Union in the Media

Holli Frey, associate professor and chair of the Geology Department, has received a $307,000 grant through the National Science Foundation’s Major Research Instrumentation program. This grant supports the acquisition of a state-of-the-art inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer to support faculty and undergraduate research. Also included in the grant are John Garver, professor of geology; David Gillikin, associate professor of geology; Kurt Hollocher, the John and Jane Wold Professor of Geology; and Donald Rodbell, professor of geology. Learn more about it here.

Deidre Hill Butler, associate professor of sociology, has a new elected position with the National Women’s Studies Association. She will serve as the constituency group chairperson of the Feminist Mother Caucus.

Brad Hays, associate professor of political science, was recently featured on several segments of WAMC’s “Congressional Corner.” Over three recent episodes, Hays discussed a range of topics including health care policy in other countries and President Trump’s approval ratings.

Kevin Flike '06 was recently featured in the Times Union newspaper.

A retired staff sergeant who was critically wounded in Afghanistan while serving as a Green Beret, the story focused on his time in the Army and his efforts to help similarly injured soldiers and veterans. Flike spends much of his free time updating his weekly “Wounded by War” blog and giving motivational speeches around the country.

At Union, he was a member of Theta Delta Chi, played football and studied abroad in China.

Brad Hays, associate professor of political science, offered commentary on the controversy surrounding athletes protesting during the national anthem to WRGB, the local CBS affiliate.

Michael Vineyard, the Frank and Marie Louise Bailey Professor of Physics, presented a paper, “PIXE Analysis of Synthetic Turf,” at the Seventh International Symposium on Energy in Manchester, England. The project was performed in collaboration with Scott LaBrake, senior lecturer of physics and astronomy, Sajju Chalise '19, Morgan Clark '17, Skye Conlan '18 and Zack Porat '20. Their focus is to measure the concentrations of elements heavier than calcium in synthetic turf blade and infill samples to search for the presence of heavy metals and other toxic substances.

Works by Hilary Tann, the John Howard Payne Professor of Music, is included on a new CD, “Tomorrow’s Air,” featuring contemporary works for orchestras and large ensembles.

Leading journalists and political commentators Dylan Ratigan ’94 and Robert Cox will be on campus Tuesday, Oct. 3 as part of the Alumni Speaker Series. They will discuss their careers at 5 p.m. in Reamer Auditorium.

A strong voice for economic justice, Ratigan is the former global managing editor for corporate finance at Bloomberg News. He has developed more than half a dozen broadcast and new media properties, including CNBC’s “Fast Money” and “Closing Bell.” Outraged over the government’s handling of the 2008 financial crisis, he left as host of “Fast Money” in 2009. Following his departure, he hosted “The Dylan Ratigan Show” on MSNBC, and in 2012, he delivered Union’s Commencement address.

Now chief skeptic at Tastytrade and advisor to Cyndx, he is also partner and co-founder of a Louisiana-based manufacturer that integrates systems to grow food, purify water, produce solar electricity, establish wireless connectivity, create jobs and provide essential community services. This venture was inspired by U.S. combat veterans who described plug and play integration of housing, food, power and water systems as fundamental to global security.

Author of New York Times best-seller Greedy Bastards, Ratigan speaks out daily for transparency and advocates for student-debt reform, veteran employment, food and water security, drug decriminalization and fair economic opportunity.

He honed his craft and his passion for these issues, in part, with Cox.

One of Ratigan’s first mentors, Cox helped found Breakingviews.com in 2000 in London. The Reuters site delivers agenda-setting financial insight, commenting daily on important financial stories as they break in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

From 2004, Cox spearheaded the site’s expansion in the United States and edited daily Breakingviews columns in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He has worked as a financial journalist in London, Milan, New York, Washington, Chicago and Tokyo.

Cox was named editor-in-chief of Breakingviews in December 2012, three years after it was acquired by Thomson Reuters. Cox, father of Sam Cox ’20, graduated from Columbia University’s Journalism School and the University of Vermont.

“What would you talk about if asked to tell a personal story?”

That’s the question Sophie Rosen ‘18 asked of some 20 classmates and friends. The result is STORIES, a photo exhibition now on view in the Wikoff Student Gallery in the Nott Memorial.

