Lori Marso, director of Women’s and Gender Studies, recently spoke at Bard College. Her talk, “Judging in Dark Times: The Brasillach and Eichmann Trials,” examined the work of German Jewish political theorist Hannah Arendt and French philosopher Simone De Beauvoir in relation to Nazi war criminals.
Rebecca Surman, associate professor of physics, spoke at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Surman’s talk, “Heavy Element Synthesis in Supernovae and Compact Object Mergers,” was part of the school’s Astrophysics Colloquium.
Jeffrey Corbin, assistant professor of biology, published two papers in Ecosphere about the effects of invasive plant species on native ecosystems. The first paper described efforts to use traits of native and exotic species to prescribe restoration treatments designed to restore native biodiversity. The second paper analyzed five years’ worth of plant growth and soil nutrient data in a California grassland to understand the ways that plant community composition can influence soil chemistry.
Chad Orzel, associate professor of physics, was a featured speaker at SUNY New Paltz. Orzel spoke about “What Every Dog Should Know About Quantum Physics.” Sponsored by the Mid-Hudson Astronomical Association, the talk covered wave-particle duality, quantum tunneling and uncertainty principle.
Tina Lincer, associate director of Communications, was a featured reader in a recent writers’ showcase at The Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy. Lincer joined a community of poets, fiction and creative nonfiction writers at Troy Night Out in celebration of the written word. The moderated event included discussions about the writing process, including insights on the joys, struggle, craft and magic of inspiration.
Lincer read from her memoir-in-progress.
Stephen Romero, professor of psychology, discussed the College’s neuroscience program at a lunchtime lecture sponsored by the Friends of Schenectady County Public Library.
A recent study by Joshua Hart, assistant professor of psychology, has been featured in various news outlets. Hart, along with Jason Martens, a psychology doctoral student at the University of British Columbia, surveyed various groups of people to discover that anxiety about death prompts people to believe in intelligent design rather than evolution.
A book co-edited by Claire Bracken, assistant professor of Irish literature and culture in the English Department, was recently published. “Anne Enright,” is the first study of contemporary Irish writer Anne Enright. Leading scholars examine Enright’s work in relation to style, her situation in a post-modern and experimental tradition in Irish and non-Irish writing and her engagement with culture and social change. Bracken’s co-editor is Susan Cahill of University College Dublin.
Daniel Mosquera, associate professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies and director of LACS, was invited to participate in the Nahuatl Workshop at the Council on Latin American and Iberian Studies at Yale University. Dealing with classical and modern Nahuatl translations, the workshop also examined topics on Mesoamerican ethno-history and colonial Mexico indigenous religious practices.