Faculty – Page 5

Suzanne OConnell, professor of earth and environmental sciences, is featured on Vox Media’s podcast Unexplainable in a March 17 episode titled “Journey Toward the Center of the Earth.” The podcast explores unanswered scientific questions about mysterious aspects of the world and examines what scientists are doing to find answers. The episode with OConnell delves into a 20th-century quest to drill into the Earth’s layers through the ocean, specifically to learn more about a very dense region between the crust and the mantle called the Mohorovičić discontinuity, or the Moho. “Project Moho was a bust, but it lay a foundation for…

Johan "Joop" Varekamp, Harold T. Stearns Professor in Earth Science, professor of earth and environmental studies, is the co-author of an article published in Geology, March 2021. The study, titled "Volcanic Carbon Cycling in East Lake, Newberry Volcano, Oregon," focuses on the bubbling East Lake, the site of the Newberry Volcano, and the geological implications of the carbon reactions happening there. Varekamp co-authored the article with graduate student Christina Cauley and former students: Hilary Brumberg '17, Lena Capece '16, Celeste Smith '19, Paula Tartell '18, and Molly Wagner MA '19. The team researched this geological phenomenon from 2015 to 2019,…

Ann Wightman, professor of history, emerita, died on March 11 at the age of 70. Wightman was born in South Euclid, Ohio. She earned her BA from Duke University and her MPhil and PhD from Yale. First arriving at Wesleyan as a visiting instructor in 1979, she remained here for 36 years until her retirement in 2015. Wightman was an accomplished scholar with a focus on Latin America. She felt that she found a “second home” doing research in the Andes, and she sought to capture the history of that region in her first book, Indigenous Migration and Social Change:…

On March 15, a panel of Wesleyan faculty and staff experts discussed the importance of receiving the COVID-19 vaccine during a campus-wide webinar titled "Why Get Vaccinated?" Speakers included Dr. Thomas McLarney, medical director of Davison Health Center; Donald Oliver, Daniel Ayres Professor of Biology, professor of molecular biology and biochemistry; Ishita Mukerji, Fisk Professor of Natural Science, professor of molecular biology and biochemistry; William Johnston, John E. Andrus Professor of History; and Frederick Cohan, Huffington Foundation Professor in the College of the Environment, professor of biology. Janice Naegele, Alan M. Dachs Professor of Science, professor of biology, and Dean…

During the 2021 Shasha Seminar for Human Concerns, held March 11–13, participants explored the topic of "Truth (and Lies) in Our Time." The Shasha Seminar is an annual educational forum for Wesleyan alumni, parents, and friends that provides an opportunity to explore issues of global concern in a small seminar environment. Endowed by James Shasha '50, P'82, the Shasha Seminar supports lifelong learning and encourages participants to expand their knowledge and perspectives on significant issues. David McCraw, vice president and deputy general counsel for The New York Times, presented the Shasha Seminar's keynote address titled "Lies and Liberty: The Future…

Edward Torres, assistant professor of the practice in theater, was named an Old Globe 2021 Classical Directing Fellow. Torres has directed multiple productions at the San Diego, Calif.-based Old Globe, including Familiar, Native Gardens, and Water by the Spoonful, as well as two readings for the Powers New Voices Festivals. He recently directed a podcast version of Macbeth for NEXT Podcast and Play On Shakespeare. Torres directed the premiere of Kristoffer Diaz’s The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity at Victory Gardens Theater and Teatro Vista, which won two Jeff Awards. He's also the artistic director emeritus at Teatro Vista. Led…

The following faculty were conferred tenure, effective July 1, 2021 by the Board of Trustees at its most recent meeting: David Kuenzel, associate professor of economics; Michelle Personick, associate professor of chemistry; and Olga Sendra Ferrer, associate professor of Spanish. In addition, one faculty member was promoted, effective July 1, 2020: Valerie Nazzaro, associate professor of the practice in quantitative analysis. Brief descriptions of their areas of research and teaching appear below: David Kuenzel’s scholarship focuses on international trade and economic growth. In his research, he analyzes nations’ trade policies, trade flows, and economic growth in connection with the policies…