An opening reception will take place on Oct. 10, 5-6 p.m.

“My inspiration for my art is people,” says Rosen, a psychology major with a strong focus in photography and the visual arts. “I’m so fascinated by portraiture, but I’m more interested in what a viewer can take away from looking at any given picture.”

The striking, emotional sequences of Rosen’s candid portraits are followed by quotes from the participants that reveal the nature of the subject matter. The stories relate to such complex topics as sexual violence, mortality and illness. Rosen draws a viewer’s attention to the underlying pain and loss all individuals carry.

“Everyone has a story,” she says. “No matter how happy, smiley or put-together a person may seem, no one knows for sure what has happened in that person’s life. I learned so much about people that I wouldn’t have imagined possible had I not asked which of their stories impacted them most.”

The exhibition runs through Nov. 27.

Cara Early '11, assistant vice president in the consultant relations department at Breckinridge Capital Advisors in Boston, was recently featured in The Telegram.

The story focused on her training as a boxer, and her plans to participate in “Belles of the Brawl.” The event, a fundraiser for Haymakers for Hope, supports cancer treatment and research. Cara had acute lymphoblastic leukemia when she was a young child.

At Union, Cara was involved with Sigma Delta Tau and Colleges Against Cancer, and studied abroad in China and South Africa.

Read the news story here.

Cay Anderson-Hanley, associate professor of psychology, David Cotter, professor of sociology, and Carol Weisse, professor of psychology, joined faculty from Colgate University, St. Lawrence University, and Hobart and William and Smith Colleges in an eight-day study tour in Ireland, where they focused on aging and end-of-life care. While in Ireland, the group presented “Partnering to Promote Care and Support in Aging Communities” at the International Symposium on Service Learning at the National University of Ireland at Galway. Anderson-Hanley and Weisse were also guests on the Kinvara FM radio show. The New York Six Liberal Arts Consortium organized the trip.

Joseph Johnson, director of writing programs, presented a paper, “Thoreau, Ancient Classics, and the Idea of Liberal Arts,” at the Thoreau Society Bicentennial Annual Gathering. This event drew scholars from around the world to celebrate the 200th anniversary of author Henry David Thoreau's birth, in his hometown of Concord, Mass.

Sirus Negahban '19, Pranav Shrestha '19 and Luke Dosiek, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, attended the 2017 IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting in Chicago. Negahban’s poster, "Design of a power systems dynamics education module using a drum kit," won second prize in the student poster contest and was based on his work during the summer research program. Shrestha’s poster, “Distribution-level frequency estimation and modal analysis using inexpensive and open-source Phasor Measurement Unit,” is the culmination of research that includes a Scholars Project and two years of summer research. Dosiek presented a paper, “Model order sensitivity in ARMA-based electromechanical mode estimation algorithms under ambient power system conditions” in support of an ongoing Department of Energy project.

Research by Stephen Romero, associate professor of neuroscience, was presented at the 67th annual International Communication Association Conference in San Diego, Calif. The project is in collaboration with researchers at the University at Albany and Sayyida Hasan ’18. The study focuses on individuals’ decisions to talk about politics, including how willing individuals are to discuss different political issues with different discussion partners and at what pace they make these political discussion decisions.

Submit your news to gowanc@union.edu.

Emily Monosson '83 talks bacteriophages, phage therapy and her new book in a recent essay in The Scientist.

"Natural Defense: Enlisting Bugs and Germs to Protect Our Food and Health" explores a range of strategies that can help reduce dependence on chemicals, from antibiotics to pesticides.

At Union, she was involved with Sigma Xi and played lacrosse and field hockey.

With the recovery from Hurricane Harvey underway, there is growing concern about Hurricane Irma, a major storm that could hit Florida later this week. Andrew Morris, an associate professor of history, recently went on WAMC, Northeast Public Radio, to discuss the federal disaster aid policy.

Morris is currently at work on a book about Hurricane Camille and the transformation of American disaster relief policy, which will be published in 2019 by the University of Pennsylvania Press to coincide with the storm’s 50th anniversary.

On Aug. 17, 1969, Camille slammed into the Mississippi coast. The Category 5 storm, one of the strongest ever to make landfall in the U.S., killed more than 140 in the Gulf Coast region and leveled thousands of homes and buildings.

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