VERNON SMITH, Professor, Economics and Law and Economic Nobel Prize winner, teaches HNRS 131, Contemporary Society in Multiple Perspectives, Fall semesters at the GMU Arlington Campus.
APRIL 2004 UNIVERSITY SERVICE AWARD RECIPIENTS
35 YEARS: Evans Mandes, Art & Visual Technology
30 YEARS: Theodore Gessner, Psychology, James Metcalf, College of Nursing and
Health Science
25 YEARS: Lorna Irvine, English
15 YEARS: Jonathan Gifford, School of Public Policy, June Tangney, Psychology
JAAFAR AKSIKAS, Cutural Studies, is getting more than a doctoral degree from George Mason University—he’s taking away a record dissertation time of less than three years and the memories of long nights caring for his 22-month-old son, Ayman.
“If it was not for the constant support from my great wife, Madiha, I would not have been able to be where I am now,” Aksikas said. He started taking classes in Fall 2003 after welcoming his son in July, and finished his dissertation, “Islamic Modernities: Society, Politics, Culture, and the War of Ideology in Morrocco,” in April 2005.
The Moroccan citizen worked as a teaching assistant in New Century College and was a part-time instructor at Mason’s LIFE program and at the National Graduate University in Washington, D.C., where he taught general education courses. Prior, in 2000, he co-founded the International Institute of English for Business and Communication in Casablanca, Morocco, where he held the co-joint positions of director of studies and as ESL instructor.
Aksiskas has won numerous awards and has published articles and projects, including a book based on his master’s thesis of 1999, entitled The Sirah of Antar: An Islamic Interpretation of Arab and Islamic History. He has accepted a tenure-track position as assistant professor of cultural studies at Columbia College of Chicago. (9/15/05)
DENISE ALBANESE, English, and Sheila ffolliett, History and Art History, were contributing editors for a new edition of Juan Luis Vives' book, The Instruction of a Christian Woman. The book was chosen for this year's Josephine Roberts Award for a Critical Edition by the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women. (3/2/04)
CATHERINE AYERS, Psychology, successfully completed her dissertation defense: "Cognitive
Content and Vulnerabilities to Anxiety in Later Life" Abstract: Research
on the unique characteristics of anxiety and its corresponding consequences
in older
adulthood is only in the beginning stages. It is known that the effects of
anxiety on the older adult population can be detrimental and can range from
a decreased quality of life to an increased likelihood of early mortality and
other psychiatric illnesses. Isolating the cognitive components of anxiety
in older adults and examining the interrelationships with other factors, such
as cognitive hardiness and looming vulnerability, is one possible first step
toward understanding this phenomenon. Cognitive behavioral approaches provide
a useful conceptualization of anxiety in later life. This study seeks to examine;
1) the unique cognitions that are predictive of anxiety; 2) their relationship
with validated constructs of anxiety, such as generalized anxiety and the looming
maladaptive style, and 3) how various cognitive styles, such as cognitive hardiness,
interact to prevent or maintain anxiety in an older adult population. The sample
consisted of 177 (age range 56-100) high functioning older adults who reside
in a continuing care retirement facility in Northern Virginia (N = 94) and
another sample of community dwelling seniors who take courses through the Learning
in Retirement Institute at George Mason University (N = 83). A sample of undergraduates
(N = 75) was also recruited to compare age related differences in anxiety cognitions.
Results from the present study indicate that 1) older adults demonstrate a
unique pattern of anxiety cognitions, distinct from young and middle aged adults
(age range 18-50); 2) anxiety and depression are highly interrelated in the
elderly, 3) certain cognitions, particularly escalating loss of control cognitions,
may be more useful in pinpointing anxiety in older age groups; 4) the looming
maladaptive style is a useful construct that provides information on vulnerability
to anxiety in later life and 5) cognitive hardiness does not serve as a protective
factor against anxiety, physical health consequences, and negative life events.
7/27/04
SHAUL BAKASH, Robinson Professor of History, recently presented "What Future for Political Reform in Iran?" at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C. and "John Locke and Liberalism in an Islamic Republic" at Union College, NY. He also addressed the board of directors of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in Washington, D.C., and presented "Iran's Politics and the Parliamentary Elections" at a conference titled "Iran, Iraq, and the Gulf States," held at the University of California at Los Angeles.