The American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages (AATSEEL) honored Nataliya Karageorgos, assistant professor of the practice in Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies, with the Best 2020 Slavic and East European Journal Article (SEEJ) award. Karageorgos' article, titled "'A List of Some Observations': The Theory and Practice of Depersonalization in T.S. Eliot and Joseph Brodsky," was published in the Fall 2019, Volume 63, Issue 3 of SEEJ. Karageorgos' article argues that Joseph Brodsky’s use of depersonalization owes a lot to Brodsky’s readings of T.S. Eliot, and that Eliot’s role in Brodsky’s evolution has thus far been…

Joseph Siry, Kenan Professor of the Humanities, professor of art history, is the author of Air-Conditioning in Modern American Architecture, 1890–1970 (Penn State University Press, February 2021). According to the book's abstract, Air-Conditioning in Modern American Architecture, 1890–1970 documents how architects made environmental technologies into resources that helped shape their spatial and formal aesthetic. In doing so, it sheds important new light on the ways in which mechanical engineering has been assimilated into the culture of architecture as one facet of its broader modernist project. Tracing the development and architectural integration of air-conditioning from its origins in the late 19th century…

Gabe Snashall '21 and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Helen Poulos are the co-authors of "Oreos Versus Orangutans: The Need for Sustainability Transformations and Nonhierarchical Polycentric Governance in the Global Palm Oil Industry," published in the Feb. 22 issue of Forests. According to the paper's abstract, "While the myriad benefits of palm oil as a food, makeup, and cleaning product additive drive its demand, globally, the palm oil industry remains largely unsustainable and unregulated. The negative externalities of palm oil production are diverse and devastating to tropical ecosystem integrity and human livelihoods in palm oil nations. Given the current…

Rosemary Ostfeld '10, MA '12, visiting assistant professor of environmental studies and public policy, was named to Connecticut Magazine's 2021 "40 Under 40" list. The 32-year-old from East Lyme, Conn., is the founder of Healthy PlanEat, a new sustainable food-tech startup that helps farmers who use sustainable growing practices sell their farm-fresh goods (whether fruits or veggies, cheese or oysters) directly to local customers. Farmers using Healthy PlanEat—which enthusiastic members of the community helped start via a crowdfunding campaign—can upload inventory, set distribution options, and manage incoming orders. Customers can purchase food to pick up at the farms themselves, at…

Three titles affiliated with Wesleyan were nominated for the 2021 NAACP Images Awards in the Outstanding Literary Work — Poetry category. According to the NAACP, Image Awards celebrate "the outstanding achievements and performances of people of color in the arts and those who promote social justice through their creative work." Among the five nominees is Kontemporary Amerikan Poetry (Four Way Books, 2020) written by John Murillo, assistant professor of English; The Age of Phillis (Wesleyan University Press, 2020) by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers; and Un-American (Wesleyan University Press, 2020) by Hafizah Geter. The collections by Murillo, Jeffers, and Geter also are longlisted for…

OConnell Talks Ocean Exploration in Vox Podcast

Volcanic Lake Study by Varekamp, Former Students, Published in Geology

Wightman Remembered for Being a Dedicated and Charismatic Teacher

Wesleyan Experts Explore Benefits of Vaccination

Campus Community Explores “Truth (and Lies) in Our Time” During Shasha Seminar

Torres Named 2021 Classical Directing Fellow for Old Globe

4 Faculty Receive Tenure, Promotions

Karageorgos’ Paper on T.S. Eliot and Joseph Brodsky Honored by AATSEEL

Siry’s Book on Air-Conditioning in Modern American Architecture Published

Study by Snashall ’21, Poulos Published in Forests

Ostfeld ’10, MA ’12 Named a “40 Under 40”

3 Works of Poetry Nominated for NAACP Images Awards