Olivia DrakeTsampikos 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…
Posted 10/02/07 Wesleyan's campus has been captured on camera and bound in a book. Wesleyan University Press has released Welcome to Wesleyan: Campus Buildings in October 2007. The 64-page, full-color book features numerous photographs of Wesleyan's diverse structures captioned with historical notes. Leslie Starr, the assistant director and marketing manager at Wesleyan University Press, is the book's author and editor. Photographs in the book were contributed by a number of university staff members and professional photographers. Weve felt that Wesleyan has needed a book like this for a long time an informative and inexpensive memento of campus, Starr says.…
FIRST DAY FOR FROSH: Members of the Class of 2011 arrived on campus Aug. 28 during New Student Arrival Day. President Michael Roth welcomed new students to campus. nformation packets were distributed in front of Exley Science Center. A week-long New Student Orientation program followed Arrival Day, which is designed to introduce the incoming class to the Wesleyan community and assist with the transition to university life. New students were immersed in information sessions, meeting with faculty and peer advisors, campus tours, arts events, field trips, dances and a barbecue. Jack Stewart, right, helps his daughter, Lia Stewart '11, unpack…
Matthew Kurtz, assistant professor of psychology, teaches behavioral neurobiology. Posted 09/19/07 Matthew Kurtz has joined the Psychology Department as an assistant professor. Kurtzs research focus is on developing cognitive and social-cognitive training programs for improving neurocognitive and psychosocial function in patients with schizophrenia. Hes interested in implementing functional brain imaging probes, neuropsychological tests and real-world employment outcomes as measures of change. Hes co-teaching Behavioral Neurobiology this fall. Kurtz comes to Wesleyan from The Neuropsychiatry Research Center, part of the Institute of Living in Hartford where he was a research scientist. There, he studied neurocognition, brain imaging and rehabilitation in…
President Michael Roth '78 greets Betty Tishler, wife of the late Max Tishler, for whom Wesleyan dedicated a science lecture hall in his name. Pictured in back is Max and Betty's son, Peter Tishler. Posted 09/19/07 Science Center Room 150 was recently dedicated in the name of a Chemistry Department icon. Members of the Wesleyan community gathered outside the Exley Science Center classroom Sept. 6 to remember the work, mentorship and memory of Max Tishler. The classroom is now named Tishler Lecture Hall. Max Tishler touched countless numbers of chemistry students at Wesleyan. He was the president of Merck, Sharpe…
Posted 09/19/07 Q: Jodi, you spent nine seasons as an assistant coach at St. Lawrence University. What attracted you to Wesleyan?A: I enjoyed my nine years at St. Lawrence and would have been content to begin a 10th, however, the opportunity to coach at Wesleyan was one that I could no turn down, for two main reasons. Professionally, I am very excited to be at an institution of Wesleyans caliber and to be able to work with the dynamic student-athletes the university attracts. I am a Rhode Island native. Its nice to be back in New England.Q: When does hockey…
Dan Koepf, analyst-programmer for Information Technology Services - Student Services, is responsible for the design, analysis, creation, modification, testing and maintenance of software application programs for several departments on campus. Posted 09/19/07 When Dan Koepf began his career in Information Technology Services, Wesleyan was using only a couple of computers university-wide. Today, there are more than 1,250 personal computers, 447 special-purpose computers and 33 research and teaching computers in use on Wesleyans campus. And this excludes the hundreds of personal computers and laptops owned and used by students in their residences. It has been an amazing experience to witness…