ICYMI - Faculty / Department Kudos (in case you missed it...)
Spring/Summer/Fall 2019
Be sure and visit the Accolades Website for additional information on awards, presentations and publications.
Department of Biology
Angiosperm Evolution: Jurassic Leap for Flowering Plants
UofM Researcher in issue of Nature Plants
Dr. Jennifer Mandel, assistant professor in Biological Sciences, published a News and View Commentary in the forthcoming issue of Nature Plants.The article discussed the findings of the recent publication "Origin of angiosperms and the puzzle of the Jurassic gap" by Li et al. Dr. Mandel's commentary can be found at this link.
UofM's McKenna published in Genome Biology Journal recognized as the highest-ranked impact factor in its field
The work of Biology professor Dr. Duane McKenna and his post-doc Seunggwan Shin has been published in Genome Biology, the biological sciences journal with the highest global impact factor. The research identifies lineage-specific genomic signatures that accompanied dietary shifts towards plants in beetles over time. Significant to both biology and agriculture, this work supports the hypothesized role that interactions with plant chemical defenses play in driving beetle diversification. McKenna and Shin were coauthors on the paper. Read the article here.
CERI Joins the SCEC Board UofM's Kyriakopoulos will serve as University's Representative
The University of Memphis Center for Earthquake Research and Information (CERI) is now a member of the board of the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC). SCEC has been, and continues to be, the premiere University consortium on earthquake physics and the science of seismic hazards. CERI's participation in its research programs and outreach activities is a natural fit for its mission and will raise the University's profile in this national arena.
Dr. Christos Kyriakopoulos, one of CERI's new assistant professors, will be the UofM representative to the SCEC board. For more information on this announcement, contact 901.678.2007. To learn more about this center, visit the CERI
Department of Computer Science
Map901 Project Featured on GCN
The Map901 project was featured in GCN this week for its potential impact on first responders' safety and efficiency. The project involves the use of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology to map building interiors.
Prof. Dasgupta Visits UK Universities
Prof. Dipankar Dasgupta gave an invited talk on his adaptive multi-factor authentication (A-MFA) research at the University of Oxford on a recent visit to the UK.
Department of English
Congratulations to Dr. Donal Harris on his recent award of Sophomore Mentor of the Year for the Memphis Grizzlies TEAM Membership program! This award truly is a testament to his commitment and passion for our Memphis Youth.
Emily Thrush, professor in Applied Linguistics and Professional Writing, delivers a plenary at the National Association of Teachers of English Conference in St. Petersburg, Russia, April 17, 2019 This was part of 2 weeks of workshops and conference presentations in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Estonia, sponsored by the U.S. State Department.
Department of History
Dr. Dennis Laumann honored in Ghana
Dr. Dennis Laumann was in Ghana for three weeks in July attending the 3rd Triennial Conference of the Ghana Studies Association and conducting archival and field research for various projects. This past Saturday at the conference's closing ceremony he was recognized for his leadership of and contributions to the organization. An original painting in his honor was commissioned from C.S. Wisely, a Ghanaian movie poster artist, based on the cover of his first book, Colonial Africa, 1884-1994, Oxford University Press. He was elected president of the GSA in 2007 and served until 2011.
Assistant professor Brian Kwoba in history and Dennis Laumann attended a conference entitled Africa-Asia, A New Axis of Knowledge, Second Edition in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Both received funding from Department of History and African and African American Studies.
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Dr. George Anastassiou, professor of Mathematical Sciences, attended the annual meeting of the American Mathematical Society Jan. 15-18 in Denver. He presented a paper titled "On the left fractional local general M-derivative."
Dr. Irena Lasiecka, professor and chair of the Department of Mathematical Sciences, was interviewed in the December 2019 issue of IEEE Control Systems Magazine about receiving the 2019 Richard E. Bellman Heritage Control Award. Control Systems is a leading professional publication of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers).
Dr. Irena Lasiecka is the 2019 recipient of the annual Richard E.Bellman Control Heritage Award of the American Automatic Control Council, the highest award of such professional organization. She received the Award on July 11, in Philadelphia, at the annual conference of this society, before a gathering of over 1,000 people. In the 40-year history of this annual Bellman Award, this is the first time that a woman was selected.
Lasiecka was named a 2019 Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. SIAM Fellows are nominated for excellence in research and/or industrial work, educational and community activities, or other forms of achievements related to the goals of the organization. Learn more about the 2019 Fellows recipients. Lasiecka was named a fellow for fundamental contributions to control theory of partial differential equations and their dissemination through numerous invited talks, administration positions in professional societies and the mentoring of many PhD students and postdoctoral associates. She is the first UofM faculty member to receive this honor and only the third in the State of Tennessee.
Department of Political Science
Dr. Dursun Peksen's article "Shadow Economies and the Success of Economic Sanctions" (co-authored with Bryan Early) has been accepted at Foreign Policy Analysis. FPA is a refereed journal published by the International Studies Association.
In addition, Dr. Peksen had three articles accepted recently: "Political Effectiveness, Negative Externalities, and the Ethics of Economic Sanctions," in Ethics & International Affairs; "When Do Imposed Economic Sanctions Work? A Critical Review of the Sanctions Effectiveness Literature," in Defence and Peace Economics; and - co-authored with Robert Blanton, - "Labor Laws and Shadow Economies: A Cross-national Assessment," in Social Science Quarterly.
Department of World Languages and Literatures
Dr. Heike Polster presented "Self-Archiving and the Creative Process: Peter Handke's Journals" at the German Studies Association conference in Portland, OR, on October 5. She served as a commentator on a panel entitled "Contending with the Vor/Nachlass" at the same conference.
Dr. Diana Ruggiero was the Key-note Speaker for a Conference on World Languages for Specific Purposes (September 20 and 21, 2019) at Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas.
Dr. Will Thompson presented "Identité et marginalisation d'une communauté francophone au Missouri: le cas de la Vieille Mine (Old Mines)" at the 2019 Congrès de l'Institut d'Histoire de l'Amérique Française in Ottawa, Ontario on October 19.