Along the Mall citations: Spring 2016
On Aug. 15, Dan Sandweiss, professor of anthropology and climate studies, installed a new chapter of Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Sandweiss is vice president for chapter development on the national board of PKP. While in Ponce, he also gave a talk on his research: El Niño: Cambio Climático y Desarrollo Cultural en el Perú Precolombino. A local report and videos (in Spanish) are online.
Renee Kelly, assistant vice president for innovation and economic development at the University of Maine, has been selected to participate in the 6th Americas Competitiveness Exchange on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Sept. 25–Oct. 1 in Southern Ontario, Canada. The six-day program focuses on key Canadian economic sectors, including advanced manufacturing, information and communications technology, clean tech, life sciences, agri-food and financial technology. The tour includes visits in Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton and the Niagara Region.
The event is sponsored by the Inter-American Competitiveness Network (RIAC); Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada; the Province of Ontario; the Government of Mexico as RIAC Chair Pro Tempore 2016–18; and the Organization of American States as RIAC Technical Secretariat. More information is online.
University of Maine Cooperative Extension educator Caragh Fitzgerald recently received the 2016 Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA) during its annual meeting held in Arkansas in July. The award is given to Cooperative Extension educators with more than 10 years of service and who have exhibited excellence in the field of Extension education. Fitzgerald is a UMaine Extension associate professor in agriculture working primarily in Kennebec County. Her work includes production of vegetables, corn silage, and other forages, as well as season extension and soil health. She teaches and manages the UMaine Extension Master Gardener Volunteers program and the Maine Harvest for Hunger produce donation program.
Balunkeswar (Balu) Nayak, assistant professor of food processing in the School of Food and Agriculture, has been selected for the Emerging Leaders Network by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). He was recognized at the 2016 IFT Annual Meeting and Food Expo in Chicago on July 16. The Emerging Leaders Network of IFT is a transformational global leadership experience designed to support the development of emerging food science professionals. The program invests in a group of talented and high-potential new professionals from around the globe, who are passionate and eager to expand their leadership skills to advance the profession. Nayak also was named the June 2016 member of the month by the IFT Food Engineering Division.
This summer, Stefano Tijerina, adjunct assistant professor and Honors College preceptor, participated in an international conference in Sao Paulo, where his research on Canada’s role in the Americas was highlighted. That same research is the subject of his book that will be published by the University of Toronto Press in 2017. Based on his exploration of the history of Canada in the Americas, Tijerina has been invited to present at the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam, Colombia’s central bank — Banco de la Republica, and the Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean in Toronto. In addition, this fall he has been invited to present at Georg-August University in Gottingen, Germany, Universidad Gran Colombia in Bogota and the Canadian Department of Global Affairs.
George Markowsky, professor of computer science and director of the UMaine Cybersecurity Lab in the School of Computing and Information Science, attended the DEF CON 24 in Las Vegas, Aug. 4–7. DEF CON is one of the longest-running and largest hacker conventions.
David Barrett’s first novel “It’s All Fun and Games,” will be published Aug. 2. The young adult fantasy tells the story of a group of high school friends who find themselves transported from their live action role-playing game into a world of magic, adventure and danger. Barrett, a lecturer in accounting in the Maine Business School, recently returned from promoting the novel at Comic-Con in San Diego, where he was a panelist. He also was a panelist at Camp Conival. The novel is the first published through Nerdist Industries and won the inaugural Nerdist Collection Contest. To learn more, like the “It’s All Fun and Games” Facebook page. The novel can be ordered on Amazon.
Habib Dagher, executive director of the Advanced Structures and Composites Center, was the commencement speaker at the 2016 Campus of Science and Technology graduation ceremony of St. Joseph University in Beirut, Lebanon, July 13, 2016. More information is online.
Neil Comins, professor of physics and astronomy, was invited to attend the NOVUS SUMMIT at the United Nations, New York City, July 17. The invitation-only conference showcased “voices of positive change” in the conference “where technology meets humanity to transform the world.” Held in partnership with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the inaugural summit focused on issues related to the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals, known as the 2030 Agenda. Internationally recognized thought leaders and innovators addressed the nearly 600 invited delegates.
Dan Sandweiss, professor of anthropology and quaternary and climate studies, and director of the School of Policy and International Affairs, is the 2016 recipient of the Rip Rapp Archaeological Geology Award from the Council of the Geological Society of America (GSA). The annual award recognizes outstanding contributions to the interdisciplinary field of archaeological geology. The award will be presented at the business meeting of the Archaeological Geology Division, held during the society’s annual meeting in Denver, Sept. 25–28. Award recipients also will be recognized in a ceremony Sept. 25. GSA is the largest Earth science organization, with more than 120,000 members in 115 countries.
