ICYMI - Headlines
(In Case You Missed It)
UofM’s Dr. Lan Wang Receives Grant from the Mission-Integrated Network Control Program
Dr. Lan Wang, department chair and Dunavant Professor in the UofM’s Department of Computer Science, has received a grant from the Mission-Integrated network Control (MINC) program sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Peraton Labs Inc. is the prime contractor of the contract. As outlined on the DARPA site, the objective of the MINC program is to ensure that critical data finds a path to the right user at the right time in highly contested, highly dynamic communication environments using secure control of any available communication or networking resources (communications, compute or storage capabilities). Full Details
Marcus W. Orr Center for the Humanities announces fellowships
The Marcus W. Orr Center for the Humanities (MOCH) is pleased to announce the 2024 Catherine and Charles Freeburg Fellows. Four faculty members and one graduate student at the University of Memphis have been recognized for their promising research in the humanities. The program is made available by a generous bequest from Catherine and Charles Freeburg, longtime supporters of the UofM. List of Fellowship Recipients
Dasgupta & Parish Receive Fulbright U.S. Scholar Awards for 2023-24
The University of Memphis is pleased to announce that Drs. Dipankar Dasgupta, William Hill Professor in Cyber Security, Director, Center for Information Assurance, Director, Intelligent Security Systems Research Laboratory and Ryan Parish, Associate Professor of Archaeology have received Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program awards in Computer Science to Iceland for a semester and in Archaeology to Chile, respectively, during the 2023-24 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Learn more
2023 Hooks Institute Policy Papers: Unveiling the Impact of AI and Automation on Marginalized Communities
We are excited to introduce the 2023 Hooks Institute Policy Papers, a collection that delves deep into the far-reaching effects of AI and automation on marginalized communities. Titled "The Promise and Peril: Unpacking the Impact of AI and Automation on Marginalized Communities," these papers shed light on three critical areas, providing invaluable insights for policymakers, researchers, and industry leaders. Hooks Institute Policy Papers
CAS Participates in the Conversation
From Anthropology to World Languages, Earth Sciences to Social Work, History to Psychology, and more, the College of Arts & Sciences faculty and researchers engage readers in a wide range of topics. The Conversation (theconversation.com) is a nonprofit, independent news organization dedicated to promoting better understanding of current affairs and complex issues. A team from The Conversation will be visiting the UofM on March 15 and 16. 𝐃𝐑𝐒. 𝐊𝐄𝐑𝐈 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐎 and 𝐑𝐎𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝐊𝐑𝐄𝐔𝐙 will coordinate meeting times for 25 CAS faculty members on those days.
Hooks Institute and Leadership Fayette to Host Robert Hamburger, Author of 'Our Portion of Hell'
Feb: The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change and Leadership Fayette will host a book signing with Robert Hamburger, author of the Fayette County Civil Rights Movement Book "Our Portion of Hell: Fayette County, Tennessee: An Oral History of the Struggle for Civil Rights" at 2 p.m. on Feb. 25 at the Fayette County Public Schools Central Administration Building. In addition to the book signing, Hamburger and Daphene McFerren, Hooks Institute executive director and daughter of Fayette County Civil Rights Activists John and Viola McFerren, will speak at the event.
UofM’s Dr. Francisco Muller-Sanchez & ALMA Scientists Find Pair of Black Holes Dining Together in Nearby Galaxy Merger
Jan: While studying a nearby pair of merging galaxies using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) — an international observatory co-operated by the U.S. National Science Foundation’s National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) — the University of Memphis’ Dr. Francisco Muller-Sanchez and other scientists discovered two supermassive black holes growing simultaneously near the center of the newly coalescing galaxy.
UofM’s Hooks Institute Welcomes the Hon. Bernice Donald, Rami Lotay and Robert Shorty to its Board
The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change welcomes esteemed community leaders the Honorable Bernice Donald, Rami Lotay and Robert Shorty to its board. The Hooks Advisory Board works with the leadership of the Hooks Institute in the strategic development and implementation of its mission and programs. Members have included community activists, attorneys, engineers, corporate, public relations officials and clergy.
