Olivia DrakeCelina Gray, assistant professor of classical studies and archeology is teaching Magic in the Ancient World and Introduction to Ancient Greek this fall. Posted 10/16/07 Celina Gray has joined the Department of Classical Studies as assistant professor. Gray came to Wesleyan this fall after a year spent as the Blegen Research Fellow in the Department of Classics at Vassar College, her alma mater. Previously, she was assistant professor of Greek art and archaeology at McMaster University, in Hamilton, Ontario. This semester at Wesleyan, she is teaching GRK101, Introduction to Ancient Greek, and CCIV118, First Year Initiative: Magic in the…
Posted 10/16/07 Growing up, Karen Collinss family found themselves in financially-difficult situations. But when times got tough, her community generously helped the family through local programs. In college, she received financial aid, and relied on the support of many alumni of her school to finish her degrees.Nowadays, the chair of the Mathematics and Computer Science Department, professor of mathematics, is giving back to her community by chairing Wesleyans Middlesex United Way campaign drive for the 2007-08 term. Wesleyans annual campaign kick-off is Oct. 23. Im a supporter of United Way because I want to give back to the world some…
Dale Purves, the George Barth Gellor Professor for Research in Neurobiology, and director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke University will speak on Why We See What We Do: Brightness and Color" as part of the upcoming Snowdon Lecture Series. (Photo courtesy of Duke University) Posted 10/16/07 Upcoming lectures funded by the Edward W. Snowdon Fund focus on childrens book writing, the way human beings perceive brightness and color, and cognitive behavior as it relates to stress and health. For several years, the family of Edward W. Snowdon '33 has supported a variety of programs through the Edward…
Posted 10/16/07 In the event of catastrophic weather, accidents that threaten the campus or other life-threatening situations, Wesleyan has furthered its capabilities to inform the campus community quickly and effectively. A recently-implemented Emergency Preparedness Notification System was tested university-wide on Oct. 10. The emergency notification system alerts students, parents, faculty and staff of serious campus-wide emergencies. If Wesleyan has an extended power outage, an incident requiring mass evacuation, or possibly a hostage situation, we will use this system to quickly notify the Wesleyan community, says Cliff Ashton, director of Physical Plant and chairperson of Wesleyans Business Continuity Committee. Wesleyan has…
Daniela Viale, adjunct instructor of romance languages and literatures, is fluent in four languages. Posted 10/02/07 Daniela Viale has joined the Romance Languages and Literatures Department as an adjunct instructor. She is teaching elementary and intermediate Italian this semester. Viale, who is fluent in Italian, French, English and Spanish, also has basic knowledge of German and Latin. She comes to Wesleyan from the University of Pennsylvania, where she taught elementary and intermediate Italian and French for eight years. An Italian native, Viale completed her master of liberal arts in 2007 from the University of Pennsylvania. Her dissertation was titled…
Anna Milardo, administrative assistant for the Department of Physics, has worked at Wesleyan 36 years. Posted 10/02/07 Q: Anna, rumor has it that youve been here a long time.A: I started in November of 1971 and lo and behold, 2007 comes and it seems that just a moment has gone by, and Im still in the Physics Department. You can see that I am very adventuresome -- job-wise that is.Q: Something had to keep you here for 36 years. A: Wesleyan has allowed me to be expressive and creative, and be appreciated for who I am as a person…
Tsampikos Kottos, assistant professor of physics, says his Wesleyan colleagues have encouraged him to pursue his research. Posted 10/02/07 Tsampikos Kottos, assistant professor of physics, is the recipient of a major international award for his "many outstanding contributions in the field of nonlinear physics and quantum chaos. In March 2008, he will be presented with the Stephanos Pnevmatikos International Award for Research in Nonlinear Phenomena, which is given to an outstanding young researcher in the fields of nonlinear physics, mathematical physics and nonlinear disordered systems. The award, worth $10,000, is presented to only one researcher or scientist every two years.…
Former Ohio State Ph.D colleagues Wai Kiu Billy Chan, associate professor of mathematics, and Maria Ines Icaza of Universidad de Talca in Chile, met for two weeks in September at Wesleyan to collaborate on planning a mathematics conference. Posted 10/02/07 A Wesleyan mathematics faculty member is helping to organize an international conference in Chile that will be only the second of its kind ever held. Wai Kiu Billy Chan, associate professor of mathematics, is co-organizing the International Conference on The Algebraic and Arithmetic Theory of Quadratic Forms 2007. The event will be attended by elite mathematicians from around the world…
Miri Nakamura, assistant professor of Japanese language and literature, teaches Japanese horror films and fiction. Posted 10/02/07 Miri Nakamura has joined the Department of Asian Languages and Literatures as an assistant professor of Japanese language and literature. Her primary research interests are modern Japanese fantastic fiction and gender theory. She is also interested in the dialogue between science and literature in the prewar era. Her dissertation, titled Monstrous Bodies: Gender and Reproductive Science in Modern Japanese Literature, examined how the classical image of monstrous women came to be modified and developed in the modern period. By situating fantastic writings…
After wearing through four pairs of shoes and speaking to hundreds of people in 12 states about war solutions, Wesleyan student Ashley Casale '10 returned briefly to campus after a 3,000-mile cross-country trek to promote world peace. Casale walked from San Francisco, Calif. to Washington D.C. this summer to raise peace awareness and discuss ways to take action nonviolently. Her March for Peace concluded Sept. 10 in front of the White House. "Overall, this was a great, eye-opening experience," Casale said to peers, deans and President Michael Roth during campus visit Sept. 21. "This walk was about peace, and (we…
Posted 10/02/07 Wesleyans Mathematics and Computer Science Department will host The Wesleyan Dynamical Systems Conference, Oct.13-14 at the Exley Science Center. The conference is being held in honor of Ethan Coven, professor of mathematics, emeritus. Dynamical systems, an extremely broad and central field of mathematics, is, at its core, the quantitative study of systems evolving over time. Scientists in many disciplines have come to realize and use geometric and quantitative techniques that have been the outgrowth of this field of study, says Edward Taylor, associate professor and one of the conference organizers. It cross cuts such major areas of mathematical…
Posted 10/02/07 A free flu vaccination is available for Wesleyan faculty, staff and their dependents this month. Influenza is a highly contagious viral illness marked by fevers, muscle aches, cough, headache and fatigue. Influenza is at best a miserable experience for which we are all at risk every year, says Dr. Davis Smith, medical director at the Davison Health Center. An annual flu shot is very likely to confer protection against this years strains of influenza and is highly recommended for all members of the Wesleyan community. When flu season comes around, better to know you got the flu shot…