Attending the Bioarchaeologists Northeast Regional Dialogue Conference last month at SUNY University of Buffalo were Kathleen Blake, pictured in back, assistant professor of anthropology, and students O’Neal Perez, former student Alexa (Lucera) Colletta, Ariel Ashline-Winters, Hallie Gaffney, Hannah Kruse and Kaili Morris.
Candidates in the master of science in education childhood special education program recently presented their work together with Amanda Fenlon, associate professor of curriculum and instruction, at the fifth annual Adirondack Assistive Technology Expo, held at the Wild Center in Tupper Lake and sponsored by Clarkson University. Jennifer Hand, Catherine Furletti, Susan Sumell, Emily Monette and Brianna Streeter presented case studies of teaching students with disabilities to reach Common Core Curriculum standards in writing using assistive technology tools. Their poster sessions were well attended and received. Participants commented on the candidates’ knowledge of assistive technology tools and passion for teaching students with disabilities. The candidates attended several conference sessions and got a private tour of the Wild Center while in attendance. They enjoyed a new exhibit, “The Wild Walk,” which allows guests to explore the treetops and natural beauty of the Adirondack Mountains. The students’ travel and conference participation was funded in part through the RISE (Research and Individualized Student Experiences) office. Pictured from left are Sumell, Furletti, Monette, Hand and Streeter.
Christine Courtade Hirsch, assistant professor of communication studies, was one of three panelists in a Syracuse Symposium at Syracuse Stage on Oct. 25. “Glamour and Damage: Women, Scandal and Social Media Networks” was inspired by Steve Martin’s farcical adaptation of Carl Sternheim’s 1911 play “The Underpants.” The panel discussed the media’s portrayal of women—from gossip circles in the early 20th century to modern-day social networks—and its ensuing impact on gender bias, and explored how women have been characterized, victimized, shamed and sensualized throughout history. Hirsch shared the podium with Kal Alston, professor of cultural foundations of education at Syracuse University and Syracuse’s senior vice president for human capital development, and Harriet Brown, associate professor of magazine journalism at the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
Tracy K. Lewis, distinguished teaching professor of Spanish and Portuguese, is the author of the article “‘Powerpoint Was Not His Thing’: A Poem on Teaching and Technology,” which was published Nov. 8 on The Conversation.
Several Oswego students and faculty attended and presented at the Rochester Academy of Science’s 42nd annual fall scientific paper session, held Nov. 7 at Finger Lakes Community College. The Rochester Academy of Science is a 134-year-old organization that promotes interest in the natural sciences. Pictured: Students—from left, Matthew Wagner, Rafael Capinzaiki Ottonicar and Colleen McLaughlin—in Eric Hellquist’s “Wetland Ecology” class last month sample invasive cattails colonizing a local wetland of conservation significance. Data collected by the class were presented at the meeting. Papers presented by students and faculty from the biological sciences department included: “Multi-year Trends of Virus Infection in Northeastern Amphibians” by Rachel Cary, Jennifer Olori, Brett Corbett, Tyler Worzel, Christopher Chandler and Sofia Windstam (with SUNY Albany); “Population Trends of the Rare Bog Buckmoth (Hemileuca SP1). In a Fen Being Colonized by Invasive Typha (Cattail)” by Faith Page, Sandra Bonanno and Hellquist; “Lake Ontario Plastic Wrack and Its Potential Influence on Spider Abundance in Strandline Communities” by Melissa Ferris, Alexis Rank and Hellquist; “The Effect of Seed Identity and Habitat Structure on Seed Selection by Granivorous Animals at Rice Creek Field Station (Oswego, NY)” by Kathryn McWilliams, Kayla Smith and Hellquist; “Identifying Neonate and Juvenile Archosaur (Reptilia Archosauria) Microvertebrate Fossil from Ghost Ranch, NM, USA” by Robert Katz and Olori; “Characterization of the Impact of Carbon Source on Biofilm Formation by Acetobacter sp. DsW_54” by Sofia Magalhaes Moreira and Peter D. Newell; “Species Richness of Microscopic Communities within Interstitial Water of Sphagnum Mosses in Oswego, NY” by Jeremy Purce; “Chemical Analyses of Water and Aquatic Macrophyte Tissue in Yellowstone National Park” by Irene J. Putzig, Zachary W. Gerber, Martha L. Miller, Paul Tomascak and Hellquist; “The Influence of Plants on Habitat Structure and Insect Abundance in Pre-existing and Newly Established Garden Beds” by Sandy Sanchez and Hellquist; “Is Mechanical Control an Effective Method for Reducing Invasive Cattail (Typha) in an Oswego County, NY, Fen?” by Holly Eden, McLaughlin, Ottonicar, Putzig, Wagner, Eric Wilmarth and Hellquist; and “Evolution of the Neo-Y Chromosome in Male Caenorhabditis elegans” by Karen Alvarado and Chandler. 
