PURSUITS/Faculty news & notes reviewed journals, including the Journal of Molecular Structure, the Journal of Physical Chemistry A, the Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy, and the Journal of Molecular Structure. Geoffrey Field, History, was awarded the 2012 Morris D. Forkosch Prize by the American Historical Association for his book Blood, Sweat, and Toil: Remaking the British Working Class, 1939–45. The prize is awarded for the best book in the fields of British and British imperial and Commonwealth history since 1485. William H. Flank, Mathematics/Computer Science, presented a paper, “How Does a Catalyst Evolve? Literal and Figurative Perspectives,” in the Fellows Symposium at the American Chemical Society’s national meeting in Philadelphia in August. Ronnie Halperin, chair of Natural and Social Sciences, Suzanne Kessler, dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Dana Braunschweiger ’08 (psychology), published “Rehabilitation through the Arts: Impact on Participants’ Engagement in Educational Programs” in the Journal of Correctional Education in 2012. Lisa Keller, History, was invited by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to participate in the “Paths through History” conference in August. She was appointed to the governor’s task force earlier in the year. Keller’s essay “The Grass Is Always Greener: A Brief History of Public Spaces and Protest in New York Peter Saleh City and London” appears in the book Beyond Zuccotti Park: Freedom of Assembly and the Occupation of Public Space (2012). George P. Kraemer, Environmental Studies and Biology, published “The Asian Shore Crab Invades Long Island Sound” in the Long Island Sound Study Update Newsletter (Summer 2012); he also pubGeorge P. Kraemer lished, with J. Kim and C. Yarish, “Metabolic Plasticity of Nitrogen Assimilation by Porphyra umbilicalis” in the Journal of the Ocean University of China in 2012. Kraemer was named one of “Westchester County’s Top Eight Leaders” in 2013 by Westchester Magazine for his ongoing effort to reduce pollutants in Long Island Sound. Steven Lambert, New Media, was a speaker and workshop leader at the “Creative Time Summit” at NYU’s Skirball Center in October. The summit is the only conference of its kind, devoted to exploring the intersection of artmaking and social justice. Lambert also exhibited and participated in a panel at the Conflux Festival at New York University in October. Steven Lambert His one-person exhibition It’s Time to Fight and It’s Time to Stop Fighting was shown at the Charlie James Gallery in Los Angeles from September 15 to October 20. Susan G. Letcher, Environmental Studies, has an article co-written with S. R. Yorke, S. A. Schnitzer, J. Mascaro, and W. P. Carson, “Increasing Liana Abundance and Basal Area in a Tropical Forest: The Contribution of LongDistance Clonal Colonization,” in a forthcoming issue of Biotropica. Letcher is a participant in PURCHASE | 4
BIOTREE-NET, an international network of researchers sharing data on tropical tree abundance and distribution. Marty Lewinter, Mathematics, co-wrote a research article, “Resonance Structure Counts in Contorted and Flat Hexabenzocoronenes,” with Sasan Karimi, Anthony Delgado ’10, and current Purchase student Michael Kupfert. The paper was accepted for publication in the Journal of Mathematical Chemistry. “Research with our students is an important and valuable part of a Purchase education,” says Lewinter. Zero in the System, a feature film by Tim McCann ’87, Film, debuted at the PollyGrind Film Festival in Las Vegas in November. The film was produced by Larry O’Neil, Film. Cast primarily with nonactors and ex-convicts from Spring Valley, NY, Zero in the System features extensive use of improvisation. PollyGrind is an underground film festival that considers any and all independently produced and undistributed movies that are slightly off-kilter. Kathleen McCormick, Literature and Pedagogy, read from her story “Aunt Alice in Wonderland and the Last Two McCormicks” at the Italian American Studies Association in December at Hofstra University. Jeanine Meyer, Mathematics/ Computer Science and New Media, published the following articles in 2012 in jsmag.com: “Where Am I: Now and Then— Geolocation, Google Maps API, and localStorage” in July; “Dynamic Scalar Vector Graphics— Using JavaScript to Change SVG Elements” in August; and “Transitions from Image to Image— Animation, Internal Buffering, and Calculation of Pixel Coordinates” in September. Richard Nassisi, associate dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Andrew Salomon, Journalism, were the recipients of the 2012 Student Engagement Award from Student Services, presented at Convocation on September 12, 2012. The award is presented to one faculty member and one staff member who demonstrate commitment, initiative, dedication, and efforts that are above and beyond the normal obligation in helping with the college’s student-retention and engagement goals. Carmen Oquendo-Villar, Cinema Studies, a Fulbright scholar on leave 2012–13, is one of the winning filmmakers of a screenplay competition in Puerto Rico sponsored by the Corporación de Cine de Puerto Rico for her documentary short Fraud Squad TV. Oquendo-Villar’s La aguja (The Needle) film (co-directed by Jose Correa Vigier) premiered to sold-out audiences at several different venues: in Puerto Rico at the International Film Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Festival (a.k.a. the Puerto Rico Queer Film Festival), and at DocNYC (a documentary film festival in New York) as part of Trans Awareness Week at the Independent Film Center. Verónica Perera, Sociology, presented the paper “Neither Commodity nor Human Right: Water as a Political Intervention from Below” at the International Sociological Association Conference in Buenos Aires in August.