Jodi Dean, professor of political science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, will present a guest lecture Tuesday, April 13 at 5:30 p.m. in Arts 215, sponsored by the Women’s and Gender Studies Sadock Women in the Arts Grant as part of Union’s feminist film series.
Dean’s talk, “Whatever Blogging,” will address whether blogging and other means of identity formation under communitarian capitalism can mount a left critique of our current political condition. The talk extends from blogging as a practice of teenage girls through blogging as a practice that is multiple and singular within the larger context of the mediated production of identity.
Dean is the author or editor of nine books and many academic articles, most recently “Democracy and other Neoliberal Fantasies” published by Duke University Press.
Pianist Jeremy Denk will close out the 38th Chamber Concert Series when he returns Saturday, April 24 at 8 p.m. for his second Memorial Chapel recital.
Jeremy Denk
A versatile pianist whose repertoire ranges from the standard works of the 18th and 19th centuries to more modern 20th century pieces, Denk will present Goldberg Variations by J.S. Bach and Sonata No. 1 by Charles Ives at the upcoming concert.
Denk, who has appeared as a soloist with such outfits as the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Houston Symphony and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, clinched the Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1998. This was a year after he made his first appearance at Alice Tully Hall as the winner of the Julliard Piano Debut Award.
An avid chamber musician, Denk has an extensive discography that includes the Tobias Picker Second Piano Concerto with the Moscow Philharmonic; works of Schubert, Bartok and Strauss with violinist Soovin Kim; and the Kirchner Duo with violinist Ida Levin.
Denk earned a doubled degree in chemistry and piano performance from Oberlin College and Conservatory, a master’s degree in music from Indiana University and a doctorate in piano performance from The Julliard School. He is a member of the faculty at the Bard College Conservatory of Music.
The concert is free to members of the Union community. General admission tickets cost $20, though area students may attend for $8. For more information, call 388-6080.
The Ghost of Christmas Past will make a rare spring appearance when the College stages a public reading of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 12 in the Nott Memorial.
The reading is the culmination of a current exhibit at Schaffer Library, “Dickens in America,” which chronicles Dickens’ two celebrated tours, in 1842 and 1867-68.
A Christmas Carol Dickens America
The springtime reading of the popular holiday classic will commemorate Dickens’ own rousing public performance when he appeared at Tweddle Hall in Albany in March 1868.
After the reading, the College will host a reception in the library featuring refreshments inspired by recipes published by Dickens’ wife, Catherine.
The reading is free and open to the campus community, but a ticket is required. A limited number of tickets are available by calling the Yulman Theatre Box Office at 388-6545 between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.
The program, featuring Union students and faculty, is directed by Patricia Culbert, senior artist-in-residence with the Theater and Dance Department. Jim Underwood, the Chauncey Winters Research Professor of Political Science Emeritus, will narrate.
Other performers include Peter Heinegg, professor of English (Scrooge); Brian Hauser, assistant professor of English (Marley); Catherine Elliot, international exchange student (Christmas Past); Tom McFadden, College librarian (Christmas Present); Joey Abate ’12 (male voices); and Meredith Fierro ’13 (female voices).
Curious about what might happen as land-based ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica continue to change, either by melting or falling into the sea?
Dr. Robin Elizabeth Bell, a senior research scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, will offer some answers in her talk, "Exploring our Changing Poles." Her presentation, on Tuesday, April 20 at 5:15 in Olin Auditorium, is the final discussion in the Distinguished Science and Engineering Lecture Series.
Brenda Johnson
The series is part of a joint research initiative between Union and Skidmore College to study recruitment and retention of female professors in science (including social science), technology, engineering, and math fields. It is funded by a $500,000 National Science Foundation grant the colleges received in 2008.
Union Mathematics Professor Brenda Johnson and Skidmore Sociology Professor Catherine White Berheide are currently managing the project. Skidmore Mathematics Professor Alice Dean co-led the effort with Johnson last year.
“The idea is to showcase the work of remarkable women,” Johnson said. “We want to give faculty chances to connect with peers who share common interests, and we want to give students the opportunity to see how many possibilities are out there in these fields.”
In March, Vera Rubin of the Carnegie Institution of Washington spoke at Skidmore and Diana Dabby of the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering spoke at Union.
Bell’s presentation is co-sponsored by Union’s Geology Department and the NSF Advance Skidmore Union Network, as the research initiative is officially known.
Her talk is open to all members of the Union community. For more information on Bell or the NSF Advance Skidmore Union Network, click here.
For Union’s latest Goldwater Scholar, the best work comes from a group.
Peter Bonventre ’11 is a math and physics major who loves to meet friends in the common areas of the physics department and Bailey Hall late at night. They scribble equations on a white board or chalk board and hash out the results.
“The camaraderie of sharing ideas and working together to solve a common problem has been a foundation of my experience with mathematicians and physicists,” he said. “There is nothing quite like working with your fellow classmates until the small hours of the morning, filling boards with diagrams, equations and potential solutions.
Peter Bonventre '11 Goldwater Scholar
“It is not only the way in which you can attack and dissect these problems … but also the mutual gain for all involved, and the joy and pride of finding the perfect solution to the problem,” he said.
The Goldwater Scholarship, the premiere undergraduate award for students pursuing careers in mathematics, natural sciences and engineering, honors the memory of U.S. Senator Barry M. Goldwater.
Bonventre is the eighth Union student to win the award since 2002. He will receive $7,500 per year to cover tuition, fees, books, and room and board.
“The Goldwater is a nice recognition for me, the departments and the College,” he said. “And it’s an important credential for further study.”
Bonventre, who took a minor in classics to learn more about the ancient Greek at the foundation of math and science, is active outside the classroom. He is a member of the Ballroom Dancing Club and Rugby Club. He is a classical pianist who has performed a number of recitals. He plays tenor saxophone in the Jazz Ensemble.
He is the co-author, with professor Samuel Amanuel and other students, of a paper in the Journal of Physical Chemistry that addresses the question of how physical confinement (to nano scale) and interfaces influence melting and freezing behaviors of molecules. He also has conducted research with professor Michael Vineyard.
Last year, he earned the James Henry Turnbull Prize as the outstanding sophomore in physics. He is a member of Eta Sigma Phi, the national classics honor society. As a member of the College’s chapter of the Society of Physics Students, he has done a number of science outreach programs for local children.
Bonventre is a 2007 graduate of Bethlehem Central High School, with a strong connection to Union. As a high school student, he did research on Union’s particle accelerator with professor Scott LaBrake and Byron Dieterle, professor emeritus at the University of New Mexico.
His father, Vincent M. Bonventre ’70 is a professor at Albany Law School. His mother, Karen Bonner Bonventre, who earned her master of arts in teaching from Union Graduate College in 1999, teaches history at Shenendehowa High School. His brother, Richie Bonventre ’08, is pursuing a Ph.D. in physics at the University of Pennsylvania. His eldest brother, Martin, is a student at Albany Law School.
