Akron Update - April 10, 2002

The Online Newsletter for Faculty, Staff and Retirees of The University of Akron - April 10, 2002


Adam Messner Adam Messner, law, volunteered to serve as a member of the selection committee for the 10th class of University Scholars at Youngstown State University on Feb. 28. Top Ali Dhinojwala Ali Dhinojwala, polymer science, received a $20,000 Ohio Board of Regents’ Individual Research Challenge Match grant for “CAREER: Nonlinear Optical Spectroscopy to Study Structure and Dynamics.” Top Allen Noble Allen Noble, distinguished professor emeritus of geography and planning, wrote “The Character and Composition of Rural Ethnic Islands” for the just published Ethnicity in Contemporary America: A Geographical Appraisal, second edition. Top Atef Saleeb Atef Saleeb, civil engineering, was awarded $190,000 by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation as a subgrant of the Department of Defense for “Surgical Simulations with Soft Biological Tissues.” He also received $20,000 from the Ohio Board of Regents for an Individual Research Challenge Match grant for the project. Top Brenda Marina and Bonnie Williams Bonnie Williams and Brenda Marina, University College, received $10,000 from the Ohio Board of Regents for “Course Applicability System (CAS) Can Help.” Top Brant Lee Brant Lee, law, wrote a short essay, “Teaching the Amistad in Property,” for publication in the “Teach-ing Property” issue of the St. Louis University Law Journal. Top Byron Pipes Byron Pipes, polymer engineering, was awarded $138,334 for “Cyber Simulation for Composite Materials and Structures in Aeronautics and Aeros-pace” and $87,252 for “Experiments and Models for Polymeric Microsphere Foams” by NASA Langley. He also received $20,000 Individual Research Challenge Match grants for each of the projects from the Ohio Board of Regents. Top Carolyn Dessin Carolyn Dessin, law, was one of four co-authors of a U.C.C. survey of recent developments in Article 2 case law. It will be published in the Business Lawyer this summer. Top Constance Brittain Bouchard Constance Brittain Bou-chard, history, has been awarded a fellowship in the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and will spend part of her 2002-2003 faculty improvement leave there. Top Dale Mugler Dale Mugler, theoretical and applied mathematics, received a patent on a method he and a Ph.D. student devised to predict function values from digital samples of the derivatives. The method can be used in the automobile industry for airbag deployment. They also co-wrote a chapter titled “Nonuniform Sampling: Theory and Practice” for a recently published book by Plenum. Top David Black David Black, geology, received $14,312 from the University of South Carolina as a subgrant of the National Science Foundation for “Proxy Calibration and Holocene Climate Variability in the Santa Barbara Basin.” Top Coleen Curry, Deborah Gwin, Jess Hays and Karla Mugler Deborah Gwin, UA Adult Focus; Karla Mugler and Coleen Curry, University College Dean’s Office; and Jess Hays, Academic Advisement Center; attended the 16th annual meeting of the Association of Deans and Directors of University Colleges and Undergraduate Studies in Tucson, Ariz., in March. Gwin facilitated a program session on “Advising Issues with Special Populations,” Curry was responsible for a session on “Fostering Student Engagement through First-year Pro-grams” and Hays facilitated a session on “Pre-enroll-ment Programs.” Mugler presented as a panel member focusing on “Pro-grams of Proactive Advi-sing and Intervention” during the plenary session of the conference. Top Debra Johanyak Debra Johanyak, English-Wayne College, presented “Dead Silence: Suicide as the Final Word in Shakespeare’s Tragic Heroines” at the Eighth Citadel Conference, “Icons of Change: Word and Image in the Middle Ages and Renaissance” on Feb. 9, in Charleston, S.C. Top Donna McNatt Donna McNatt, theoretical and applied mathematics, participated in the “Teach-ing Future Teachers Workshop” held in San Diego Jan. 9-14. Top Edward Evans Edward Evans, electrical engineering, and Rex Ramsier, physics, received an equipment donation valued at $23,715 from ALCOA, Mill Products Division for “Complete Physical Vapor Deposition System with Four Point Probe Measurement Capability.” Top Gangbing Song Gangbing Song, mechanical engineering, received $83,571 from