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College Highlights, February 2017

In the College of Arts and Sciences, there are always big things happening. Take a look at some of our highlights from February 2017:

Art

Chemistry

Communication Studies

Economics

English

Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies

Geography

Geology

Journalism and Mass Communications

Modern Languages

Music, Theatre, and Dance

Philosophy

Political Science

Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work

Art

Assistant Professor Shreepad Joglekar’s two national solo exhibitions opened in January 2017. “Towards An Outer Place” opened in the James May Gallery in Algoma, Wisconsin and “Heterotopia” opened in the Bertha VB Lederer Gallery at the State University of New York (SUNY) in Geneseo, New York. These exhibitions included works from two projects that Joglekar has developed in the past three years. One of the projects, called Landscapes For Fun, focuses on off road vehicle parks in Kansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. The images in this project are made in the tradition of 19th century survey photography. The other project, called Non Places of Intelligence, explores the simulated environments used in military and law-enforcement training at Fort Riley post.

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Chemistry

Tuyen Nguyen, doctoral student in chemistry, hopes a new method she is developing may treat bone cancer faster than chemotherapy. It also could partner with MRI scanning to diagnose cancer more effectively. Nguyen said she has synthesized nanoparticles, which are a million times smaller than a tennis ball, to sniff out villainous cancer and attack bone tumors head-on. Additionally, the nanoparticles light up cancer in MRIs to streamline diagnosis.

“It’s exciting that this research could someday help chemotherapy patients in the fight against cancer,” said Nguyen, whose research is conducted in and supported by the Nanotechnology Innovation Center of Kansas State, or NICKS. Read the full story here.

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Communication Studies

Sarah Riforgiate, associate professor of communication studies, traveled to Norman, Oklahoma, Feb. 24 to be the keynote speaker at the University of Oklahoma’s Department of Communication Showcase Seminar. Riforgiate gave the keynote address “The Intersection of Paid Work and Private Life” about her ongoing research on domestic labor issues and the division of labor in the home. Later in the seminar, she gave a talk to students and faculty on navigating the process of promotion and tenure in academia.

Natalie Pennington, assistant professor of communication studies, recently published research that provides insight into the perception of social support provided by social networking sites when a loved one has passed away. Pennington’s article, titled “Tie Strength and Time: Mourning on Social Networking Sites,” was published in the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media. 

In the article, Pennington argues that two factors influence how supportive we can find the presence of social media: time spent online and how close we were to the deceased. The quantitative analysis, conducted in spring 2016 at K-State, suggests that those who use social media more find it more helpful as they process grief. For college students in particular, Pennington argues, having access to a site like Facebook can be useful when dealing with grief. Her research argues that having a place online to turn to long after the funeral can serve a crucial role for support.

The study also revealed an interesting relationship when it came to close relationships: while those who were closed to the deceased found support from the page, they were also more likely to want the page removed from Facebook.

“This really points to the complexity of maintaining relationships online,” Pennington noted. “Coupled with my past research on this topic, I get the impression that individuals really feel a push and pull about grieving so publicly and the access other members of the deceased’s network have to the site.”

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Economics

Assistant Professor Ross Milton received a Faculty Enhancement Award from the College of Arts and Sciences for his project titled “School Infrastructure Spending: Intra-District Allocation and Academic Outcomes.”

Professor of Economics Dan Kuester wrote an article for Wallethub.com, along with other economists and autors in related disciplines about the topic “Will Mexico Pay for the Wall?” Many of these articles are cited on CNBC or U.S. News and World Report, Kuester said.

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English

Assistant Professor Steffi Dippold and undergraduate students Hunter Nelson (BA ‘19), Sarah Peterson (BA ‘17), Malorie Wagner (BA ‘18), and Cheyenne White (BA ‘18) presented “Reading Kansas: Finding Early America in Local Special Collections” at the 10th Biennial Conference of the Society of Early Americanists in Tulsa. Their joint presentation shared the process and results from the digital humanities project “Reading Kansas: Hidden Histories of Midwestern Book Culture” completed as part of the Honors seminar course ENGL 399 “The Power of the Page: Books That Made Us” (Fall 2016). Peterson, Wagner, and White received Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research Travel awards to attend the conference and present their work.
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Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies

GWSS graduate certificate student Noelle Lynn Blood was awarded a top paper prize in the Popular Culture Interest Group at the Central States Communication Association Conference in Minneapolis. Blood’s paper, titled “A Barbie for Every Body? The Barbie Fashionistas as a Simulacrum of Real Beauty,” is an intersectional feminist critique of the newer doll line. Continue reading “College Highlights, February 2017”

College Highlights, December 2016

In the College of Arts and Sciences, there are always big things happening. Take a look at some of our highlights from December 2016:

Art

Biology

Chemistry

Economics

English

Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies

Journalism and Mass Communication

Mathematics

Military Science

Modern Languages

Music, Theatre, and Dance

Political Science

Psychological Sciences

Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work

Statistics

Art

The National Endowment for the Arts has given K-State a $20,000 Art Works grant to support “Transforming Printmaking through Chemical Innovation,” a collaborative project to transfer safer, sustainable technology from the electronics and biotech industries into fine art printmaking.

