The Academic Minute for 2015.6.29 – 7.3

Catch up with The Academic Minute from 6.29- 7.3

Monday, June 29
Emily O’Brien – Duke University
AFib
Dr. O’Brien’s primary research focus is care delivery and outcomes in observational cardiovascular disease cohorts, with specific applications to atrial fibrillation, stroke, and hypercholesterolemia. Her research interests include comparative effectiveness, patient-reported outcomes, quality of care, and medication adherence. Dr. O’Brien received her Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Tuesday, June 30
Josh Packard – University of Northern Colorado
Religious “Dones”
Josh Packard is a sociologist who focuses on religion and community studies. He has an active and applied research agenda relying on university-community partnerships, and he strives for projects which are as relevant for local contexts and students as they are for the larger discipline. In the course of his research he utilizes a variety of research methods visual methodologies and participatory action research along with more conventional qualitative and quantitative techniques. He is the author of Church Refugees: Sociologists reveal why people are DONE with church but not their faith.

Wednesday, July 1
Hal Haggard – Bard College
Black Hole Life Cycles
Dr. Hal Haggard is a theoretical physicist at Bard college who studies the conceptual and practical questions that surround building a quantum theory of gravity. He has recently pointed out, in work with C. Rovelli, a new mechanism for black hole decay, which provides a radically different perspective on the black hole information problem. He has explored the possibility that space is fundamentally discrete and made of indivisible grains of space and has pioneered the study of quantum chaos in quantum gravity. Haggard was a co-founder of the award winning Compass Project, dedicated to improving undergraduate physics education and increasing the retention of underrepresented students in the physical sciences. He was a National Science Foundation International Research Fellow in Marseille, France and is currently enjoying working on an International Space Sciences Institute grant mapping exoplanets with a team of astronomers.

Thursday, July 2
Keith Clay – Indiana University
Tick Risks
A Distinguished Professor of Biology at Indiana University Bloomington, Keith Clay studies how microbial interactions affect the dynamics of ecological communities. This research falls into four general areas: the microbial community ecology of tick-bore human pathogens; soil-borne pathogens and forest dynamics; endophyte symbiosis and biodiversity; and periodical cicadas and forest community dynamics.

Friday, July 3
Ted Steinberg – Case Western Reserve University
Over-development
Ted Steinberg is the Adeline Barry Davee Distinguished Professor of History at Case Western Reserve University and the author of Gotham Unbound: The Ecological History of Greater New York published by Simon and Schuster.