SCOTT BEAULIER, Economics, The College of Arts and Sciences is pleased to announce the following dissertation defense: "Essays on Property Rights Economics: Towards an Evolutionary Theory of Property Rights and it's Application". This dissertation is an exercise in development and property rights economics. The theoretical section of this dissertation discusses two competing theories of property rights: the common law theory of property rights and the legal positivist theory of property rights. In this theoretical piece, the author argues that privatization programs based on the common law theory of property rights outperformed legal positivist privatizations of the former Soviet bloc. The empirical section of the dissertation consists of two case studies. The first case study examines the Czech Republic's post-communist transition. In this case study, the author argues that, despite criticisms from academic economists and the popular media, the Czech transition has been a remarkable success. Even though critics have gone so far as to call the Czech transition a failure, the Czech Republic's post-communist economic performance is actually above Eastern European and mid-income averages. The other case study explores Botswana's growth miracle. Botswana was the fastest growing nation in the world from 1965-1995. How do we explain this growth? It cannot be natural resources, because so many other resource rich countries have failed to grow. Daron Aceomoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson argue that Botswana had the "good" British institutions of private property and the rule of law. According to their account, Botswana's colonial origins were driving her growth. This begs the question of why other former British colonies struggle to grow. When we look more closely at Botswana's development, we see that at the time of independence Botswana's leadership made rapid, decisive policy choices which were free-market in nature. Thus, Botswana's success was not the result of some kind of special position prior to independence, but, rather, the result of prudent policy choice at a crisis moment. In the process of writing this dissertation, the author conducted a literature review of development economics and property rights economics. The dissertation is slated to be a reference and resource for intellectuals working in the fields of property rights economics and development economics. (3/22/04)
WENDY A. BURNS-ARDOLINO, Cultural Studies, successfully completed her dissertation, "Jiggle: Uncovering the Cultural Meaning(s) of Foundation Garments in the Lives of American Women". This project was a study of the relationship between women and foundation garments from the thirties to today. While fashion historians have undertaken the study of nineteenth century corsetry, Wendy focused this study on twentieth century foundationwear: bras, girdles, panty girdles, all-in-ones, and more contemporary versions of these foundations: slimmers, shaper-panties, power-slips and push-up bras (as opposed to underwear or intimate apparel) because she was primarily interested in how these garments shaped female bodies. The study focused on the corporate, cultural, and individual practices and meanings of women’s experiences with foundations, and in this way, explored how the contested terrain of fashion and beauty cultures reflected larger cultural power struggles. The research contributed to several scholarly discussions already in progress namely: histories of women’s fashion and beauty cultures, social theories of fashion and the female body, studies of fashion consumption, female physicality, social construction of femininity, female subjectivity and gender construction. In keeping with her training in cultural studies, Wendy approached the project using a battery of interdisciplinary research methods including: archival research in the Maidenform Collection at Archive Center in the Smithsonian American History Museum, survey research –267 telephone interviews with women from a national sample, in-depth interviews with 40 women of varying ages, races, classes, and geographic locations, and semiotic and discourse analysis of historical and contemporary trade journals, popular women’s magazine articles and foundationwear advertisements. She examined the histories and meanings of these garments within the changing social context of the lives of American women while asking how foundation garments work for and/or against women as mechanisms of rebellion, protection, and subordination. (12/22/03)
STEPHEN DOUGLAS BURTON, Heritage Chair in Music, and Glenn Smith, Music, were recently recognized with composer awards by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). (10/1/03)