Read about the board members >
Why Aren’t All Black Bears Black? Research by UofM Professor Emily Puckett, PhD, Helps Find Answers
Dec: Emily Puckett, PhD, an Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Memphis, has devoted her career to learning more about the evolution and genetics of bears. With help from partners in state, provincial, and federal wildlife agencies, she collected hundreds of DNA and hair samples from North American bears. She teamed up with Greg Barsh, MD, PhD, Faculty Investigator at HudsonAlpha, and animal pigmentation expert to figure out why black bears aren’t always black.
National Academy of Inventors Fellow
Dec: Dr. Dipankar Dasgupta, Hill Professor in Cybersecurity and Director of the Center for Information Assurance,
for being named as a prestigious National Academy of Inventors Fellow for the Class
of 2022. The program highlights academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific
spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that make
a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society.
Read the full media release
Harriet R. Mongomery Service Excellence Award
Glynda Luttman, the Administrative Associate for the Department of World Languages and Literatures, is the December 2022 recipient of the Harriet R. Montgomery Service Excellence Award. The University award celebrates staff members who consistently demonstrate a commitment to the highest levels of customer service excellence.
Ed Bruner Book Prize
Nov: Dr. Keri Brondo's book, Voluntourism and Multispecies Collaboration: Life, Death, and Conservation in the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef has been awarded the Ed Bruner Book Prize. The committee noted: "This is a remarkable book that moves beyond the study of human tourism on the island of Utila (Honduras) to examine how other species exhibit/display/articulate alternative values to life and death. ..."
Suicide Prevention for at-risk Servicemembers
The University of Memphis has been awarded funding for the study “Use of a Brief Cognitive Behavioral Digital Therapeutic in Primary Care to Reduce Suicide Risk in a Military Population (at Fort Carson, Colorado).” This is a coordinated effort and partnership project housed at The Ohio State University; the overall effort includes five separate studies targeting reducing suicide risk in active-duty military servicemembers. The PI for the $2.2M University of Memphis project is Dr. M. David Rudd, Distinguished Professor of Psychology; the overall fund effort is $8.5M.
Assistant Professor Paper Featured in The Conversation
Nov: A paper by Dr. Stephen Kofi Diko was recently featured in an article published in The Conversation. The paper titled, "Obscured Innovations? Inventiveness in Collective Infrastructure Management in Accra, Ghana," argues that the solutions these residents come up with to make everyday urban life livable are a form of social innovation. Dr. Diko is an Assistant Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning in the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy (SUAPP). Read the Article
Career Milestone 2022 Awards Ceremony
Nov: The UofM hosted its annual Career Milestone Awards Ceremony on Nov. 15. Dr. Charles Crawford was recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his 60 years of employment at the University. A professor in the Department of History, Crawford came to the UofM in 1962. He has served as the director of the University's Oral History Project since 1967. Full List of CAS Awards
Highlighting Faculty Authored Books (FAB)
Oct: Dr. George Anastassiou, Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences, presented a copy of his recent book, "Banach Space Valued Neural Network" to Interim Dean Gary Emmert. The book will be displayed on the Faculty Authored Books shelf (FAB) located in the Scates Hall dean's office. Anastassiou's research interests include computational analysis, approximation theory, probability, and theory of moments. He is also the Editor in chief of several journals and websites. For more information on Dr. Anastassiou, please visit his faculty profile.
