Penn Staters
Anthony Atchley,
head of the graduate program in acoustics and professor of acoustics, has
been appointed to represent the Acoustical Society of
America on the American Institute of Physics (AIP) Governing Board. The AIP
is composed of 10 member societies representing more than 120,000 scientists
and engineers. The Governing Board serves as the overseeing body for the AIP.
William H. Brune, professor and head of the meteorology department, has won the 2000 Henry G. Houghton Award from the American Meteorological Society. The award recognizes Brune's work measuring free radicals and other atmospheric elements and his research on atmospheric photochemical processes. Brune is a leader in the field of atmospheric trace chemicals and the interactions among atmospheric chemistry, transport and vegetation. The Houghton award recognizes research achievement in the field of physical meteorology, including atmospheric chemistry. Houghton founded the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research in Colorado.
Monty Christiansen, associate professor of recreation and park management, was keynote speaker and co-director for the 2000 Hong Kong Playground Safety Conference. The five-day conference was the first of its kind held in China. Christiansen's presentation was titled "To Infinity and Beyond! -- Relevance of ASTM Playground Safety Standards and U.S. Federal Playground Safety Guidelines to Hong Kong in the New Millennium."
Kim Cook,
associate professor of music, recently released the compact disc "Solo Sonatas
for Cello," a recording of cello sonatas by Zoltan Kodaly (1882-1967), George
Crumb (b.1929) and Paul Hindemith (1895-1963). Cook has performed as a soloist
in
Israel, Jordan, China, Italy, Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Finland,
Russia and the United States. In 1996, she performed recitals and master classes
as artistic ambassador for the State Department in Barbados, Jamaica, Dominican
Republic, Panama, Honduras, Peru, Brazil and Mexico.
Wolfgang E. Ernst, professor of physics and chemistry, was invited to give lectures at two international workshops at the Institute for Theoretical Atomic and Molecular Physics (ITAMP) at Harvard University. He gave the first, "The Sodium Trimer: a Model System for the Study of Vibronic Interactions and Geometric Phase Effects" at the ITAMP Workshop on "The Geometric Phase." The second lecture, on "Trapping and Spectroscopy of Molecules in Cold Helium Droplets" was delivered at the ITAMP Workshop on "Trapping, Spectroscopy and Collisions of Ultracold Molecules." Ernst also presented an invited colloquium on "Spectroscopy and Dynamics of Clusters" at the Erzherzog-Johann University in Graz, Austria.
Carolyn Fisher, director of human resources for Auxiliary Services, has been appointed director of college relations for the Area1 Board of the Society of Human Resources Management. The board includes representatives from 10 states in the Northeast and is an integral part of the volunteer leader structure of the society, which represents 130,000 human resources professionals around the world. Fisher's responsibilities include the Human Resources Collegiate Competition for the area, which will be held at Penn State on April 7.
Cheryl Glenn, associate professor of English and women's studies, has been elected to a three-year term on the Executive Committee of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, a constituent group of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). The NCTE, with 77,000 individual and institutional members worldwide, is dedicated to improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education.
Martha T. Halsey, professor emerita of Spanish, delivered a keynote address at an international conference titled "Sixty Years Later: Literature of the Asturian Exile of 1939." The conference focused on authors from that area of Spain who left at the end of the Spanish Civil War. Her lecture dealt with the work done on the plays of dramatist Alejandro Casona by professors and critics in the United States and will be published by the College of Philology of the University of Oviedo in Asturias, Spain.
Elizabeth A. Hanley, associate professor of kinesiology, presented the paper "DanceSport: Another Olympic Event?" at the Centre for Olympic Studies, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Steve Hessmann, director of University Relations at Penn State Shenango, has recently become a Penn State member representative to The Council for Advancement and Support of Education. Hessmann also has been elected to serve a second, three-year term to the board of directors of Saint Francis College National Alumni Association. He currently holds the office of secretary and will remain in that position through the coming year.
Lou Inserra, professor of architecture, has been chosen to receive the American Collegiate Schools of Architecture Distinguished Professor Award. The award is given to no more than five individuals a year for their sustained creative achievement of architectural education through teaching, design, scholarship, research or service.
Robert Lima, professor of Spanish and comparative literature and Fellow of the Institute for the Arts and Humanistic Studies, gave an invited talk in Spain at a colloquium in honor of the distinguished playwright Jose Martin Recuerda. Lima's presentation discussed the process of translating, adapting and staging Recuerda's play, The Inmates of the Convent of Saint Mary Egyptian. Lima also was honored by Villanova University with its Alumni Medallion of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for his accomplishments as a scholar and writer. Lima received his bachelor of arts degree in English and philosophy (1957) and his master of arts degree in theatre and drama (1961), from Villanova.
Robert F. Nicely Jr., professor of curriculum, supervision and educational administration, received the Outstanding Research and Publication Award from the Pennsylvania Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development for his work as a member of the Advisory Board, coordinator and editor of the section titled "Supervision as an Organized Profession," and co-author of the chapter titled "Supervision and Staff Development" for the international Handbook of Research on School Supervision. This is the second time that Nicely has been selected to receive this award.
Pradeep Singh, assistant professor of statistics at Penn State Erie, presented his paper, "Multivariate Regression Models with Random Intercepts," at the Sixth International Conference on Statistics, Combinatorics and Related Areas.
Adam J. Sorkin, professor of English at Penn State Delaware County, was awarded the Prize for Excellence from the Iasi Writers' Association in Iasi, Romania. The award is a new recognition established by the association.
S. Shyam Sundar, assistant professor of communications and director of the Media Effects Research Laboratory, won the "Top Three Paper" award in the Communication and Technology Division of the International Communication Association. His paper, "Multimedia Effects on Processing and Perception of Online News: A Study of Picture, Audio and Video Downloads," was co-authored by Rebecca Edgar and Katie Mayer, both 1999 graduates of the College of Communications.
Richard E. Tressler, professor and head of materials science and engineering, has been appointed to the National Research Council's Committee on Materials Research for "Defense-After-Next." The 12-member committee includes researchers with a wide range of expertise in the military, corporate and academic environments. It will undertake a three-year study to identify the kinds of materials and processing research and development that are crucial for addressing 21st century defense needs, based on Department of Defense requirements. Tressler was chosen for his work in structural ceramics and ceramic composites, as well as his knowledge of Army and aerospace systems.
Jean-Claude Vuillemin, associate professor of French, presented an invited lecture: "Théâtre et pouvoirs à l'âge baroque," at the Panthéon-Sorbonne University, in Paris. Vuillemin also was re-elected vice president of the Mouvement-Corneille, an international society devoted to the study of the French playwright Pierre Corneille (1606-1684).
Thomas L. Watschke,
professor of turfgrass science in the Department of Agronomy, gave two invited
presentations at the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association
in Harrogate, England. The presentations were titled "Grasses for Golf Courses"
and "Grass Species for the 21st Century."
Vickie Ziegler, director of the Center for Medieval Studies and professor of German, has been elected to the Council of the Committee on Centers and Regional Associations of the Medieval Academy of America. This committee is composed primarily of Medieval center directors who further the interests of Medieval studies across the country and help institutions and organizations with curricula, funding, organization and outreach. The council also advises universities on doctoral programs and employment opportunities.