LAWRENCE BUTLER, History and Art History, was one of the 2004 Teaching Excellence Award winners. The George Mason University Teaching Excellence Award was initiated in 1996 to highlight the importance of teaching in George Mason's mission and to recognize those faculty members who are leaders within the educational community, on campus, and beyond. Teaching Excellence awards are supported by the Office of the Provost. Winners for the awards are selected through a competitive process in which applicants document their educational excellence through a teaching portfolio and other materials. Finalists and the winners are chosen by a committee that is composed of former award winners and the director of the Center for Teaching Excellence. Teaching Award winners receive a monetary award and travel support to present their work at a national or regional meeting. Dr. Butler is a medievalist with particular focus on Byzantine and Islamic art and architecture and a sometime resident of Istanbul, Turkey. He has published on the Hagia Sophia and related sixth-century structures, and on the history of American scholarship in the eastern Mediterranean. His teaching interests span the medieval Eurasian world from Iceland to China, with special attention to trade connections, cultural property issues, and the Silk Road. (4/30/04)
LIAM CALLANAN, English, and an MFA alum, recently read from his new book,
The Cloud Atlas, at the Barnes and Noble/Metro Center. On March 7, he will
be reading at Politics and Prose at 7 p.m. For more information, check out
his web site at www.cloudatlas.com (2/6/04) He also wrote a short story, "Taken," that
appeared in the latest issue of failbetter.com, an online literary journal
based
in Brooklyn, New York, devoted to publishing original works of fiction, poetry,
and art. (11/7/03)
BEN CARTON, History and Art History, returned to Mason this semester after
spending more than six months living and researching in KwaZulu-Natal, South
Africa. Carton has been implementing a memory project he created, Sinomlando
(pronounced see-nome-landoh), which means "we have history," as fulfillment
to a Fulbright scholarship he earned in 2002. In South Africa, Carton worked
with counselors to record oral histories of children who are losing their parents,
guardians, and mentors to AIDS. "Gone is the exciting period of democratic
inclusion of greater opportunities for children to go to better schools and
so on. From that position of hope [they have gone] to a position of growing
despair, as productive people?parents with jobs and teachers, for instance?are
killed by the hidden violence of AIDS," he says.
Carton is examining the effect that the AIDS epidemic has had on a new, democratic, post-apartheid country. "Specifically, I'm looking at what kind of an impact this is having on children and their guardians, really the grandparents, who have to pick up the pieces and help to be leaders and nurturers."
Another part of his work involved interviewing researchers and counselors who recorded testimony of South Africans who endured tumultuous change, some violent, that led to the country's democracy. Carton's research aims to ascertain a broad view of South Africa's resilience and has contributed to his editing a book, with support from the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, called Oral History in Wounded Country.
Carton's research continues as he completes an edited book, Being Zulu: Contesting Identities Past and Present, which is due to be published in late 2005. Carton has worked for four years on its 55 chapters and 16 essays written by 38 different scholars. He is also writing a book on his research on Zulu that incorporates race as a central theme. (2/3/05)
JANE TURNER CENSER, History and Art History, wrote The Reconstruction of White Southern Womanhood, 1865-1895, which was published by the Louisiana State University Press. (11/7/03)
ROBERT DeCAROLI, History & Art History, is 1 of 5 faculty members selected to receive the 2003 George Mason University Teaching Excellence Award. Winners are selected through a competetive process and receive a $2,000 award and travel support to present their work at a national or regional meeting. Dr. DeCaroli specializes in the arts of south and southeast Asia. He has helped organize student exchange and study abroad programs with Kathmandu University in Nepal and he also has worked extensively to help the university expand its art collections. (5/7/03)
ROBERT EHRLICH, Physics and Astronomy, was the 2002 CAS Scholarly Award Recipient. The Celebration of Scholarship in the College of Arts and Sciences was created in 1997 to recognize the talent of the faculty and to unite them in celebration of their significant achievements. The celebration includes a display of the recent scholarship of the College faculty and a lecture by the recipient of the annual Award for Scholarship. The award is given to a scholar whose recent work has played a significant role in the advancement of his or her discipline. Dr. Ehrlich is author or editor of nineteen books, most recently "Nine Crazy Ideas in Science: A Few Might Even Be True," published by Princeton University Press in May 2001. He has written numerous articles in the areas of particle physics, nuclear arms control, and physics education. Three recent publications in particle physics dealt with the controversial subject of possible evidence for faster than light particles known as tachyons.