12th Annual Mid-South Cybersecurity Summit
Nov: The 12th Annual Mid-South Cybersecurity Summit, organized by the Center for Information Assurance at the University of Memphis, will be held Nov. 4 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the FedEx Institute of Technology (Fishbowl, 203) on the UofM campus. The summit aims to provide a platform for companies and institutions in the Mid-South to learn, discuss and exchange knowledge and technologies about cyber security. The theme of the 2022 summit is "When AI Meets Cybersecurity." Learn More
Tutankhamun Centennial Celebration Lecture Series
Nov: Join Dr. Peter Brand on the centenary of the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, as he explores Tutankhamun’s journey into the afterlife through his spectacular burial treasures: golden coffins, gold death mask, jewelry, and other sacred objects placed on and around his mummy to ensure his body’s preservation and his spirit’s rebirth in the Egyptian Underworld. The event is on Nov. 4th | Pre-Lecture Reception: 6:30 PM | Lecture: 7 PM | UC Fountain View Room 350. FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC - View the Poster
Mathematical Sciences Professor awarded NSF research project grant
Dr. Irena Lasiecka, distinguished university professor and chair in the department of Mathematical Science, was awarded $340,000 from the National Science Foundation for the project “PDE Control of 3D Fluids, Flow/Fluid-Structure interactions: Finite dimensional strategies for flutter/turbulence suppression.” Dr. Lasiecka is the PI along with co-PI Dr. Roberto Triggiani, distinguished university professor.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. Full details
Nathaniel Ball: From History Student to Star Filmmaker – Where Are They Now?
The Hooks Institute’s “Where Are They Now?” series explores how the institute has shaped the lives and careers of former alumni. The series uncovers valuable experiences, skills, and lessons that former alumni acquired during their time at Hooks.
A familiar face at the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change, Nathaniel Ball’s involvement as a graduate student landed him a full-time job with Hooks as Media
Initiatives and Program Support (2015) before being promoted to Assistant Director
(2021). Read the full article
UofM’s Hooks Institute Announces "Soul City" by Thomas Healy as the 2021 Hooks National Book Award Winner
The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis has selected “Soul City: Race, Equality, and the Lost Dream of an American Utopia” by Thomas Healy, Esq., (Metropolitan Books) as the 2021 Hooks National Book Award winner.
Department of History Sesquicentennial Lecture
Dr. Cécile Fromont, Yale University presents the "Images on a Mission in Early Modern Kongo and Angola." The event will be held on Thurs, Sept 29 with a reception at 5:30 pm and lecture at 6 pm. Location: McWerther Library Second Floor Commons. This event is jointly sponsored by the Department of History and the Marcus W. Orr Center for the Humanities.
UofM’s Institute for Gambling Education and Research Receives $1.2M Grant
The University of Memphis Institute for Gambling Education and Research (T.I.G.E.R.)
received a $1.2 million grant from the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance
Abuse Services (MHSAS) to expand gambling research and treatment services for all
Tennesseans. Read about the grant
UofM’s Hooks Institute and WKNO to Host Special Preview of Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s Upcoming Documentary Series 'Making Black America'
The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis and WKNO-TV (Memphis) will host a special preview of the upcoming four-part Henry Louis Gates Jr. PBS documentary series “Making Black America: Through the Grapevine” at 6 p.m. on Sept. 26 at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library in Meeting Room A. The screening will feature select scenes from each episode before the series premiere on WKNO on Oct. 4. The event is free and open to the public. About the documentary series
ARCHIVED INFORMATION AND EVENTS
iCODE: Adaptive Training of Students’ Code Comprehension Processes
The UofM has been selected to receive funding in the amount of $1,999,595 DR. VASILE RUS, Jack and Jane Morris Professor, is PI for the project in an anticipated timeframe of 3 years. The project combines design-based research with randomized controlled trials supporting CS majors, non-CS majors, and students from underrepresented groups (females, students of color, first generation status) to engage in code comprehension activities. More Details
English Faculty Member Selected to study and collaborate with humanities experts
DR. CHRISTOPHER ALLAN BLACK has been selected as a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Scholar
from a national applicant pool to attend “Transcendentalism and Social Reform: Activism
and Community Engagement in the Age of Thoreau.”
