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Posted on Apr 27, 2010

Editor's note:

A new, streamlined campus calendar is now available at calendar.union.edu. Future issues of The Chronicle will link to this comprehensive resource.
 

Thursday, April 29, 4:30 p.m. / Everest Lounge / Philosophy Speaker Series presents Howard McGary of Howard University on “Forgiveness, Reconciliation and Reparations”

Thursday, April 29, 3 p.m. / Central Park / Baseball vs. Southern Vermont College

Friday, April 30, 8 p.m. / Taylor Music Center, Emerson Hall / Fernando Altamura, piano, performing music by Albéniz, Vine, Rautavaara, Dutilleux, and others

Friday, April 30—Monday, May 3, 8 and 10 p.m. / Reamer Campus Center Auditorium / Film: “Youth in Revolt”

Sunday, May 2, noon / Central Park / Baseball vs. Skidmore College (DH)

Monday, May 3 / Minerva Houses / Minerva Fellows return to campus

Thursday, May 6, 12:55 p.m. / Social Sciences Building, Room 104 / Pizza and Politics presents Libby Anker, assistant professor of American Studies at George Washington University, on: “Villains, Victims, and Heroes: Melodramatic Politics After 9/11”

Friday, May 7, 4 p.m. / Nott Memorial / Steinmetz Dance Performance featuring Latin music and movement

Steinmetz Symposium

Friday, May 7-Saturday, May 8, all day / Union College / 20th Annual Steinmetz Symposium

Friday, May 7-Monday, May 10, 8 and 10 p.m. / Reamer Campus Center Auditorium / Film: “Book of Eli”

Friday, May 7, 8 p.m. / Memorial Chapel / Steinmetz Concert: Union College Orchestra and Chorale

Saturday, May 8, 1 p.m. / Fred L. Emerson Auditorium / Steinmetz Concert: Jazz Ensemble

 

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People in the news

Posted on Apr 26, 2010

Assistant Professor Samuel Amanuel and Associate Professor Chad Orzel of the Physics Department traveled to the 2010 March Meeting of the American Physical Society in Portland, Ore., the largest physics conference in the world, featuring more than 7,500 papers over the course of the week. Amanuel presented his research on phase transitions in confined materials in a talk on “Melting and Freezing of Decanol Inside Nanoporous Silica” and a poster, “First Order Phase Transition of Primary and Secondary Decanol Inside Nanoporous Silica.” Both covered research conducted in his lab with students Amer Khraisat ’13 and Jargalsaikhan Dulmaa ’13. Orzel gave an invited talk on “Lasers in the Undergraduate Laboratory: Precision Measurement for the Masses” as part of a special session organized for LaserFest, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first working laser in 1960. The concept of the laser had been developed by several scientists, including Union physics alumnus Gordon Gould ’41. Orzel discussed a number of laser experiments conducted in Union physics classes and how they illustrate techniques used in ultra-precise measurements.

“Small Wonders: The Perspective Boxes of Charles Steckler,” was exhibited at the Butzel Gallery of the John Sayles School of the Arts in Schenectady recently. Charles Steckler is professor of theater and resident scenic designer.


Daniel Mosquera,
associate professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies, spent a week at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, where he visited several classes and delivered a talk, titled “Re-telling Saint Francis of Assisi in the African Diaspora: The Case of Quibdó (Chocó), Colombia.” In addition, Mosquera’s documentary, "San Pacho es pa´l que lo goce" (“Sanpachando”), was screened in January at Bates as part of his visit and part of the college’s MLK Workshops Day program.


John Garver,
chair of the Geology Department, has a paper titled “Pliocene onset of rapid exhumation in Taiwan during arc-­continent collision: New insights from detrital thermochronometry” in the June 2010 issue of the international journal, Basin Research. Co-authors are L.A. Kirstein, M.G. Fellin, S.D. Willett, A. Carter, Y.-G. Chen and D.C. Lee. The paper shows that the Coastal Range in eastern Taiwan is made up a basin that captures sediment from the ongoing collision in Taiwan. Using multiple dating techniques on detrital mineral, the authors are able to pinpoint when and how the collisional orogenic belt initiated. The zircon fission track dating for the paper was done in the Union fission tracking lab. Basin Research publishes original, high impact research papers on sedimentary basin systems.


Cheikh Ndiaye,
associate professor of French, presented a paper at a conference at Columbia University on Intellectualism in Francophone Africa, celebration of Abdoulaye Sadji’s centennial. His paper features La randonnée de Samba Diouf, co-written by Jérôme and Jean Tharaud, two French brothers thought to be among the precursors of the Negritude movement in the 1920s. In addition, at a conference on the Francophone Caribbean and North America at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Ndiaye presented a paper titled “Rapports Amérique du Nord-Caraïbe Francophone: Problématique de l’Espace ou du Statut?”