NASA Glenn Research Center for “Research in Innovative Use of Smart Materials in Propulsion System Components - Control and Experimental Issues (continued).” Top Elizabeth Kennedy-Hart and Harvey Sterns Harvey Sterns, Institute for Life-Span Development and Gerontology, and Elizabeth Kennedy-Hart, associate studies, received $35,000 from the Univer-sity of Illinois as a subgrant of the U.S. Department of Education for “Employa-bility of Older Adults with Mental Retardation.” Top Helen Cleminshaw and Isadore Newman Helen Cleminshaw, Center for Family Studies, and Isadore Newman, educa-tion, were awarded $330,211 by the Ohio Department of Youth Services for “Dual Diagnosis of Substance Abuse and Mental Illness Disorder Within Juvenile Justice System ODYS/Office of Criminal Justice Services.” Top Jack Sahl Jack Sahl, law, presented “Professional Responsi-bility for Entertainment Lawyers” for the Practicing Law Institute’s three-day national program, titled “Counseling Clients in the Entertainment Industry,” held in New York City March 11-13. He was a panelist for “Protecting Your Script and Ideas” at the Fifth Midwest Independent Filmmakers Conference in Cleveland on March 24. He also was a member of panels titled “Professional Responsi-bility for Lawyers” and “Agents and the Law” at the 14th Annual Interna-tional Folk Alliance Conference, held Feb. 22-23 in Jacksonville, Fla. Sahl published “Helping Clients with Living Expenses: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished” in The Professional Lawyer, published by the American Bar Association in mid-March. Top Jane Moriarty Jane Moriarty, law, wrote “Wonders of the Invisible World – Prosecutorial Syndrome and Profile Evidence in the Salem Witchcraft Trials,” which has been published by Vermont Law School. She spoke at Kent State University about individ-uals with disabilities in the workplace at the invitation of KSU’s disability compliance office. Top				Janet Bean, Harold Foster and Lance Svehla Janet Bean and Lance Svehla, English, and Harold Foster, education, received $47,000 from the Ohio Board of Regents for “Early English Composi-tion Assessment Program.” Top Jeanne-Hélčne Roy Jeanne-Hélčne Roy, modern languages, published “Fashioning Identities: Casanova’s Encounter with La Charpillon” in Intermédiaire des Casanovistes, Année XVIII, 2001. Top Jeff Adler Jeff Adler, theoretical and applied mathematics, received a grant of $14,500 from the National Security Agency for his research project on “Representations of P-adic Groups.” Top Jerry Obiekwe Jerry Obiekwe, Wayne College, mathematics, presented two papers titled “Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Item Response Theory Evaluation of Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scale” and “The Reconfirmation of the Predictive Validity of Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire From the Perspective of Full Latent Model Analysis” at the annual conference of the Eastern Educational Research Association, held in Sarasota Fla., from Feb. 27 to March 2. Top Jianping Zhu Jianping Zhu, theoretical and applied mathematics, received a National Science Foundation grant of $75,478 through a subcontract from Mississippi State University for “Computational Simulation of Bio-geo-chemical Processes.” He also received an Ohio Board of Regents Challenge Award of $18,870 for the project. Top John Green John Green, political science, received $4,000 from American University as a subgrant of the Pew Charitable Trusts Foun-dation for “Message and Strategy: Television Advertisements and the 2000 Presidential Campaigns.” Top John Ramey John Ramey, associate professor emeritus of social work, was the recipient of the “Outstanding Service Award” at the Akron Region of the Ohio Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers Annual Awards Banquet at Martin University Center on March 5. Since retirement, Ramey has served as the general secretary of the Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups, Inc., and edits its Social Work with Groups Newsletter. He is a past chair of the Akron Area NASW and currently services on the Ohio NASW Committee on Inquiry. Top Karen Gehrling and Marlene Huff Karen Gehrling and Marlene Huff nursing, received $1,300 from Sigma Theta Tau International Society of Nursing, Delta Omega Chapter, for “Effect of Osteoporosis Education on the Lifestyles of