More Information
NIH Funds Murphy’s Research Meant to Enhance Opioid Treatment
DR. JAMES MURPHY, professor in the Department of Psychology, will serve as Principal Investigator on
a subaward from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) on an NIH
funded R33 award with Dr. Karen Derefinko, associate professor in the Department of
Preventive Medicine, as the UTHSC Principal Investigator.
Learn More
NSF Funds Pollard with ERI Award
DR. SHAWN POLLARD, assistant professor in the department of physic and material science, was recently
awarded an engineering research initiation (ERI) grant from the National Science Foundation
(NSF). Pollard’s award for $195,490, entitled “Compositionally modulated ferrimagnets
for spin-orbitronic devices.”
Full Details
The ABCs of CAS
Tuesday, Feb. 3 - The College of Arts & Sciences has initiated a social media campaign called, "The ABCs of CAS". The campaign will present information on all departments and institutes within the college during the spring 2022 semester beginning with the African and African American Studies and ending with World Languages and Literatures. The posts will be presented on the college Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/uofmcas), Twitter (https://www.twitter.com/uofmcas) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/uofmcas) social media platforms. One of the main goals is to increase the interaction and engagement between students, faculty, alumni, donors, staff and community.
UofM Receives $3.8M Cybersecurity Education Grant from National Science Foundation
Tuesday, Feb. 1 - The University of Memphis DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE has received a $3.8 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to address the growing national demand for cybersecurity professionals. The five-year project, titled “CyberCorps Scholarship for Service: Developing the Cybersecurity Workforce in West Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas” will recruit four cohorts of scholars from the Department of Computer Science, Department of Business Information Technology, College of Engineering, Department of Criminal Justice and other UofM units. Learn more about the grant >
UofM's Hooks Institute to Host Pulitzer Prize Winner Marcia Chatelain for National Book Award Lecture
Monday, Jan 31 - The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis will host Marcia Chatelain, winner of the 2020 Hooks National Book Award for her work “Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America,” on Tuesday, Feb. 8, at 6 p.m. The event will be livestreamed on the Hooks Institute's Facebook page. Read about Chatelain >
SUAPP Internally Funded Community of Research Scholars (CoRS) projects
- DR. DAVIA DOWNEY, associate professor, Public and Nonprofit Administration, and director of the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy PhD program is leading a CoRS project titled “Disaster Studies Consortium.”
- DR. SARAH LEAT, assistant professor, Social Work, is leading a CoRS project “Research on Intimate Partner Violence Collaborative.”
- DR. ELENA DELVEGA, professor, Social Work, Dr. Amaia Iratzoqui, associate professor, Criminology & Criminal Justice, and faculty from Psychology and Civil Engineering are collaborating Dr. Tim McCuddy, assistant professor, Criminal Justice and Dr. Jennifer Turchi, visiting assistant professor, School of Public Health, are co-PIs of an internally funded Community of Research Scholars (CoRS) project "Convening minds to address youth justice and youth violence in Memphis, TN.”
- DR. TIM MCCUDDY, assistant professor, Criminal Justice and Dr. Jennifer Turchi, visiting assistant professor, School of Public Health, are co-PIs of an internally funded Community of Research Scholars (CoRS) project "Convening minds to address youth justice and youth violence in Memphis, TN.”
- DR. AMANDA JOHNSON, associate professor, Criminology & Criminal Justice is participating in the CoRS project “Socioecological Determinants of Cardiometabolic Health in Memphis: Establishment of a Database” led by Dr. Abu Mohammed Naser Titu of the School of Public Health.
2021 Excellence in Academic Advising Award Recipients
Congratulations to the 2021 recipients of the Excellence in Academic Advising Awards! In August 2021, the six-year graduation rate for students from all backgrounds and demographic populations was the highest in the history of the University of Memphis, largely due to the hard work of academic advisors, coaches, tutors, student advocates, mentors and technology leaders. The ability of our students, faculty and staff to successfully transition to a virtual learning environment during a pandemic is remarkable and contributed significantly to these record-breaking outcomes.