Jason Scuilla, associate professor of art, will collaborate with Stefan Bossmann, professor of chemistry, to lead a team of artists, scientists and students to research, develop and refine electrochemical etching processes and green biosolvents, empowering artists to create prints in a safer and more effective manner. Read the full story here.
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Biology

Zhilong Yang, assistant professor of biology, published an article titled “Ribosome Profiling Reveals Translational Upregulation of Cellular Oxidative Phosphorylation mRNAs During Vaccinia Virus-induced Host Shutoff” in the Journal of Virology. Read the article abstract and scientific importance here.
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Chemistry

A Kansas State University chemist has earned a National Science Foundation CAREER award of more than $700,000 to develop a more efficient and safer way of etching semiconductor nanocrystals. Her work could lead to more energy-efficient lighting and greener technology.

The Faculty Early Career Development, or CAREER, Program is the NSF’s most prestigious awards program in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations.

Emily McLaurin, assistant professor of chemistry, will use the award for her project “Microwave-Assisted Ionic Liquid Etching of Colloidal III-V Semiconductor Nanocrystals.” Read more about McLaurin’s work here.
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Economics

Amanda Gaulke, assistant professor of economics, was awarded a $4,498 University Small Research Grant for her project “The Effect of Post-Baccalaureate Certificates on Job Search: Results from a Correspondence Study.” University Small Research Grants are seed grants to support small research projects, scholarly activity, and other creative efforts, awarded each fall and spring by the Office of the Vice President for Research through the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.

 

For the paper “Cooperation in WTO’s Tariff Waters?”, Peri da Silva, associate professor of economics at Kansas State University, and co-authors from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the University of Geneva examined the relationship between tariffs, which are the taxes countries charge each other on classes of imports or exports, and market power — a measure of countries’ abilities to influence the price of goods on the world stage. Large developed nations like the U.S. have much more market power than smaller or developing nations. The paper will be published in the prestigious Journal of Political Economy. Read more about this research here.
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English

Three faculty in English received teaching awards from the College of Arts and Sciences: Traci Brimhall received an inaugural Ron Gaches Undergraduate Teaching Award, Tanya Gonzalez received the 2016 William L. Stamey Award for Undergraduate Advising, and Anne Phillips received the inaugural Ron Gaches Lifetime Undergraduate Teaching Award.

Philip Nel received the Balfour Jeffrey Award in Humanities and Social Sciences, one of the Higuchi-KU Endowment Research Achievement Awards. The awards recognize the exceptional long-term research accomplishments of faculty at Kansas Board of Regents universities. Read more about the awards here.

Dan Hoyt
won the inaugural Dzanc Books Prize for Fiction for his novel “This Book Is Not For You.” Read more about the book and award here.
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Continue reading “College Highlights, December 2016”

College Highlights, October 2016

In the College of Arts and Sciences, there are always big things happening. Take a look at some of our highlights from October 2016:

Biology

Chemistry

English

Geography

Geology

Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies

History

Johnson Cancer Research Center

Journalism and Media Communication

Mathematics

Music, Theatre and Dance

Political Science

Psychological Sciences

Sociology, Anthropology and, Social Work

Biology

A team of biologists from K-State were honored with a national publication award at the annual conference of The Wildlife Society, Oct. 15-19, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The research team from K-State included David Haukos, leader of the Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit; Brett Sandercock, professor of biology; Andrew Gregory, 2011 doctoral graduate and assistant professor at Bowling Green State University; Lance McNew, 2010 doctoral graduate and prairie chickensassistant professor at Montana State University; and Virginia Winder, 2013 postdoctoral fellow and assistant professor at Benedictine College.

The team received the 2016 award for Best Article for “Factors Affecting Female Space Use in Ten Populations of Prairie Chickens” that was published in the open-access journal Ecosphere in September 2015. Photo of prairie chickens courtesy Division of Biology Facebook page. Return to top


Chemistry / English

Four faculty members at two universities in Kansas have been named recipients of the state’s most prestigious recognition for scholarly excellence: the Higuchi-KU Endowment Research Achievement Awards. The four will be recognized Dec. 13 during a ceremony at the Kansas Memorial Union.

This year’s recipients from K-State are both faculty in the College of Arts & Sciences: Christer Aakeroy, university distinguished professor of chemistry, and Philip Nel, university distinguished professor of English.

This is the 35th annual presentation of the awards, established in 1981 by Takeru Higuchi, a distinguished professor at the University of Kansas from 1967 to 1983, and his wife, Aya. The awards recognize the exceptional long-term research accomplishments of faculty at Kansas Board of Regents universities. Each award includes a citation and a $10,000 award for ongoing research efforts. The money can be used for research materials, summer salaries, fellowship matching funds, hiring research assistants or other support related to research.

Awards are given in four categories: humanities and social sciences, basic sciences, biomedical sciences and applied sciences. Each award is named for former leaders of KU Endowment who played key roles in recruiting Higuchi to KU. Their financial support of KU helped enhance university research throughout Kansas. Continue reading “College Highlights, October 2016”