KRISTY GARNET, Environmental Science and Policy, was awarded an ambassadorial scholarship from the Rotary Foundation to study Spanish language and culture at VenUSA College in Mérida, Venezuela, for Fall 2005. (2/3/05) As a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Honors Program, she successfully completed her Master's Thesis Seminar and Defense: "A comparison of methane emission among four aquatic macrophytes: fluxes and physiological control". In December 2003, she received her Master's of Science Degree in Environmental Science and Policy. (1/5/04)
HAROLD GELLER, Physics and Astronomy, The College of Arts and Sciences is pleased to announce the following dissertation defense: Harold A. Geller, Community College Education Dissertation Director: Dr. Maria Dworzecka, "Astrobiology as an Alternative Integrated Science Curriculum for Higher Education",
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
George Mason University, Fairfax Campus
Science & Technology I, Room 206
Abstract: Many higher education institutions now offer an integrated science
course to give students a flavor of all of the science disciplines. These courses
are typically types of survey courses that do not demonstrate the interdependencies
among the sciences. Students are exposed to each of the science disciplines
individually. Astrobiology, as a multidisciplinary science requiring the skills
of a physicist, chemist, geologist and biologist can be offered as a new paradigm
in the teaching of science for non-science majors. A curriculum for a full-year
course in astrobiology based upon sound content and pedagogy is outlined. (3/3/05)
Harold was elected first vice president of the Potomac Geophysical Society. He also was recently appointed as the Astronomical League's media relations office for the league's International Space Station Amateur Telescope project. Dr. Geller also presented "Professionals and Amateurs for Astronomy Education and Outreach" at a conference sponsored by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in cooperation with the National Research Council. The conference, "Communicating Astronomy to the Public," was held at the National Academies in Washington, D.C. He's also listed in the Marquis Who's Who Publication Board for Who's Who in American Education for 2004-2005. And a professor at a United Kingdom University showed a recent interest in Dr. Geller and Dr. Taylors' co-taught HNRS 227/228 website and course topics. (11/7/03)
JON GOULD, Administration of Justice, won a 2005 George Mason University Teaching Excellence Award. The award is given each year to five faculty members who have provided compelling evidence of their teaching success. The awards are given through a competitive process in which participants document their educational excellence through a teaching portfolio and other materials. Winners, who receive money and travel support to present their work at a national or regional meeting, are chosen by a committee composed of former award winners and the director of the Center for Teaching Excellence.
Gould is assistant professor of public and international affairs, visiting assistant professor of law, and assistant director of the Administration of Justice Program. He has more than 20 publications on issues of justice, public policy, and law, and his book, Speak No Evil: The Triumph of Hate Speech Regulation, was released this spring by the University of Chicago Press. Gould also presently serves as chair of the Innocence Commission for Virginia. (9/15/05)
ROBERT HAZEN, Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences, presented the inaugural lecture in Cornell University's 2002-03 "Biophysics Colloquium." He also gave a lecture on "The Role of Mineral Surfaces in the Prebiotic Selection of Biomolecules" for the Carnegie Institution's Centennial Symposium. Hazen was the keynote speaker at the Eighth International Diamond Conference, Melbourne, Australia, and presented "Emergence and the Origin of Life" in the "Physics in July" series at the University of Melbourne. Also, he was the guest artist (trumpeter) with the National Symphony Orchestra for its February tour that culminated at Carnegie Hall. (3/2/04)
LOIS HORTON, Sociology and Anthropology, wrote "From Class to Race in early America: Northern Post-Emancipation Racial Reconstruction," which was published in the Journal of the Early Republic. In March, she presented "Race and American Identity" at Westminster University in London.
IDIL P. IZMIRLI, The Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, received IREX (International Research & Exchange Board) "The Individual Advanced Research Opportunities Program (IARO)" grant for 2005-2006. This grant is funded by the US Department of State (Title VIII Program) and IREX’s own Scholar Support Fund. Her research title is "Integration or Autonomy? The Dynamics of Crimean Tatar Repatriation and Its Impact on Regional Security in Central Eurasia." IARO provides fellowships to professionals with terminal degrees, master's students, and predoctoral and postdoctoral scholars and from the United States for individual long-term policy-relevant research in Europe and Eurasia. The US Department of State Title VIII Program, the primary source of support for the IARO Program, supports research topics that strengthen the fields of Eurasian and East European studies, and that address US foreign policy interests in the region, broadly defined. This grant provides round-trip airfare from the United States to the host country and visa fees; stipend for living expenses; and housing allowance based on country(ies) and city(ies) of research. She is expected to conduct her research in various cities of Crimea, Ukraine.