Arts & Sciences award recipients include:
- Faculty Advisor Award / CHRYSTAL GOUDSOUZIAN, PHD, Instructor, Undergraduate Advising Coordinator, Department of History
- Honorable Mention / AMANDA LEE SAVAGE, Instructor/Undergraduate Advisor, Department of History
- Honorable Mention / BRIDGET WELLS, Undergraduate Instructor, Department of English
A Bond with a Department
Beverly Bond is the winner of the 2021 Willard R. Sparks Eminent Faculty Award, the highest honor that a professor can attain at the University of Memphis. Before becoming a celebrated professor in the department, though, she was a student here — first for her B.A., then her M.A., and then her Ph. D. (she also has an M.Ed. From Columbia University). Beverly recently interviewed with Aram Goudsouzian, as she reflects on her time at the university, her career, her personal experiences and her scholarship.
Humanities @ Work
A virtual roundtable with humanities professionals in Memphis. Masters and Doctoral students in the humanities are pursuing an increasingly wide array of careers both inside and outside of the university. This series will highlight some of the professional pathways available to humanities graduate students in Memphis, the Mid-South, and beyond. From public to private, and from museums to non-profit management to K-12 education, we’ll host conversations that display how humanities graduate work prepares you for your next big step. Visit the MOCH website for full details.
A Forum Discussing Ways to Assist Victims of Domestic Violence
In 2020, there were 17,372 reported domestic violence incidents in Memphis/Shelby County according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. During the first half of this year, reported domestic violence incident totaled 8,831. Various key providers of services to domestic violence victims have come together with the UofM Public Safety Institute and the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission to co-host a Forum on Breaking the Cycle of Domestic Violence.Please join Bill Gibbons Executive Director, Public Safety Institute, President, Memphis Shelby Crime Commission and Amaia Iratzoqui, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Chair, Forum Planning Committee on October 12. Full Details about the event.
Housing and Community Development Fellowship Program
Investigating the way world leaders think and communicate - For over a decade, SUAPP has partnered with the City of Memphis Division of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to host a fellowship program for graduate students. The competitive HCD Fellowship Program places highly qualified graduate students with government, nonprofit and community organizations that are leading community development efforts in Memphis. The program supports the important work of community development agencies while enabling the fellows to integrate their coursework into the work of local community development organizations. Profiles of the 2020-21 HCD fellows.
Windsor Secures NSF Grant
Investigating the way world leaders think and communicate - An interdisciplinary research team led by Dr. Leah C. Windsor received a $450,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to study the communication patterns of international relations. Windsor is an associate professor in the Department of English (Applied Linguistics) and the Institute for Intelligent Systems. Co-PIs on this grant include Dr. Shaun Gallagher and Dr. Deborah Tollefsen from the Department of Philosophy, Dr. George Deitz from the Department of Marketing in the Fogelman College of Business, Dr. Miriam van Mersbergen from the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Dr. Nicholas Simon from the Department of Psychology, and Dr. Alistair Windsor from the Department of Mathematical Sciences and the Institute for Intelligent Systems. Full details can be found on the Research and Innovation website.