Perimeno-pausal African-American Women.” Top Karla Mugler Karla Mugler, University College, was appointed by the American Council on Education’s Office of Women in Higher Education as the state co-coordinator for the Ohio Network of the ACE Network. Mugler partici-pated in the State Coordinators Leadership Conference at the ACE annual meeting in San Francisco in February. Top Kevin Kreider Kevin Kreider, theoretical and applied mathematics, has been named to the advisory panel of the Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and General. He also was praised by the journal as “the most frequently used referee on the journal outside of the full editorial board” in 2001. Top Kwadwo Knoadu-Agyemang Kwadwo Knoadu-Agyemang, geography and planning, wrote “IMF and World Bank Sponsored Structural Adjustment Programs in Africa: Ghana’s Experience 1983-1999,” which was published by Ashgate Publishing Co. Top Lu-Kwang Ju Lu-Kwang Ju, chemical engineering, received $20,000 from the Ohio Board of Regents for an Individual Research Challenge Match grant for “Coupling Cellulase Fermentation with in-situ Foam Fractionation. Top Marguerite DiMarco Marguerite DiMarco, nursing, received $1,000 from the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates & Practitioners for “Access to Care for Homeless Children/Families.” Top Mark Auburn Mark Auburn, Fine and Applied Arts Dean’s Office, presented “Case Studies in Department Leadership” at the 19th annual Academic Chair-persons Conference in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 6. Top Mark Soucek Mark Soucek, polymer engineering, received $30,000 from Beekon-Parsons and $7,500 from the Ohio Board of Regents for an Individual Research Challenge Match grant for “Environmentally Benign Wood Varnish.” Top Mary Kirtz Mary Kirtz, English and Canadian Studies, has received a $9,000 grant from the Canadian Embassy to support the development of a “virtual” roundtable, a joint project of the Canadian Studies programs at UA and Bowling Green State University and UA’s Bliss Institute of Applied Politics. The Akron campus will use distance-learning technology to link up with Universidad de las Americas-Puebla, Mexico, and the University of Windsor, Canada for the conference. Titled “The Political, Economic and Culture Impacts of the Recent Elections in Canada, Mexico and the United States: Perspectives from Three Nations,” the conference will be held on April 12. Top Mary Shelton Mary Shelton, social work, was recognized as “Social Worker of the Year” by the Akron Region of the Ohio Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers at its Annual Awards Banquet at Martin University Center on March 5. Top Mary Williams Mary Williams, Business Technology, received $57,740 from the Summit County Department of Job and Family Services for “Out-of-School Youth Project, Youth Services Workforce Initiative Program.” Top Molly O'Brien Molly O’Brien, law, has been selected to serve as secretary/treasurer of the Education Law Section of the Association of American Law Schools. O’Brien also has been appointed chair of the program subcommittee for the American Bar Associa-tion Legal Education and Skills Committee. On March 15, O’Brien presented “Agents of Undoing: Southeastern Legal Foundation and the Dismantling of Brown v. Board of Education,” at the Southern History of Education Society Confer-ence at the University of Alabama. Top Nancy Jane Bose and Susan Thomas Frank Nancy Jane Bose and Susan Thomas Frank, speech-language pathology and audiology, received $12,960 from Bridgepark Center for Rehabilitation & Nursing Services for “Functional Communi-cation Impairment Program: Bridgepark Rehabilitation Center,” and $17,297 from the Edge Academy for “Speech-Language and Hearing Services.” Top				Paul Levy Paul Levy, Center for Organizational Research, received $2,589 for leadership training and $2,599 for training evaluation from Leadership Mahoning Valley. Top Peter Leahy Peter Leahy, Institute for Health and Social Policy, received $2,277 from Children’s Hospital Medical Center of Akron for “Promoting Adoles-cents Through Health Services.” Top Philip Allen Philip Allen, psychology, received a $5,000 National Institutes of Health Pilot Grant from Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Case Western Reserve University for “Does Alzhiemer's Disease Increase Entropy Levels in Information