Papers presented by students and faculty from the chemistry department included: “Method Development for Analyzing Pharmaceuticals in Drinking Water Using High Performance Liquid Chromatography” by Christopher McMullen and Vadoud Niri, and “Analyzing Heavy Metal Content of Local Fruits and Vegetables” by Hilda Posada, James Calvert and Niri. Papers presented by students and faculty from the physics department included: “Theoretical Analysis of Plasmonic Solar Cells” by Nicholas C. Jira, pictured, and Carolina C. Ilie and “Analysis of Capillary Condensation and Polymer Blends” by Ian R. Evans, Matthew Cohen, Jira, Julia D’Rozario, Marie T. Romano and Ilie.
Joshua McKeown, director of international education and programs, was named to the outcomes assessment and research committee of the Forum on Education Abroad, the national standards development organization in the field of education abroad. Also, he was named as a peer reviewer to Frontiers: the Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, which is published by the Forum on Education Abroad and Dickinson College.
Marketing and management professor Sarfraz Mian, recently was noted as the No. 1 scholar in the world —in terms of total number of citations for his articles—among studies on business incubators from 1985 to 2015. The finding appears in a review of the peer-reviewed literature on business incubators in a paper titled “A Bibliometric Analysis of International Impact of Business Incubators” in the September issue of the Journal of Business Research, an Elsevier publication. Four papers of Mian’s were cited 234 times—more than four times as many citations as the next-closest scholar’s works, according to a chart in the paper. Also, Mian co-chaired online professional development workshops on business incubators and on entrepreneurship for the past two annual meetings, respectively, of the Academy of Management. The first workshop, titled “Technology Business Incubation Mechanisms at Focal Points of Innovative Entrepreneurship,” with co-chair Wadid Mohamed Lamine of Toulouse Business School, featured presenters from Johns Hopkins University, SUNY at Albany and several European institutions. The second, “Show Cases of Entrepreneurial University Ecosystems Supporting Student Startups,” with co-chairs Lamine and Maribel Guerrero of Deusto Business School, highlighted presenters from Syracuse University, the Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research, Tsinghua University and others.
Tim Nekritz, associate director of communications and marketing and director of digital communications, gave an invited presentation “‘Am I the Only One?’: Personalizing ‘Social’ to Connect with Students” at the Confab Higher Ed conference, Nov. 4 to 6 in New Orleans. His session included a presentation and interactive discussion of how issues of student adjustment, transition and mental health play out through social media, and what colleges can do to help. Nekritz also emceed a series of lightning talks by presenters from institutions that included Dartmouth, Temple and New York University.
Lisa Seppi, associate professor of art, was among nine distinguished scholars, artist and curators making presentations at a special symposium at the Smithsonian Institution on Nov. 5. Titled “Seizing the Sky: Redefining American Art,” the symposium celebrated the opening of a major retrospective of acclaimed Cherokee artist Kay WalkingStick at the National Museum of the American Indian. Seppi’s presentation was titled “With Love to Rome: Art, Memory and Mythology.”
K. Brad Wray, professor of philosophy, is the author of an article, “Pessimistic Inductions: Four Varieties,” in the journal International Studies in the Philosophy of Science.