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| FEATURED
John Feldmeier, professor of Astronomy, is Chief Imaging Scientist for the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment, which recently began full scientific operations. HEDTEX is a large international consortium that involves about 100 scientists; Feldmeier has been part of the collaboration since 2011. The experiment will create a three-dimensional map of 2.5 million galaxies to help astronomers understand how and why the expansion of the universe is speeding up over time. A news release updating the project includes a photo of a galaxy, M101, that was imaged in part by data that Feldmeier took a number of years ago. Feldmeier earned a PhD from Penn State University and joined the YSU faculty in 2006.
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HONORS
Christopher Barzak, professor of English and World Languages, has won the Whippoorwill Award for his most recent novel, The Gone Away Place. The award is presented by the National Conference for Teachers of English. The Gone Away Place is Barzak’s fourth novel, all award-winning works. His debut novel, One for Sorrow, won the Crawford Fantasy Award and was made into the Sundance feature film titled “Jamie Marks is Dead.”
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Bookauthority.org ranks a book written by Paul Sracic, professor of Politics and International Relations, among the “100 Best Constitutional Law Books of All Time.” The rankings are based on recommendations by thought leaders and experts. Sracic’s 2006 book is titled San Antonio v. Rodriguez and the Pursuit of Equal Education: The Debate over Discrimination and School Funding. A former two-time Fulbright Scholar in Japan, Sracic has delivered more than 50 international lectures in Europe and Asia. He is also the co-author of the 2015 book, Ohio Government and Politics.
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Victoria Kress, professor of Psychological Sciences and Counseling, has been elected president of the North Central Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. NCACES is a professional association that advances counselor education across 13 states. Kress also received the Ohio Counseling Association’s David Brooks Distinguished Mentor Award recognizing an individual who is willing to serve, teaches responsibility and creates new paths in the counseling profession.
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Amy Williams, assistant professor of Psychological Sciences and Counseling, has been elected as the president of the Ohio Association for Counselor Education and Supervision.
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Jake Protivnak, professor and Counseling Program director, received the Ohio Counseling Association’s Research and Writing Award for extraordinary research and writing. The award was announced at the virtual 2020 All Ohio Counselors Conference.
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Nancy Walker-McCain, adjunct faculty, Psychology, has been named the Mahoning County Children Services Agency’s first-ever Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer. Walker-McCain, who holds a bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies and two master’s degrees (Business and Community Counseling), has experience in counseling, was a founding board member of the Ohio Multiethnic Advocates for Cultural Competence and on the board of the Ohio’s National Alliance on Mental Illness.
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Lillian Lewis, assistant professor of Art Education, is the 2020 recipient of the State Division Award for Supervision, Policy and Administration from the Ohio Art Education Association. Lewis, who holds a PhD in Art Education from Penn State University and joined the YSU faculty in 2015, also was recently one of 39 artist educators invited to participate in an international symposium entitled “What Happens at the Intersection of Conceptual Art and Teaching?” Watch Lewis’ presentation on YouTube. She also was invited by Sacramento State University to give an invited lecture on Anti-Bias Training to students, staff and faculty.
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Ewelina Boczkowska, associate professor of Musicology in the Dana School of Music, published the chapter, "O Jerzym Fitelbergu w Nowym Jorku na podstawie źródeł archiwalnych," [On Jerzy Fitelberg in New York based on Archival Sources], in the edited volume, American Dream: Polscy twórcy za oceanem [American dream" Polish artists in the USA] (Warsaw: Institute of Art, 2020). Boczkowska, who holds a Ph.D. in Musicology from University of California in Los Angeles, has presented at international conferences of the American Musicological Society, Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies, and Society of Cinema and Media Studies, and has published in 19th-Century Music and Nineteenth-Century Music Review and also contributed chapters to Sto lat muzycznej emigracji. Kompozytorzy polscy za granicą (1918-2018) (2018). She was a visiting fellow at University of Gothenburg in Sweden and is collaborating on three essay collections about European film music.
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| Suresh Sharma, associate professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and his graduated students co-authored five peer-reviewed articles that were recently published/accepted in scholarly journals. The articles include: “Flood Damage Assessment in HAZUS Using Various Resolution of Data, and One- Dimensional (1D) and Two-Dimensional (2D) HEC-RAS Depth Grids” in Natural Hazards Review; "Monitoring ungauged watersheds for investigating the variability of flow and salinity to implement the possible removal of salt fill sites" in Environmental Monitoring and Assessment; “Evaluation of one-dimensional and two-dimensional HEC-RAS models to predict flood travel time and inundation area for flood warning system" in the Journal of Hydraulic Engineering; “Effects of climate change in winter ice cover and ice thickness in flooding: a case study of Grand River, Ohio, USA." in the Journal of Hydraulic Engineering; “Assessment of climate change impact on high flows in a watershed characterized with flood regulating reservoirs” in the International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering.
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Sheila Blank, assistant professor of Nursing, is the corresponding author of “A Transition Planning Program to Reduce Stress on a Parent Caring for an Adolescent with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study” in the Journal of Nursing and Healthcare. Patricia McLean Hoyson, professor of Nursing, is also listed as a co-author. Blank, who has a master’s degree in Pediatrics and School Nursing from YSU as well as a doctor of Nurse Practice from Case Western Reserve University, joined the YSU faculty in 2014.