September 2004, Idil P. Izmirli was invited for a unique conference -“Ukraine’s
Quest for Mature Nation Statehood – Roundtable V: Ukraine’s Transition
to a Stable Democracy- in Washington, DC, where the US and Ukrainian political
figures (including senator John McCain and Richard Holbrook) were among the
participants. This conference was sponsored by the Ukrainian Congress Committee
of America –UCCA. In this conference, Idil P. Izmirli gave a paper titled “The
Islamic factor in Ukraine” as part of Panel III: Protection of Fundamental
Rights: Assessing Ukraine’s Progress. The topic of the panel was “Unfettered
Practice of Conscience and Confession.” March 2004, Idil P. Izmirli won
a grant and participated in Immigration, Forced Migrants, and Refugees in Central
Eurasia” Workshop, organized by the Kennan Institute of the Woodrow Wilson
Institute. Selection was based on a national competition among scholars, practitioners
and policy makers. All expenses are funded by the Kennan Institute and the
U.S.
Department of State under Title VIII. As a result of this collaboration, she
is currently writing a book chapter for the upcoming book titled Going Home?
Diasporas and Migration in the Former Soviet Union (edited by Blair Rubble
and Cynthia Buckley). April 16, 2005, Izmirli will present her paper “From
Communist Totalitarianism to Corruptrocracy: The Impact of Ukrainian Presidential
elections on the Crimean Tatar Question and the Regional Security in Central
Eurasia” at the 10th Annual World Convention of Association of Study
of Nationalities (ASN). Columbia University - Harriman Institute, New York,
New York. November 2005, she will participate in a round table discussion/book
presentation Going Home? Diasporas and Migration in the Former Soviet Union
at the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (AAASS) conference
in Salt Lake City, Utah. (3/16/05)
ROSEMARY JANN, Associate Director of the Honors Program and English Professor, served as an external reviewer for an evaluation of the English Department at the University of Massachusetts--Boston Oct. 2-3, 2003. The review is intended to assess the department's success in planning, curriculum, and faculty quality.
KRISTIN JOHNSEN-NESHATI, Department of Theater, recently presented her Fenwick Fellows Lecture on the results of her year of research investigating non-Western theatrical traditions, such as Iranian, Egyptian, and Turkish theater, through the use of dramatic texts, criticism, and videos. This year's spring lecture is, "Female, Male & Divine: An Exploration of Character in Bharata Natyam Dance". Johnsen-Neshati's presentation focuses on a dance form originated by young women performing in the Hindu temples thousands of years ago, the religious context that gave rise to this dance form, and a theory as to how Hindu views of the divine shaped a performance aesthetic, particularly characterization. The dance features a visual language of highly precise eye and hand movements in combination with intricate footwork. Despite its near extinction, this dance form has experienced a major revival, making it one of the most celebrated of India's classical performing arts.
Johnsen-Neshati is also resident dramaturg and artistic associate for Theater
of the First Amendment (TFA), where she has worked on more than 25 productions
and workshops. Before joining TFA's staff and the university's theater faculty
in 1993, she worked at the Yale Rep and
Goodman Theatres. She holds an MFA and DFA in dramaturgy and dramatic criticism
from the Yale School of Drama and specializes in new play development and 19th-century
Russian drama. She recently completed a new series of Chekhov translations
for the stage, accompanied by a critical introduction. Last spring, Johnsen-Neshati
directed Jeff Baron's Visiting Mr. Green for the Center Company. She also contributes
local reviews to CurtainUp.com and evaluates submissions for the O'Neill Playwrights
Conference, where she attended the Critics Institute as the Kennedy Center
American College Theater Festival's first Faculty Fellow in 2002.
The Fenwick Fellowship is a competitive award given annually to instructional faculty members for the pursuit of a research project that utilizes the University Libraries' resources and advances knowledge in a specific field. The award includes a research office in Fenwick Library and a stipend of $1,500. (3/22/04)
She was selected as one of two Fenwick Fellows for the 2002-03 academic year. The Fenwick Fellowship is awarded annually to instructional faculty members to pursue a research project that utilizes the University Libraries' resources and advances knowledge in the field. The award includes a research office in Fenwick Library and $1,500 to support fellows' research.
