On Campus - Faculty and Staff News
May 5, 2000 Vol. 52, No. 46
Gholam A. Mirafzal, associate professor of chemistry, and his undergraduate students Amy Loken and Amanda Butenhoff recently gave two presentations at the Organic & Biological section of the 112th Annual Iowa Academy of Science. The papers were titled "An Efficient Method for the Synthesis of Vanadyl (IV) Meso-Tetraarylporphyrins" and "Selective Phase-Transfer Catalyzed Oxidation of Alcohols using Sodium Hypochlorite." Mirafzal also chaired the Organic & Biological section of the Iowa Academy of Science this year.
The Drake Chemistry Department recently hosted its second annual scientific meeting of the Central Iowa High School and College Chemistry Teachers. About 30 educators attended the event and discussed effective teaching methodologies, laboratory experiments, use of technology and career and teaching resources. Participants received a complimentary lunch, chemistry information and a tour of the department's facilities.
John G. Pomeroy, chair and technical director of the Theatre Arts Department, was a member of two panel presentations at the annual United States Institute of Theatre Technology convention in Denver this spring. The first presentation was titled "Evaluation and Criticism - Pedagogy and Power Structures in Academic Theatre." The second presentation was titled "Creative Teaching I - The Creative Teaching Project on the Web." Josie Poppen, theatre costume designer, and five Drake students attended the convention.
Ismael Hossein-zadeh, associate professor of economics, has had an opinion piece about Iran published in an international online magazine at www.payvand.com/news/00/mar/1090.html.
C. Kenneth Meyer, the Thomas F. Sheehan distinguished professor of public administration, is co-author of a recent article on "A Theoretical Perspective On Violence Against Governmental Authority." It
appeared in Public Administration and Management Interactive Journal (Winter, December 1999). The manuscript identified the ultimate sources of anti-authority violence and examined the justifications for and ramifications of violence in American society.
Richard Abel, professor of English, recently co-edited (with Rick Altman, University of Iowa) a special issue of Film History 11.4 (1999). The issue is devoted to "Global Experiments in Early Sychronous Sound" and includes 11 essays and a newly discovered 1895 Canadian interview with Thomas Edison.Abel also presented papers at two recent conferences: "A 'Nation' for Export: The Western, 1911-1912," at the Society for Cinema Studies Conference in Chicago, March 11, and "Reframing the Moving Picture/Vaudeville Debate with Illustrated Songs," at the Sixth International Domitor Conference in Udine, Italy, March 24.
Thomas Swiss, professor of English, recently gave an invited talk at the Davis Symposium on Art and Digital Culture at Emerson College in Boston. His collaborative hypertextual project, City of Bits, was published in the Iowa Review.
John Hicks, professor emeritus of art, has received the Merit Award for his oil painting titled "Red Rene" in the Mad Hatter Exhibition at the Artist Emporium in Des Moines.
Ramesh Dhussa, assistant professor of geography, presented a paper titled "Cultural Geography of India through Literature"at the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, which was held April 4-8 in Pittsburgh.
Sally R. Beisser, assistant professor of education, presented a research paper at the American Educational Research Association meeting in April in New Orleans. The paper was titled "Posing Questions...Finding Solutions: Action Research for Undergraduates."