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Michael Butcher, professor of Biological Sciences, and his students recently published three scholarly articles: “Coming to grips with life upside down: how myosin fiber type and metabolic properties of sloth hindlimb muscles contribute to suspensory function” with students KB Spainhower, AK Metz, A-R.S Yusuf and J. Avey-Arroyo, in the Journal of Comparative Physiology; “Forelimb myology of armadillos (Xenarthra: Cingulata, Chlamyphoridae): anatomical correlates with fossorial ability” with student S.K. Marshall, M. Spainhower and K.B. Spainhower, in the Journal of Anatomy; and “A horse of a different color: Tensile strength and elasticity of sloth flexor tendons” with students A.M. Mossor, B.L. Austin and J.A. Avey-Arroyo, in Integrative Organismal Biology, illustration pictured.
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C. Virgil Solomon, professor of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, co-authored: “Sintering effects on additive manufactured Ni-Mn-Ga shape memory alloys: a microstructure and thermal analysis” in the Journal of Materials Science; “Microanalysis of the cross-sectional surface of 3D printed NiMnGa magnetic shape memory alloy using electron microscopy and nanoindentation" in Microscopy and Microanalysis; “Processing of soft magnetic fine powders directly from as-spun partia crystalline" in IEEE Transactions on Magnetics; and "Nanocrystallites via direct melt spinning of Fe77Ni5.5Co5.5Zr7B4Cu for enhanced magnetic softness" in Physica Status Solidi.
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The Elsewhere: Poems and Poetics is the title of a new collection by Philip Brady, distinguished professor of English. The collection includes poems, a verse memoir, a poetic prose memoir and essay collections on new poems. Brady, executive director of Etruscan Press, is a multi-award winning author. He earned a PhD in English from Binghamton University in 1990 and joined the YSU faculty that same year.
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Featured
“Transient Connections” is the title of an exhibition by Jennifer Kirkpatrick, part-time faculty and studio art support specialist, that runs through March 13 at The Sculpture Center in Cleveland. The exhibit is part of the Revealed Early Career Artist Series. Kirkpatrick holds a master’s in Fine Arts degree from Penn State University and came to YSU in 2017. (Pictured: "Wandering Home," laser cut masonite and house paint.)
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| PRESENTATIONS
Birsen Karpak, distinguished professor, and Deepa Iyer, assistant professor, Management and Marketing, attended and presented a paper at the Virtual 2020 INFORMS Annual Meeting. INFORMS is a professional association of more than 11,000 academics and practitioners in the field of operations research and management sciences. The presentation was entitled “A Multi Criteria Evaluation Framework for Enterprise Blockchains Based on Analytic Network Process.” Karpak, who holds a PhD in Quantitative Analysis for Business Decisions from Instanbul University, joined the YSU faculty in 1985. Iyer earned a PhD in Management Information Systems from Case Western Reserve University and joined the YSU faculty in 2018.
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Professor John Sarkissian and Associate Professor Jennifer Behney of English and World Languages presented “Interpretive Reading of Authentic Latin Texts: Evidence from Eye- Tracking” at the national convention of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. The presentation reported on research conducted with learners of Latin who sight-read poetry aloud as their eye movements were tracked to identify strategies that successful readers use to determine vowel length when reading in their second language.
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Brian Wells, academic advisor, participated in a Community Discussion Summit titled “Let’s Talk About LGBTQIA+?.” The discussion was sponsored by the Mahoning County Juvenile Court and the Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board. Amanda Fehlbaum, associate professor of Sociology, also participated.
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Joseph D'Uva, associate professor of Art, Printmaking, exhibited his artwork in several shows: Cul-de-Sac, Columbus Printed Arts Center, agatheringofcitrusrats ...”Eskimo Pies to Revert”, lithograph, screenprint; Cul-de-Sac, Gathered Glass Blowing Studio/Pegboard Press, Toledo, agatheringofcitrusrats ...”Eskimo Pies to Revert”, lithograph, screenprint; southfloridaphonics, screenprint; Frogman’s 2020 Portfolio, Weber Fine Arts, Nebraska, staticdisplacement (at 7.5 megawatts), screenprint, flocking. (Pictured: agatheringofcitrusrats.)
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Dema Esper, adjunct faculty member in the new Health Sciences PhD program, was featured in Fall 2020 issue of the Ohio Academy of Nutrition Dietetics newsletter. Esper, who started teaching at YSU in 2007, is featured as a “Nutrition Ninja,” highlighting her experience with diversity and public service, particularly at YSU.
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For more stories on the activities of YSU faculty and staff, visit:
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Excellence at Work, published by the YSU Office of Marketing and Communications, recognizes and celebrates the scholarly work and honors of the faculty and staff of Youngstown State University. To submit items for inclusion, complete the online form.For more information, contact Ron Cole, director of University Communications, at racole01@ysu.edu or 330-941-3285, or Becky Rose, assistant director of University Communications, at rarose01@ysu.edu or 330-941-2159.
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