Social Change Research Grants Recipients
Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change announces UofM faculty Sohye Lee and Jaime Sabel as recipients of Social Change Research Grants Aug. 24, 2021 — Sohye Lee, PhD, RN (UofM Loewenberg College of Nursing), and Jaime Sabel, PhD (Assistant Professor, UofM Department of Biological Sciences), have been awarded grants by the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis. The Hooks Institute awarded Lee a grant of $5,000 and Sabel a grant of $2,500 to support their research that addresses social change issues. The faculty were granted the funding as part of the Hooks Institute’s Social Change Research Grants Program. Visit the Hooks Institute's Facebook page for events and other news
Dean's Outstanding Employee Award
Each year, the Dean recognizes outstanding staff in the College of Arts & Sciences. All categories of full-time, non-faculty employees are eligible. Nominations are submitted by any faculty or staff of the College. The College recognizes four recipients for 2021. Please congratulate Vickie Middleton, Administrative Assistant II, Mathematical Sciences; Rhonda Smothers, Administrative Secretary, Computer Science; Paulette Wilkerson, Administrative Associate, I, Anthropology; and Drake Williams, Laboratory Assistant, Chemistry for their nominations and selection. Read comments from the nomination letters >
The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change | 2019-20 Annual Report
The goal of the the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change is to promote its mission by ameliorating racial, economic and social disparities in Memphis and the Mid-South by using the collective scholarship and resources of the university community. Learn how this goal was realized during the 2019-20 year in this annual report. View the Report
Lambert-Pennington Honored with Fulbright Scholar Award
Dr. Katherine Lambert-Pennington, director of the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy and associate professor in the Department of Anthropology has received a 2021-22 Fulbright U.S. Scholar award to Italy. Lambert-Pennington will be hosted by the University of Catania Department of Political and Social Sciences and conduct participatory-ethnographic research in the Simeto River Valley. Full Details
Choose Your Journey with CAS
Your Me + Memphis journey in the College of Arts & Sciences will help you shine. We provide a strong general education in the humanities, the social sciences, mathematics and the natural sciences. Watch the Video
Anthropology Newsletter
While 2020 brought extreme challenges, it also brought us together in a shared struggle for social justice and civility, and we were reminded of humanity’s remarkable resilience and the power of social relationships. Read about faculty news and accomplishments and student and alumni news. Enjoy the Newsletter
Rethinking Smart city paradigm from an anthropological perspective
Please welcome Dr. Lorenzo D'Orsi, a virtual visiting researcher from the University of Catania Department of Political and Social Sciences. Dr. D'Orsi is an anthropologist with expertise in political violence, youth-led social movements, and urban re-development and smart cities. D'Orsi is especially interested in engaging with faculty and students on issues related to challenges in US cities - poverty, violence, community development, education, and social inequality. Join us for an invited lecture entitled, "Rethinking Smart city paradigm from an anthropological perspective: Ethnographic insights from Gela, Sicily" on Friday, April 23 from 11:30-1.
Lupfer Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award
The Michael B. and Shirley L. Lupfer Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award was presented to Dr. Cheryl A. Bowers. Dr. Bowers is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the UofM Lambuth Campus in Jackson. The Lupfer Award is the most presigious honor that the department bestows on its faculty members. Learn more
2021 Winnie Venstra Peace Lecture
Dr. Dursun Peksen will deliver the 2021 Winnie Venstra Peace Lecture on the subject of "Political Effectiveness, Negative Externalities, and the Ethics of Economic Sanctions" on Monday, April 5 at 5:30 PM on Zoom. As many of you know, Dr. Peksen is one the world's leading experts on sanctions and human rights, and this should be an exciting opportunity to hear him talk about the subject. Full Details
Research Celebration 2021
The UofM Division of Research & Innovation honored faculty who contributed to the growth of research capacity through the pursuit and success in securing external funding (Between July 2019 and June 2020). The College of Arts & Sciences was well represented at the event. Read the complete list of Arts & Sciences participants.
