Faculty – Page 32

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Joyce Jacobsen spoke at an event on Sept. 29 at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C. The event was on the topic, The Economics of Misogyny. Jacobsen spoke on the topic of feminist economics in conversation with Judith Warner, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. A video recording of the event can be seen here. Jacobsen also is the Andrews Professor of Economics.

Iris Bork-Goldfield, chair and adjunct professor of German studies, has been elected to serve as the Northeast Region representative to the Executive Council of the American Association of Teachers of German. The American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) supports the teaching of the German language and German-speaking cultures in elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education in the United States. The AATG promotes the study of the German-speaking world in all its linguistic, cultural and ethnic diversity, and endeavors to prepare students as transnational, transcultural learners and active, multilingual participants in a globalized world. (more…)

Wesleyan's Molecular Biophysics Program hosted its 18th annual retreat Sept. 28 at Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown. Wesleyan affiliated speakers included: Colin Smith, assistant professor of chemistry, on "An Atomistic View of Protein Dynamics and Allostery;" Meng-Ju Renee Sher, assistant professor of physics, on "Tracking Electron Motions Using Terahertz Spectroscopy;" Kelly Knee, PhD '07, principle scientist for Pfizer's Rare Disease Research Unit, on "Protein Folding Chaperones: Molecular Machines for Tricky Problems;" and Francis Starr, professor of physics, director of the College of Integrative Sciences, on "DNA Four-Way Junction Dynamics and Thermodynamics: Lessons from Combining Simulations and Experiments." Arthur Palmer, the Robert…

Writing in The Conversation, Assistant Professor of Psychology Mike Robinson looks to the brain to explain the real reason that some people become addicted to drugs. Robinson, who also is assistant professor of neuroscience and behavior, assistant professor of integrative sciences, begins by debunking two popular explanations for drug addiction: that compulsive drug use is simply a "bad habit," and that overcoming the unpleasant withdrawal symptoms is too hard for some addicts. While pleasure, habits and withdrawal can play a role in drug use, Robinson says, the true reason for addiction can be explained by the psychological differences between "wanting" and "liking." (more…)

Ellen Thomas, University Professor in the College of Integrative Sciences and research professor of earth and environmental sciences, is a co-author of a paper titled "Very Large Release of Mostly Volcanic Carbon During the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum," published in the weekly science journal Nature on Aug. 31. The study focused on Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, a surface warming event associated with ecological disruption that occurred about 56 million years ago, releasing a large amount of carbon. The researchers combined boron and carbon isotope data in an Earth system model and found that the source of carbon was much larger than previously thought. Most…

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Kit Reed died on Sunday, Sept. 24, in Los Angeles, Calif., at the age of 85. After several post-college years as an award-winning journalist, Kit Reed moved to Middletown in 1960 when her husband, Joe Reed, took a position with Wesleyan’s English Department. Kit Reed became a visiting professor of English in 1974, an adjunct professor of English in 1987, and resident writer in 2008. A former Guggenheim fellow, Reed was the first American recipient of an international literary grant from the Abraham Woursell Foundation. Her work has been nominated for the Locus Award, the Campbell Award, the World Fantasy…

Lori Gruen, the William Griffin Professor of Philosophy, is the recipient of a Laurance S. Rockefeller Distinguished Teaching Visiting Professorship at Princeton. Next spring, Gruen will co-teach a course titled the Environmental Nexus at Princeton's Center for Environmental Research, Education and Outreach. The undergraduate environmental studies course will examine a collection of global environmental crises and address multiple dimensions of these issues, including scientific, political, social and ethical aspects. At Princeton, she will serve as the Laurance S. Rockefeller Visiting Professor for Distinguished Teaching in the Center for Human Values. At Wesleyan, Gruen also is professor of science in society; professor of feminist, gender, and…

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Associate Professor of Economics Abigail Hornstein's article, "Words vs. actions: International variation in the propensity to fulfill investment pledges in China," was published in the journal China Economic Review in July 2017. Hornstein studied whether companies from certain countries were more likely than others to fulfill investment pledges. On average, she found that firms fulfilled about 59 percent of their pledges within two years. This number was lower for firms in countries with greater uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and egalitarianism; and higher for those in countries that are more traditional. She also found that popular attitudes toward China did not affect the likelihood…

Assistant Professor of History Victoria Smolkin was recently a guest on BBC Radio 4's "Beyond Belief" to discuss Soviet state atheism. Smolkin said that Lenin's conviction that banishing religion was necessary to create a revolutionary society was right ideologically, but wrong politically. "If they wanted to stay in power, they needed to accommodate religion, and they understood that," she said. "However, if they wanted to build a Communist society, ultimately religion had to go." (more…)

Psyche Loui, assistant professor of psychology, assistant professor of neuroscience and behavior, assistant professor of integrative sciences, is the author of a new publication on musical anhedonia—the lack of pleasure from music. Together with others in her lab, Loui studied an individual with musical anhedonia and compared his brain against a group of controls. They found that his auditory cortex was differently connected to his reward system, a finding which gives further support for the role of brain connectivity in the musical experience. The article, titled, "White Matter Correlates of Musical Anhedonia: Implications for Evolution of Music," was published Sept.…

Jacobsen Speaks at Event on the Economics of Misogyny

Bork-Goldfield Elected to American Association of Teachers of German Council

Speakers, Poster Sessions at Annual Molecular Biophysics Program Retreat

Robinson Writes About the Real Reason Some People Become Addicted to Drugs

Volcanoes Caused Ecological Disruption Says Thomas in Nature Article

Kleinberg Speaks about Haunting History at Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore

Resident Writer Reed Remembered for being a Fierce Advocate for Students, Fiction

Gruen to Teach at Princeton through Rockefeller Visiting Professorship

Local Youth Learn Musical Skills from Wesleyan Musicians

Hornstein Authors New Article in ‘China Economic Review’

Smolkin Discusses Soviet Atheism on BBC

Loui Co-Authors Article on Lack of Pleasure from Music