Andrew Rapoff,
associate professor of Mechanical Engineering and co-director of Bioengineering, and Ron Bucinell, associate professor of Mechanical Engineering, along with anthropologist colleagues Scott McGraw of Ohio State University and David Daegling of the University of Florida, recently published a paper in The Anatomical Record titled "Full-Field Characterization of Wishboning Strain in the Colobine Mandibular Symphysis." They investigated how the lower jaw is deformed by action of the chewing muscles that causes "wishboning," the tendency of the jaw halves to pull apart from one another. Mechanical tests were performed that simulated this loading, and deformations of the lingual and labial (inside and outside) surfaces of the symphysis (chin region) were determined using a stereo photogrammetry technique. The results indicate that these deformations are much more complex than is traditionally supposed in comparative studies of functional anatomy. The results further support related work by these authors that inclination of and bone density in the symphysis are synergistic in reducing stresses in this region of the mandible. This work was supported by a National Science Foundation grant awarded to Rapoff.

The Alpha of New York Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa at Union, established in 1817, has admitted 33 new members. Twenty-seven members of the Class of 2010 were elected this year. They are: Ian Clemente, Elizabeth Culp, Katharine Davis, Maria Dzialo, Allison Frederick, Ashley Gilman, Natalie Grome, Alex Handin, Megan Hyndman, Hyma Kavuris, Kathryn Krakowka, Cristina Liquori, John Mahlstedt, Katharine Meyer, Benjamin Miles, Kathleen O'Connor, Reuben Oswald, Stacy Paull, John Peters, Leah Robison, Michelle Russo, Matthew Santa Barbara, Casey Sheridan, Genevieve St. Hilaire, Sarah Tardiff, Kimberly Tureck and Matthew Zawodniak. They join classmates Brandon Bartell, Emily Feld, Rivka Fidel, Paul Hebert, Ann Keller and Jamie Luguri, who were elected last year. Six members were inducted from the Class of 2011: Elizabeth Ackley, Peter Bonventre, Kristina Csaplar, Michelle Richter, Caroline Tulp and Kseniya Zhuzha.

 

Martin Benjamin, professor of photography, recently had an opening reception at IKONA Gallery in Venice for his new monograph, “Atomic Age” (Atomic Age/Digital Press, 2009). Benjamin is currently in Italy directing the term abroad in Florence. The show was curated by IKONA’s noted owner, Ziva Krauss, whose gallery is located in Campo del Ghetto Nuovo, a historical piazza in the Cannaregio district that is known as Venice’s Jewish ghetto. The exhibition runs through May. In conjunction with the exhibit, which runs through May, Benjamin will present a three-day workshop titled “The World Around: Photography Through Love/Hate.”

           

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Italian pianist Altamura to perform Friday

Posted on Apr 26, 2010

Fernando Altamura

Italian pianist Fernando Altamura will give a recital of contemporary piano works Friday, April 30, at 8 p.m. in Emerson Auditorium in the Taylor Music Center. Admission is free. The winner of numerous international competitions, Altamura has performed across Europe and Asia.

He won Second Prize at the 2006 Bitola International Pianofest Competition in Macedonia, Second Prize at the 2008 Panama International Piano Competition and is the recipient of the 2004 Salzburg International Summer Academy Prize. He is currently a student of Peter Frankl at the Yale School of Music.

Altamura’s program will include Iberia, Book 1, by Isaac Albeniz; Bagatelles, by Australian composer Carl Vine; Etudes by Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara; as well as sonatas by Leos Janacek and Henri Dutilleux.

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Schenectady Chamber honors Union for community service

Posted on Apr 26, 2010

The Chamber of Schenectady County will honor Union at its “Good News” awards ceremony this week.

the Homework and Skills Development Program coordinated by Lativa Holder kenney center honor roll

The College was cited for its community service efforts by the Chamber, which is honoring 10 individuals and organizations who have brought “feel good” stories to the county.

The awards will be presented on Thursday, April 29, during a luncheon at River Stone Manor in Glenville.

In February, the College was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction for exemplary service to the local community. It marked the second straight year the College was named to the honor roll, the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to service learning and civic engagement.

 In 2008-09, nearly 1,100 Union students participated in a range of community service projects, representing more than 12,000 hours of service. Volunteers at the Kenney Community Center tutored and read to local children, served as Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and participated in the state Volunteer Income Tax Assistant Program (VITA). Since its launch in 2005, the VITA program at Union has secured nearly $2 million in cumulative tax refunds for local residents.

In addition, all sororities and fraternities do community service projects, as do athletic teams, many Theme Houses and clubs.

Angela Tatem, Kenney Center director, will accept the Chamber award on behalf of the College.

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The Apartment Whisperer

Posted on Apr 23, 2010

Jim Lippman '79 was recently profiled in Multifamily Executive Magazine, a real estate publication tailored to apartment executives.

Lippman is chairman and CEO of JRK Property Holdings, a Los Angeles-based commercial real estate firm he founded in 1992. The company has 1,500 employees and manages a portfolio valued at more than $3.5 billion, with more than $300 million in annual revenues.

A generous gift last spring from Lippman and his wife, Linda, will support a major renovation of the Social Sciences building that will revitalize the teaching and learning environment of one of the most heavily used academic buildings on campus.

The building will be renamed Lippman Hall in honor of Jim Lippman’s father, Robert G. Lippman ’50.

To read the profile of Lippman, click here.

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