In April, “Science” asked scientists “to use exactly six words to create a story about the life of a scientist in your field.” At the time, in the Society for American Archaeology Board, professor Dan Sandweiss and his colleagues had been discussing the destruction of the ancient site of Palmyra in Syria by ISIS and the murder of the archaeologist who had directed the site for many years. Sandweiss, professor of anthropology and quaternary and climate studies, and director of the School of Policy and International Affairs, sent in six words on that topic, and they are included in a selection of entries in the July 1 edition of “Science.”
ArtSpace Maynard, a gallery in Maynard, Massachusetts, will feature an exhibit by art professor Constant Albertson. “Coordinates of Collateral Damage” will run from June 8 through July 1. An opening reception will be held 5–7 p.m. Saturday, June 11.
Amy Blackstone, professor and chair, Department of Sociology, and alumna Mahala Stewart, “‘There’s More Thinking to Decide’: How the Childfree Decide Not to Parent,” in the forthcoming volume of The Family Journal. In the article, Blackstone and Stewart analyze data from interviews with childfree women and men and find that the processes by which people decide not to have or rear children are lengthy and complex. The findings put into context those from a study that sparked media attention last spring that found that couples make the decision not to have kids “after just one conversation.” Blackstone and Stewart found that the decision not to have children is not a “snap decision,” but one that people make over time. The paper will be included in The Family Journal’s forthcoming issue but has been posted to the journal’s “online first” pages.
On May 10, George Markowsky, a professor in the School of Computing and Information Science, presented the three-hour tutorial, “Introduction to Cyberwarfare, Cybercrime and Cybersecurity with Demonstration of Cyber Attack Tools” at the 2016 IEEE International Symposium on Technologies for Homeland Security held in Waltham, Massachusetts. On May 11, he presented the paper, “Producing and Evaluating Crowdsourced Computer Security Attack Trees,” which was created with Dan Bogaard, Shreshth Kandari, Daryl Johnson and Bill Stackpole of Rochester Institute of Technology; and Sanjay Goel of University at Albany-SUNY.
Kelley Strout, School of Nursing, is the lead author on an article, “Behavioral Interventions in Six Dimensions of Wellness That Protect the Cognitive Health of Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Systematic Review,” published in the May 2016 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Ali Abedi, professor of electrical and computer engineering, spoke at the sixth annual Traumatic Brain Injury Conference, May 11–12 in Washington, D.C. Abedi is co-founder, president and chief technology officer of Activas Diagnostics LLC, a UMaine spin-off company established in 2009. Abedi spoke about “Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Diagnostics Using Wireless Sensor Arrays.” Abedi’s presentation focused on recent discoveries relating subtle changes in sleep movements and respiratory signals to mild traumatic brain injury, as well as the wireless sensor arrays that can be used to detect the changes. Abedi’s proposed noninvasive wireless communications system has been funded by the U.S. Army, patented, and tested at university laboratories and hospitals.
The University of Maine was represented at the annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) in Orlando, Florida April 6–10. SAA Board member Dan Sandweiss, professor of anthropology, and quaternary and climate studies, organized and chaired the Presidential Opening Forum on Climate Change and Archaeology. Director of the Climate Change Institute and Distinguished Maine Professor Paul Mayewski led the forum, and Sandweiss co-wrote a forum presentation with Elizabeth Reitz of the University of Georgia. Sandweiss also co-wrote an invited paper with Fred Andrus of the University of Alabama in the Fryxell Symposium honoring Reitz, on “The Reitz Stuff: A Faunal Perspective on El Niño from Coastal Peru.” Paul “Jim” Roscoe, an anthropology professor, spoke “On Losing One’s Head in New Guinea: Head Rituals among New Guinea Hunter-Gatherers and Fisher-Foragers” in a symposium on “Skull Cults among Hunter-Gatherers?” Greg Zaro, associate professor and chair of anthropology, delivered a talk with Martina Celhar, Dario Vujevic and Kenneth C. Nystrom on “Nadin-Gradina and the Process of Urbanization in the Eastern Adriatic.” Alice Kelley, an associate research professor of climate studies, gave a paper co-written with recent Ph.D. graduate Ana Cecilia Mauricio; Sandweiss; and Joseph Kelley and Daniel Belknap, both Earth and climate sciences professors, on “Combining GPR and Archeological Excavations at Los Morteros: Looking ‘Inside’ a Complex Preceramic Coastal Peruvian Site.” Climate Change Institute master’s student Ani St. Amand presented a poster co-written with Alice Kelley and Sandweiss about “Impacts of Population Resettlement Due to Sea Level Rise on Archaeological Resources: A Case Study.” Other former UMaine undergraduate and graduate students also making presentations at the meeting included Kurt Rademaker, Peter Leach, David Reid and William Belcher, as well as Stephen Whittington, former director of the Hudson Museum.