Processing?” Top Richard Klosterman Richard Klosterman, geography and planning, received $22,982 from Ohio University as a subgrant of the U.S. Geological Survey for “Prototype System for Using Remote Sensing and GIS to Project Farmland Loss for the State of Ohio.” He also was an editor for “Planning Support Systems: Integrating Geographic Information Systems, Models and Visualization Tools,” published by ESRI Press. Top Robert Kent Robert Kent, geography and planning, received funding for student internships in the following amounts: $3,188, Medina Summit Land Conser-vancy; $4,260 and $5,857, White Hat Management; $2,130, Scenic Ohio; $2,130, Akron Metro-politan Housing Authority; and two $2,130 grants, Fair Housing Contact Service. Top Robert Seiple Robert Seiple, polymer science, received $25,704 from Omnova Solutions for an “Analytical Services Agreement Between UA and OMNOVA Solutions.” Top Roberta DePompei and Yvonne Gillette Roberta DePompei and Yvonne Gillette, speech-language pathology and audiology, received $53,838 from the Brain Injury Association/National Institute on Disability & Rehabilitation Research for “Cognitive Disabilities Research and Development.” Top Roger Durbin Roger Durbin, University Libraries, was awarded $115,973 by Omnova Solutions for “Library Services for OMNOVA Solutions.” Top Sharon Kruse Sharon Kruse, education, was awarded $126,700 by the Summit County Educa-tional Service Centers for “Leadership for Learning: A Forum For Educators.” Top Sirina Putthanarat Sirina Putthanarat, polymer science, received the Young Polymer Investi-gator Award at the recent 10th Polychar International Conference on Polymer Applications and Theory. The award is given to an investigator under age 33 for post-Ph.D. research. The presentation was titled “Effect of Casting Temper-ature on Morphology of Silk Membranes.” Top Sonia Alemagno Sonia Alemagno, Institute for Health and Social Policy, received $19,353 from Nova Southeastern University as a subgrant of the Health Resources and Services Administration for “Admistrative Units in Primary Care,” and $20,324 from the Visiting Nurse Association of Cleveland for “Visiting Nurse Association Healthy Town Project.” Top Steven Chuang Steven Chuang, chemical engineering, received $11,937 from the University of Pittsburgh/Federal for “Novel Amine Enriched Sorbents for Co2 Capture.” Top Wayne Mattice Wayne Mattice, polymer science, and Ernst von Meerwall, physics, were awarded $115,000 by the National Science Foun-dation for “Configuration and Dynamics in Large Polymer Systems (year 2).” Top Ray Gehani and Wayne Watkins Wayne Watkins, Fitzgerald Institute of Entrepreneurial Studies, and Ray Gehani, management, received $36,663 from Energy Industries of Ohio as a subgrant of the U.S. Department of Energy for a “Chemicals Sector Road Map.” Top Wieslaw Binienda Wieslaw Binienda, civil engineering, received $115,039 from NASA Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field for “FEA Study of Impact-Penetration for Light-weight Jet Engine Containment.” He also received $20,000 from the Ohio Board of Regents for an Individual Research Challenge Match grant for the project. Top William Rickett William Rickett, law, co-coordinated the National Trial Competition Regional Tournament at the Summit County Courthouse from Feb. 1 –17. He also served as a judge and planning committee member for the Akron Bar Association’s High School Mock Trial Tournament at the Summit County Courthouse on Feb. 22. Top Wilson Huhn Wilson Huhn, law, had his article, “Teaching Legal Analysis Using a Pluralistic Model of Law,” published by Gonzaga Law Review. Another article, “The Use and Limits of Syllogistic Reasoning in Briefing Cases,” was accepted for publication by Santa Clara Law Review. Carolina Academic Press will publish Huhn’s book, “The Five Types of Legal Arguments.” Top Yueh-Jaw Lin Yueh-Jaw Lin, mechanical engineering, received $77,329 from the Ohio Aerospace Institute. Top Zili Sloboda and Richard Stephens Zili Sloboda and Richard Stephens, Institute for Health and Social Policy, were the subject of an article in the November 2001 issue of Footnotes, which is published by the American Sociological Association. They received a $13.7 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 2001 to implement and assess a new substance abuse prevention curriculum for the DARE Program. Top