UofM Honored Among Top Military Friendly Schools for Seventh Consecutive Year
Feb. 17, 2021 — The University of Memphis has received Gold recognition for 2021-22 and honored among the top Military Friendly Schools List for the seventh consecutive year. The list honors the top colleges, universities and trade schools that are doing the most to embrace military service members and veterans as students and ensure their success on campus. Full Details
Marcus Wicker receives prestigious National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship
The National Endowment for the Arts has awarded University of Memphis associate professor Marcus Wicker a 2021 Creative Writing Fellowship of $25,000. He is one of 35 writers to receive the prestigious award from a pool of 1,601 applicants. Read about the fellowsh ip>
Dr. Timothy F. Goldsmith Scholarship
Established at UofM Lambuth The Dr. Timothy F. Goldsmith Scholarship Fund has been created to support UofM Lambuth psychology students who have expressed interest in a career in youth services. The scholarship has been established by the Goldsmith family in loving memory of Goldsmith, who passed away in September at 64 following a seventh-month battle with pancreatic cancer. Read about the scholarship
Physics and Materials Science
Fall 2020: The 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Dr. Roger Penrose, Dr. Reinhard Genzel, and Dr. Andrea Ghez. One of Dr. Genzel's former Ph.D. students, Dr. Francisco Muller Sanchez, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Materials Science explains the science behind this year's Nobel Prize in Physics and recounts some of his experiences working with Dr. Genzel. Watch Video Presentation
Fishing Markets & Lionfish Markets in Utila Cays
Fall 2020: Dr. Keri Brondo, Department of Anthropology has been awarded a grant in the amount of $20,000.00 from The National Geographic Society's Committee for Research and Exploration in support of the proposed project, "Fishing Livelihoods and Lionfish Markets in Utila Cays."
A Research Journey in Sicily
Fall 2020: WHAT DO OLIVE OIL, PECORINO CHEESE AND PISTACHIOS HAVE IN COMMON WITH STUDY ABROAD? These products, and many more, are part of the rich agricultural tradition and cultural heritage of the Simeto River Valley, which has served as the site of the Environmental Planning and Design study abroad class since 2013. Check out the Fall 2020 issue of UofM Around the World Magazine Featuring Dr. Katherine Lambert-Pennington, Director | School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy (Page 26 of the Magazine) Read the magazine.
Voter's Rights, Apathy and Suppression
Fall 2020: As we head into one of the most critical election seasons in our nation's history, the Hooks Institute presents an in-depth discussion on voting rights, voter engagement and apathy, and tactics to suppress voting. The event will be held Tuesday, September 22 at 6 pm and will be livestreamed on the Hooks Institute’s Facebook page (@benhooksinstitue). For full details on this event, visit the Benjamin Hooks Institute for Social Justice website.
Political Science Graduate student honored as West Tennessee Teacher of the Year
Fall 2020: Daniel Warner a current graduate student in the Department of Political Science has been selected West Tennessee Teacher of the Year. Daniel teaches American History at East High School in Memphis and had previously received the New Memphis Teacher of Excellence Award and a James Madison Fellowship. For more background see the news article in the Daily Memphian.
$1.4 million grant awarded to UofM’s AutoTutor for Adult Reading Comprehension
Fall 2020: AutoTutor for Adult Reading Comprehension (AutoTutor-ARC) has received a $1.4 million grant to continue its development from the Institute of Educational Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education. Dr. John Sabatini, distinguished research professor in the Department of Psychology and Institute for Intelligent Systems, is principal investigator; Dr. Art Graesser, professor emeritus in the Department of Psychology and Institute for Intelligent Systems, is co-principal investigator. With this four-year grant, researchers will further develop AutoTutor-ARC’s lessons and assessment tools. More Information
UofM Launches Center for Community Research and Evaluation
Fall 2020: The UofM has launched the Center for Community Research and Evaluation (CCRE), a social science research center. The mission of CCRE is to provide interdisciplinary social science research and evaluation support for community-based projects. "We're excited to announce the formation of the Center for Community Research and Evaluation in the College of Arts & Sciences," said Dr. Wesley James, executive director of CCRE and associate professor of Sociology. Read the UofM Press Release.
Prof. Lan Wang Leading $825K NSF-funded mGuard Project in Collaboration with MD2K and UCLA
Fall 2020: Professor and chair Lan Wang (PI) is leading the new mGuard project with co-PIs Prof. Santosh Kumar and Prof. Lixia Zhang from UCLA. mGuard aims to address two major data access challenges encountered by the NIH Center of Excellence for Mobile Sensor Data-to-Knowledge (MD2K) in its pursuit to share mobile health (mHealth) data among researchers who investigate a wide range of health and wellness issues. Additional information can be found on the Computer Science Website.
