Appointments
Penn State Intercom......April
11, 2002
Pawelczyk appointed to
blue-ribbon NASA panel
James A. Pawelczyk, assistant professor of physiology and kinesiology in the Noll Physiological Research Center of the College of Health and Human Development, has been appointed to the Research Maximization and Prioritization Task Force (REMAP), a blue-ribbon panel that will provide important guidance to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on how the agency can maximize the scientific returns of many of its research programs, including the International Space Station.
REMAP will perform an independent review and assessment of research productivity and priorities for the entire scientific, technological and commercial portfolio of NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research and will provide recommendations on how to best achieve its research goals within the federal budget.
Pawelczyk is one of 20 people selected to serve on the task force. His research focuses on the dynamic regulation of blood pressure and how disuse atrophy affects blood pressure regulation. Problems with moment-to-moment regulation of blood pressure lead to orthostatic intolerance, an inability to maintain adequate blood flow to the brain that affects as many as 500,000 Americans. The condition is routinely observed following space flight, which Pawelczyk has studied as a NASA-funded investigator since 1995.
Pawelczyk was a payload specialist for NASA's Neurolab (STS-90) mission, which launched on the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1998. He logged 16 days and 6.4 million miles in space, circling the earth 256 times and conducting neuroscience experiments that addressed changes in the development of the nervous system, balance, blood pressure regulation, sleep and control movement during space flight.
Professor named Pioneers
chair in cable communications 
Rob Frieden, professor of communications, has been named the Pioneers chair in cable telecommunications in the College of Communications.
A leading analyst in the field of telecommunications and Internet infrastructure, Frieden has authored many comprehensive works on cable satellite television, communications law and international telecommunications. He teaches courses in economics, law and management.
He provides legal, management and market forecasting consultancy services in fields such as personal and mobile communications, international telecommunications, business development and satellites.
Before joining the faculty in 1992, Frieden served as deputy director-international relations for Motorola Satellite Communications Inc. He has held senior-level policy making positions in government and worked in the private sector as an attorney.
Frieden earned his law degree at the University of Virginia in 1980 and his bachelor's degree, with distinction, from the University of Pennsylvania in 1977.
Berks-Lehigh Valley welcomes
several newcomers to staff
Penn State Berks-Lehigh Valley College announced the appointment of several staff members:
* Debra Swarner has joined the Career Services staff as the coordinator of placement and internships. She will provide career-related services to students. Swarner will work to facilitate internships and job placements for Lehigh Valley students. She will be the primary contact for students and businesses in the greater Lehigh Valley area. Swarner earned her master of arts in counseling at Eastern College in St. David's in 1995 and her bachelor of arts in family studies at Messiah College in 1986.
*
Brynnmarie Dorsey has accepted the position of nurse practitioner
for the Health Services Center at the Berks campus. She was previously
employed as a family nurse practitioner with the University of Pennsylvania.
She is certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a family
nurse practitioner and has had extensive experience in both family practice
primary care centers and community-based
clinics. Dorsey earned her master of science in nursing at Villanova University in 1995.
* Bo Kim has accepted the position of instructional designer at the Berks campus. Before her appointment, she worked as instructional designer at eSocrates Inc. of Allentown. Kim received both her master of science degree in instructional technology in 2001 and her bachelor of arts in sociology in 1995 from Bloomsburg University.