Adjunct assistant professor Stefano Tijerina has received a two-week fellowship from the Kentucky Historical Society to continue research at its campus in Frankfort, Kentucky. Tijerina’s topic is “Kentucky Sons: Joseph C.S. Blackburn, Maurice H. Thatcher and the Management of the Isthmian Canal Commission, 1907-1913.” Eileen Hagerman and Jennie Woodard also visited the Kentucky Historical Society earlier this year. Hagerman, who has completed all but her dissertation for a doctorate in history, researched “‘Too Late in Asking:’ The Control of Water and the Emergence of Strip Mining in the Green River Valley.” Woodard, an instructor with the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program and a preceptor in the Honors College, conducted research in the Churchill Weavers collection and gave a talk in Louisville, Kentucky on women’s fashion and the workplace.
Professor of Wood Science Robert Rice received the 2016 Distinguished Service Award from the Society of Wood Science and Technology. The award is given in recognition of distinguished service to the wood science and technology profession. Rice is a fellow of both the International Academy of Wood Science and the Society of Wood Science and Technology. At UMaine, he oversees the Energy Testing Laboratory where research focuses on biomass, pellet and panel analyses. Rice has been a member of the UMaine community since 1990. His distinguished career in teaching and research includes his expertise with the forest products industry worldwide.
On Wednesday, April 13, Keri Kaczor, a marine professional with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, will present work conducted with the Maine Healthy Beaches Program at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2016 Recreational Waters Conference in New Orleans. Her talk is titled “Digging in: Understanding the causes, impacts, and how best to address excessive seaweed accumulation on Maine’s coastal beaches.”
Rebecca Schwartz-Mette, assistant professor of psychology, has received a CHIPS (Child Intervention, Prevention and Services) Fellowship, funded through an NIMH grant. The CHIPS Program is a dynamic, interdisciplinary training consortium, created to bolster mental health research in the intervention, prevention and provision of services for children and adolescents. In addition to a travel award ($2,500 to attend two national meetings or meet with out-of-town mentors), Schwartz-Mette will participate in this year’s four-day, intensive institute, hosted by Dr. Bonnie Zima at the University of Los Angeles, designed to forge and develop mentoring relationships with faculty and work with them to refine career objectives, as well as develop a proposed research project. The CHIPS award follows a UMaine research award.
Ali Abedi, professor of electrical and computer engineering, has been invited to speak at the sixth annual Traumatic Brain Injury Conference, May 11–12 in Washington, D.C. Abedi is co-founder, president and chief technology officer of Activas Diagnostics LLC, a UMaine spin-off company established in 2009. The patented advances developed by the company stem from the research of Abedi and Marie Hayes, UMaine professor of psychology and the co-founder, CEO and CSO of Activas Diagnostics. Their work to develop SleepMove, a noninvasive device that analyzes sleep movement disturbances, and other innovations, including diagnostic and detection systems for mild traumatic brain injury, have been supported through the years by organizations that include NASA, the Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health and the Maine Technology Institute. In early March, Abedi and Hayes visited NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston and presented their joint research on crew health monitoring to element scientists. They also toured NASA’s mission control, and VR and ISS labs.
Doug Nangle, professor of psychology and director of UMaine’s doctoral program in clinical psychology, with David Hansen, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and UMaine alums Rachel Grover, Loyola University Maryland; Julie Newman Kingery, Hobart and William Smith Colleges; and Cynthia Suveg, University of Georgia; and other contributors: “Treating Internalizing Disorders in Children and Adolescents: Core Techniques and Strategies,” Guilford Press (June 2016).
Pianist Phillip Silver and cellist Noreen Silver, both faculty members in the School of Performing Arts, will give two concerts in the United Kingdom in June as part of Out of the Shadows: Rediscovering Jewish music, literature and theater, sponsored by the Performing the Jewish Archive at the University of Leeds. The Silvers will perform in Leeds June 14 and York June 15. The concerts will feature the works of four composers, two of whom died in the Holocaust — James Simon and 12-year-old Josima Feldschuh. The other composers survived in exile: Paul Ben-Haim became the first internationally acclaimed Israeli composer and Hans Gál became a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh.
Jacquelyn Gill, University of Maine professor of paleoecology, is part of an international team that authored “Combining paleo-data and modern exclosure experiments to assess the impact of megafauna extinctions on woody vegetation.” It was featured in the Oct. 26 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. The paper recently appeared in a special PNSA feature, titled “Megafauna and Ecosystem Function: From the Pleistocene to the Anthropocene.”
Dan Sandweiss, professor of anthropology, and quaternary and climate studies, and D. Reid: “Negotiated subjugation: Maritime trade and the incorporation of Chincha into the Inca Empire,” Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology online ahead of print (2015). Reid, a recipient of the Department of Anthropology Outstanding Student Award and an Honors student, graduated from UMaine with a degree in anthropology in 2007. After working in contract archaeology, Reid returned to UMaine for a year as one of the two Honors Associates. Since 2012, he has been in the doctoral program at the University of Illinois-Chicago. In addition to the new paper, he has co-authored papers in Quaternary Research and Science, and book chapters in volumes from the University of Utah Press and a German series.