February 23. Kurre shared the podium with Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, and was interviewed after his presentation by WSEE-TV. Also, he presented "The Erie Economy: Gaining Purchase of Just Managing?" at the February 9 dinner meeting of the Erie chapter of the National Association of Purchasing Management. On February 24, he gave a talk titled "Economic Trends Affecting the Erie Labor Market" at the monthly dinner meeting of the Erie Chapter of the Human Resources Managers' Association. Several Behrend alumni attended the meeting, including HRMA president Roseanne Thompson.
A paper by Dr. William Lasher, associate professor of mechanical engineering, Dr. James Sonnenmeier, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, David Forsman, instructor in mechanical engineering technology, and former mechanical engineering student Jason Tomcho has been accepted for publication. Their paper, titled "The Aerodynamics of Symmetric Spinnaker," will appear in the Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics by later summer.
On February 19, several faculty members served as judges for the local (Region10) Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science Competition held at Gannon University. Behrend chemistry faculty participating included Dr. Jay Amicangelo, assistant professor; Dr. Beth Holt, assistant professor; Dr. Alan Jircitano, associate professor; and Dr. Orlando Raola, lecturer. One part-time faculty member, Kellie Brosius, and three chemistry students, Julie Schreibeis, Nancy Saxton, and Anthony Campitella, also served as judges. Students that score high enough are invited to the state-wide competition, which is being held at University Park later this spring.
Tracy Halmi, lecturer in chemistry, and Dr. Jennifer Holt, assistant professor of chemistry, attended the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Diego, California.
Dr. Juan Fernandez-Jimenez, professor of Spanish was awarded a $250 grant from Penn State's Global Fund. He will receive a match from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the total will help defray the costs of the travel portion of INTST 497C, "Spain: A Cultural Encounter.
Dr. Martin Kociolek, assistant professor of chemistry, presented "Tandem Ring Opening/Cyclo Condensation Reactions of 3-bromoisoxazoles" at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Diego, California.
Paul D. Olson, lecturer in mathematics, presented a paper titled "Surreal Numbers and the Addition of Games" at a conference March9-14 at the Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona.
A research paper by Dr. Sudarshan Rao Nelatury, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Dr. Thomas L. Hemminger, associate professor of electrical, computer, and software engineering, has been accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science. The paper, titled "An Equivalent Circuit Model of a Plasma Core Inductor," was also co-authored by Professor Matthew N.O. Sadiku or Prairie View University, Prairie View, Texas.
Dr. Clare Porac, professor of psychology, has had a paper accepted for publication in the American Journal of Psychology. The paper, titled "Altering Mueller-Lyer Illusion Magnitude using Figural Addition at the Wing-shaft Intersections," was co-authored by Dr. Alan Searleman, professor of psychology at St. Lawrence University, and two recent St. Lawrence graduates, Colette Dafoe and Brian Hetzel.
Jay Amicangelo, assistant professor of chemistry, had an article titled "Zirconium Arene-Phosphonate: Chemical and Structural Characterization of 2-Napthyl- and 2-Anthracenylphosphonate Systems" published in Inorganic Chemistry, Volume 44, No. 6 (2005). His co-author is Willem R. Leenstra of the University of Vermont.
Several physics faculty attended the American Physical Society's General Meeting in Los Angeles, California, March 21-26. Associate professor Bill Baxter presented "Testing Kinetic Theory in a driven Granular gas Experiment for a Mechanically Fluidized Bed"; Associate Professor Chuck Teung presented "Long and Short Time Behavior in Polymer Cyclization"; and Assistant professor Blair Tuttle presented "Theory of Hydrogen in Silicone."
Thomas Wortman, executive director of the Arboretum at Penn State Behrend, and Kathy Dahlkemper, vice president of the Lake Erie Arboretum Foundation (LEAF), were awarded $2,500 from the Erie Community Foundation to create outreach materials highlighting both arboreta. This project is the first in a series of cooperative efforts and programs between LEAF and the Arboretum at Penn State Behrend.
Leigh-Ann Bedal, lecturer in anthropology, presented "Paradise Found: Evaluating the Petra Garden" on Monday, March 7, at a meeting of the local chapter of the Archaeological Institute of America. The meeting was hosted by the University of Akron, and her talk described her field work in Petra, Jordan.
David Johnson and David Roth, associate professors of engineering, and Amir Khalilollahi and Dipo Onipede, assistant professors of mechanical engineering, served as advisors to a group of students who presented at the Western Pennsylvania ANSYS User's Group on Thursday, March 24, in Canonsburg, Pa.
A research paper by Phylis Mansfield, assistant professor of marketing, has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Marketing for Higher Education. The paper titled "student and Parent Evaluative Criteria in the Selection of a College: Does Gender Make a Difference?" was co authored by Jacquelyn Warwick of Andrews University.
Orlando E. Raola, lecturer in chemistry, attended the national meeting of the American Chemical Society, held March 13-20, in San Diego, California.
Gary Viebranz, lecturer in music and director of the instrumental ensembles, presented a guest lecture titled "Mommy, Where Do Tuba Players Come From?" at Mercyhurst College on Wednesday, March 6. This presentation was for Mercyhurst College music education majors.
A paper by Al Warner and Jim Fairbank, assistant professors of management, has been accepted for presentation at the 2005 Academy of Management annual meeting. The paper is titled "Generating Value in a Formal Standards Environment: A Resource-Based Perspective on Early Acqusitions.
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