HAZEL McFERSON, Public and International Affairs, was inducted into the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, George Mason University branch. She gave the keynote speech on "George Mason: The Man and Leadership." She was also selected as one of two Fenwick Fellows for the 2002-03 academic year. The Fenwick Fellowship is awarded annually to instructional faculty members to pursue a research project that utilizes the University Libraries' resources and advances knowledge in the field. The award includes a research office in Fenwick Library and $1,500 to support fellows' research. McFerson will use the fellowship to establish a collection of archival and baseline data chronicling the experiences and intergroup relations among Asian immigrants, Asian Americans, African Americans, and Amerasians of part African-American ancestry. McFerson, an associate professor of international studies, will focus her research on the periods after the 1965 Immigration Reform and 1989 Amerasian Homecoming acts, both of which increased the numbers and countries of origin of Asians in the United States. (10/1/03)
JAMES OLDS, Director and Krasnow University Professor, has been named to the Board of Americans for Medical Progress, based in Alexandria, Va., for a three-year term and to the editorial board of the Review of Public Policy. ( 3/2/04) He presented "Biometrics and Intelligence Gathering as a National Security Initiative" at the Council of Security and Strategic Technology Organizations conference held in Arlington, Virginia.
JOHN PADEN, Robinson Professor of International Affairs, gave a lecture, "Sharia, Extremism, and Communal Violence in Nigeria: Implications for U.S. Policy," at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in Washington, D.C. (3/2/04) He also served on the religion and identity panel of the US State Department Conference on Religion and Foreign Policy held in May 2003. He also presented "The Constitution and States' Rights" at a conference titled "Nigeria's Quest for Democracy: Governance, Sharia, and Civil Conflicts," sponsored by Voice of America. Prof. Paden was appointed to the Advisory Council for Academic Associates/Peaceworks, which is the major non-governmental conflict resolution organization in Africa. He also presented "Interpretations of the Shari'a Movement in Nigeria," at the U.S. Department of State conference on "Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa." He also presented "Consolidating Democracy in Nigeria: A Polity in Transition," at the U.S. Department of State conference on "Consolidating Democracy in Nigeria." Paden participated in the Center for International Policy conference on "Building Peace and Security in Nigeria."
AMELIA RUTLEDGE, English, was recently in the GMU Writing Center publication for her use of digital images in critical papers and teachings. Most of us would assume that a visual text (a film or a picture) is easy to study but on further examination, students analyzing images soon find out it presents many of the same challenges as analyzing an article or a poem. See the WAC web site and contact their department for details from the Spring 2004, Volume VII, Issue II article. (4/30/04)
LINDA SELIGMANN, Anthropology, presented "The Lives of Andean Market Women: Trading Accounts and Accounts of Trade," at the Harvard-Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Studies. The talk was part of a conference, "Women, Money and Power," held in conjunction with the opening of the Radcliffe Institute's Schlesinger Library exhibit, "Enterprising Women: 250 Years of American Business." Seligmann also presided over and commented on "Andean Spaces and Modern Visions of Latin America," a session at the Southern Historical Association Meetings in Baltimore.
VERNON SMITH, Professor, Economics and Law and Economic Nobel Prize winner, in May attended the Copenhagen Consensus Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark hosted by the Environmental Assessment Institute, headed by Bjorn Lomborg, author of, "The Skeptical Environmentalist". A panel of 8 experts (3 of which are Nobel Prize winners) were to judge challenge-paper authors and discussants (leading economic researchers), submissions on a range of ideas for improving the lives of people living in developing countries. The idea was that resources are scarce and difficult choices among good ideas have to be made so how should a limited amount of new money for development initiatives, say an extra $50 billion, be spent? Would it be possible to reach agreement on what should be done first? The top ten on the list turned out to be, Civil conflicts, Climate change, Communicable diseases, Education, Financial stability, Governance, Hunger and malnutrition, Migration, Trade reform, and Water and sanitation. Altogether, the challenge-paper authors offered 38 proposals for action. The panel chose to rank only 17 of these, deeming that for the other 21 there was too little information to make a clear judgment about the relative merits. (A proposal was included in the group ranking only if five of the members had included it in their individual ranking. Surprisingly, there was broad agreement about which proposals to rank and which not. With only one or two exceptions, policies tended to be ranked either by all of the members or by none.) The panel put measures to restrict the spread of HIV/AIDS at the top of the ranking. The challenge paper on communicable diseases, by Anne