2008 July - Expertise & Excellence

July 2008

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Anne Bentley receives NSF grant

Anne Bentley, assistant professor of chemistry:

In June, Bentley received a $100,000 Faculty Development Award in Chemistry from the National Science Foundation to support her work on nanoscience and nanotechnology. Using a technique called electrochemical deposition, Bentley plans to enclose nanoparticles onto thin films so she can study their growth and eventually create a new method of nanoparticle organization.

Learn more about Bentley’s work in our online newsroom.

18 July 2008

Jeremy McWilliams publishes article on academic image resources

Jeremy McWilliams, digital services coordinator at the Watzek Library:

In June, McWilliams published an article in the Code4Lib Journal titled “Developing an Academic Image Collection with Flickr.” The article discusses technical aspects of the up-and-coming online collection of contemporary ceramics images, accessCeramics, founded by Assistant Director for Systems and Technical Services at the Watzek Library Mark Dahl and Assistant Professor of Art and Program Head of Ceramics Ted Vogel. Dahl and Vogel recently received a grant of $19,000 from the non-profit organization NITLE to help jumpstart this online collection, which will not only be used in classroom settings, but will be open to the general public as well.

16 July 2008

Eisinger and Schleef co-author portfolio risk editorial

Associate Professor of Political Science Robert Eisinger and Associate Professor of Economics Harry Schleef evaluate the conditions and benefits of taking portfolio risks. By eliminating confusing statistical measures of the “risk/return trade-off” and replacing them with the probability of achieving certain dollar amounts and framing risks, investors no longer need to rely on volatility alone.

InvestmentNews (New York, N.Y.) Is volatility the best measure of portfolio risk?

11 July 2008

Goodstein, professor of economics, delivers climate change message at music festival

Eban Goodstein, professor of economics:

On July 5, Eban Goodstein, project director of Focus the Nation, will participate in the Rothbury Festival Think Tank project, Finding Energy Independence, an issues-based event that runs in conjunction with the famous music festival. While Goodstein is at the festival he will also pick up an “e-achievement” award from etown, an NPR radio program featuring music and people making a difference in the world.

3 July 2008

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Loening receives NIH grant

Niko Loening, assistant professor of chemistry:

The National Institutes of Health has awarded Niko Loening, assistant professor of chemistry, a $191,764 grant. This AREA (Academic Research Enhancement Award) program grant will support a research project aimed at discovering interesting peptides and proteins from the venom of the brown recluse spider and its relatives. The project will also characterize the structure and function of these peptides and venoms. Spider venom peptides and proteins are of interest for their potential use as therapeutic drugs and as tools for neurophysiology research.

1 July 2008

Law Professor James Huffman analyzes property rights battle

James Huffman, Erskine Wood Sr. professor of law, provides his expertise on the seventeen year property rights battle between landowners Wayne and Jean Hage and the U.S. government.

“Property rights and the constitutional mandate that compensation be paid when property is taken are viewed by governments as unfortunate obstacles to the pursuit of the public interest,” Huffman argues. “There is little appreciation for the essential role of property rights to a thriving economy or to the fundamental liberties of American citizens.”

The Washington Times (Washington, D.C.) HUFFMAN: Property rights and wrongs