November 21, 2002

The Southwestern University Physics Department reports the occurrence of a statistically unlikely event: each staff member has had a paper accepted for publication in a reputable scientific journal during the same semester. Such an event has not occurred in this department for at least 19 years, and may never have occurred at all at Southwestern.

Assistant Professor Mark Botttorff is the lead author of a paper titled "He II Reverberation in Active Galactic Nucleus Spectra" to appear in the "Astrophysical Journal" in December. Associate Professor Bill O'Brien's paper, "Using Satellite Technology (GPS) to Teach the Spherical Polar Coordinate System," has been accepted for publication in the "European Journal of Physics" while Professor Rob Roeder's paper, "Average Summer Peak UV-B in Central Texas, 1995 - 2001" will appear in the "Journal of Geophysical Research" in January 2003.

Bob Bednar, assistant professor of communication studies and chair of the American Studies program, served as chair and commentator for a panel titled "Animating Whiteness" at the American Studies Association Annual Conference in Houston on Nov. 16. He also is attending the National Communication Association Annual Conference in New Orleans from Nov. 21-24.

Rick Denman, associate professor of mathematics and computer science, took two teams of computer science students to Baton Rouge, La., the first of November to compete in the 2002 ACM South Central USA Programming Contest. One of the teams, consisting of students Clint Calhoun, Tim Moore, and Karlie Verkest, scored 19th (out of 79 teams) overall. More impressive, however, is the fact that they scored 3rd overall among teams from schools with no graduate programs in computer science (teams may have at most one graduate student). This is a very impressive finish for our students!

Laura Hobgood-Oster, assistant professor of religion and philosophy, with students Kelly Sharp and Angela Townley, will present a paper titled "An Interdisciplinary Investigation of Environmental Justice in the Borderlands" at the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting in Toronto this weekend. Hobgood-Oster also will present a paper titled "Chemistry, Religion, Water and Ecojustice" at the same conference.

Thom McClendon, assistant professor of history, had his book "Genders and Generations Apart: Labor Tenants and Customary Law in Segregation-Era South Africa, 1920s to 1940s" published with Heinemann's prestigious Social History of Africa Series. The book is available in cloth and paperback, and is co-published in Britain and South Africa, respectively, by James Currey and David Philip. McClendon also was a discussant at a research workshop on "The Demographics of Empire," held Nov. 8-9 at Texas Southern University in Houston, co-sponsored by the Houston Area African Studies Group. The workshop explored new approaches to demography in Africa and South Asia.

Barbara Boucher Owens, associate professor of mathematics and computer science, convened and participated on a panel at the 18th Annual Southwestern Conference of the Consoritum for Computing in Small Colleges on Nov. 8 at Furman University in Greenville, SC. The panel title was "Challenges of Teaching in a Small Computing Department."

November 8, 2002

La Vonne I. Neal and Alicia L. Moore, assistant professors of education, had a paper accepted for publication in the journal "Social Studies and the Young Learner." The article is titled "When Bad Things Happen to Good People: Human Rights at the Core of the Social Studies Curriculum."

Mary Hale Visser, professor and Chair of the Department of Art, and studio art major Sam McFarlane will do research at PRISM labs, head quartered at Arizona State University, this December as part of their Mundy Fellows research project. Partnership for Research in Stereo Modeling (PRISM) was established at Arizona State University to promote interdisciplinary research in the areas of 3D data acquisition, visualization and modeling, and form realization. Visser and McFarlane have been offered the use of the PRISM labs and technical support in 3 dimensional modeling and rapid prototyping (PRISM). Their research proposal in rapid prototyping processes for sculptural forms was approved by PRISM labs for a Partners in Research Collaboration project. Research fellows come from diverse backgrounds such as history, biology, fine arts, archaeology, anthropology, psychology, computer science, mechanical and industrial engineering to name a few of the fields of past fellows. Proposals accepted for partnership at PRISM labs are chosen based upon their contribution to the development of the field of rapid prototyping and form realization.