Mills and Sam Shillcutt of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, having reviewed the literature, reckoned that a package of preventive measures costing some $27 billion (in purchasing-power-adjusted dollars) over eight years would prevent nearly 30m new infections (reducing expected infections from 45m over the period to 17m). One study has calculated that part of this package, condom distribution combined with treatment for sex workers who are suffering from sexually-transmitted diseases, would entail a cost of just $4 for each disability-adjusted life-year saved. The implied ratio of benefits to costs is nearly 500-and this is assuming a value of life, based on GDP per head, that is significantly lower than the figure of $100,000 which the panel said it preferred to apply.Not only are millions of lives directly at stake. In sub-Saharan Africa, the toll of AIDS is so terrible that whole societies are in danger of breaking down. Despite the fact that the issue has received enormous attention of late, efforts to remedy the problem are still curtailed by lack of funds. The daunting scale and urgency of the issue, no less than the estimated costs and benefits of prompt action, persuaded the panel to make this its highest priority. For more details see the Copenhagen Consensus Conference website. (7/27/04)
GEORGE E. TAYLOR, JR., Honors Program Science Coordinator and Assistant Dean/Professor of Computational Sciences, delivered "Fifty Years of Ozone Research in the United States: A Retrospective and Prospective Analysis" at the European Tropospheric Ozone Symposium held in Braunschweig, Germany. In June, he served as synthesizer for a national symposium in North Carolina titled "Ambient Ozone: Understanding Ozone Toxicology and Improving Risk Management," which was designed to integrate ozone issues from the disciplines of atmospheric chemistry, human health, and ecology.
JAMES TREFIL, Robinson Professor of Physics, was named chair of the Gemant Award Selection Committee of the American Institute of Physics. ( 3/2/04) He received the Andrew W. Gemant Award from the American Institute of Physics for linking physics to the arts and humanities. He wrote "Rounding the Earth," which appeared in the August issue of Astronomy. He also served recently as a science lecturer on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean sea. Trefil wrote a review of Mario Livio's book The Accelerating Universe, which appeared in the Book World section of the Washington Post. He also wrote an essay titled "The Nature of Science Proof," which appeared on the web site of the American Institute of Physics.
LENORE WEITZMAN, Robinson Professor of Sociology and Law, presented "Masks for Survival" at a conference titled "Remembering for the Future: The Holocaust in an Age of Genocide" held recently in London.
ROGER WILKINS, Robinson Professor of History and American Culture, was awarded the Staige D. Blackford Prize for Best Nonfiction published in 2004 by the Virginia Quarterly Review. Wilkins received the award for "Doing the Work: Why We Need Affirmative Action," which appeared in the Winter 2004 issue. His essay explores racism, segregation, and privilege in American culture and presents a powerful argument for the continuing need for affirmative action. Wilkins also gave a lecture on "The Civil Rights Movement: Its Impact on American Democracy," at Southeastern Center for Intercultural Studies at Presbyterian College, Clinton, S.C. He was chief toaster, roaster, and introducer for the National Press Club's Fourth Estate Award given to William Raspberry. He was the guest speaker at the Madeira School for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Wilkins appeared at the National Archives and on The Lehrer Newshour (2/3/05). He gave the keynote address for the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School of the University of Michigan; the keynote address for the King convocation at Johns Hopkins University; the keynote speech for the Rowan University Black History Month celebration; the keynote speech, "The Relevance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Africa," at DePaul University; and an address, "Race and Privilege and the Consequences of Health," at the Medical Center Hour program at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. (3/2/04) He wrote an article, "Benjamin Mays," which appeared in The Nation, July, 2003, and which will also be a chapter in the anthology American Rebels. He also gave an address, "Patriotism in Interesting Times," at the conference on The Many Faces of Patriotism at the Center for the Study of Citizenship, Detroit. He also wrote an article, "What Patriotism Means Today in the Wake of 9/11/2001," that was published in Social Education 66 (6). Wilkins also gave the keynote address, "Civil and Human Rights in the 21st Century," at the annual meeting of the Princeton branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Legal Defense Fund; and he gave a lecture on "Thomas Jefferson and the Contemporary Scene," at the Chicago Festival for the Humanities. In addition, he gave an address on "Civil Rights in the 21st Century," at the Master's Dinner, Silliman College at Yale University; and spoke in honor of Brian Lamb, who received 2002 Fourth Estate Award at the National Press Club. Wilkins was appointed to the National Commission to Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Brown vs. Board of Education Decision. (10/1/03)