UofM’s CERI specialists traveling to North Carolina to monitor aftershocks of magnitude
5.1 earthquake
Fall 2020: Specialists from the University of Memphis’ Center for Earthquake Research and Information (CERI) will be traveling to monitor aftershocks of the magnitude 5.1 earthquake that occurred two miles southeast of Sparta, N.C., at 8:07 a.m. EDT Sunday. As seen on the accompanying U.S.Geological Survey intensity map, the event was felt over an area larger than 50,000 square miles. Aftershocks may continue for hours, days or weeks. Press Release
UofM receives $9.4 million from HRSA for Social Work, Nursing and College of Education
Summer 2020: A $3.18 million, five-year award for The Mid-South Social Work Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students (MSW-SDS) program will provide scholarships for up to 25 Master of Social Work (MSW) students per year who meet the HRSA qualification of being disadvantaged. MSW students can qualify as disadvantaged if they are enrolled in the MSW program full-time and meet one of three criteria: have a family income below 200% of the poverty level; are the first person in their family to graduate from college; or graduated from a high school that meets U.S. Department of Education Title 1 criteria. Read the full UofM Press Release.
MD2K Researchers Launch App for Personal Tracking of Social Distancing
Spring 2020: Researchers at the MD2K Center of Excellence, headquartered at the UofM and under the direction of Computer Science Prof. Santosh Kumar, have announced the launch of a free mobile app called mContain to help track social distancing during the COVID-19 outbreak with a goal to reduce community transmission.
For more information on this project, please see the UofM Press Release.
New NSF Grant and CVPR Paper for Prof. Gao
Spring 2020: Prof. Xing Gao has been awarded a new NSF grant and had a paper accepted to the prestigious CVPR conference. The grant, entitled "Securing Containers in Multi-Tenant Environment via Augmenting Linux Control Groups" and funded with $175K from the National Science Foundation, will investigate and improve the security of container technology in the Linux operating system. The full award abstract can be found at the NSF site. The paper, entitled "Evade Deep Image Retrieval by Stashing Private Images in the Hash Space," is joint work with Yanru Xiao and Cong Wang from Old Dominion University. It will be presented at CVPR 2020, the premier annual computer vision conference.
Visit the Department of Computer Science website for additional events and news.
UofM Receives $3.4 Million NSF Research Grant to Improve Training in Data Science
Spring 2020: The University of Memphis has been awarded a $3,439,035 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for research in learning data science with adaptive learning for future workforce development. "In the last three years, the demand for data scientists has increased by a factor of 10 in key markets," said Dr. Andrew Olney, principal investigator for the study and professor in the Department of Psychology and the Institute for Intelligent Systems. Full Press Release
Seth B. McGaughran Endowed Fellowship
The family of Seth McGaughran has recently endowed a fellowship in his memory. The purpose of the fund is to provide stipends to students in the MSW program (Master of Social Work) who must complete internships at non-profit organizations. "Internships – or field placements – play a critical role in the training and preparation of future licensed social workers, who often work with our most vulnerable populations; however, these internships are typically unpaid," said Dr. Susan Neely-Barnes, chair of the School of Social Work. Read the full story on the college website
Dr. Duane McKenna interviewed on BC Newsday
Dr. Duane McKenna, William Hill Professor in Biology was interviewed live on BC Newsday, the world’s largest morning news program. The station reaches hundreds of millions of people each week through the BBC World Service radio network). The University of Memphis is prominently mentioned in both interviews. The interviews address the a McKenna Lab published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. Interview 1 | Interview 2 (interview begins at 31:15)
Twenty-five out of Fifty
Based on student feedback, the following CAS faculty were chosen as one of the top 50 teachers in lower-division courses during the past academic year. As Provost Tom Nenon points out in his announcement, "...these courses are often challenging, but they are especially important in helping students get a good start and in preparing them for the upper-division work." They will be recognized at a luncheon on November 15th. See who they are>