Academic Minute from 12.18 – 12.22
Monday, December 18th
Tammy Mildenstein – Cornell College
Fruit Bats
Tammy Mildenstein is an assistant professor of biology at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. She teaches courses in biology, including Ecology, Environmental Biology, Conservation Biology, and Organismal Biology. Tammy studies threatened flying foxes in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Most recently, she has taken students to Myanmar to study flying fox conservation. Her local research with students focuses on monarch butterfly conservation and involves prairie restoration projects. Mildenstien has a Ph.D. in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana, Missoula.
Tuesday, December 19th
Erin Davis – Cornell College
LGBTQ Homeless
Professor of Sociology Erin Davis explores cultural diversity and social inequalities, focusing on gender, sexualities, bodies, and identities in her courses and research at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Many courses include guest speakers, involve field trips or off-campus travel, or incorporate public sociology projects. Professor Davis also works closely with students on their research and has sponsored student presentations at the Iowa Sociological Association meetings and the Midwest Sociological Society meeting. Davis is currently the Associate Dean of Cornell College. She has a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Virginia.
Wednesday, December 20th
Hans Hassell – Cornell College
Political Candidates and Media Coverage
Hans Hassell Teaches courses in American Politics at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. His primary interests are campaigns and elections, political parties, and Congress. His research looks at the role of political parties in congressional primary elections and explores how the actions of candidates, parties, and interest groups affect the decisions of citizens to become involved in the political process. Hassell has a Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego, and B.A. from Pomona College.
Thursday, December 21st
Brian Johns – Cornell College
Virtual Reality Practice for Doctors
Brian Johns teaches courses covering a range of engineering topics, including design principles, mechanics, thermodynamics, and materials at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. He also teaches upper-level electives and the engineering capstone course. He is a member of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). Johns has a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Iowa.
Friday, December 22nd
Melinda Green – Cornell College
Fighting Eating Disorders in Women
Dr. Melinda Green examines biological, psychological, and sociocultural correlates of eating disorders and examines the efficacy of dissonance-based eating disorder prevention and treatment paradigms. She works closely with student researchers to present and publish regularly on this topic. Within the biological realm, Green investigates cardiac risk indices in eating disorder patients. Within the psychological and sociocultural realms, she focuses on objectification and maladaptive social comparison. Green regularly teaches Abnormal Behavioral Neuroscience, Abnormal Psychology, Health Psychology & Behavioral Medicine, Research Methods, Psychology of Women and Gender, and Counseling and Psychotherapy at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. She received the 2017 Psychotherapy with Women Award from Division 35 of the American Psychological Association in acknowledgment of the importance of her scientific work. She has a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Iowa State University and B.A. in Psychology from the University of Iowa.
