The Academic Minute from 05.27 – 05.31
Monday, May 27th
Lorie Vanchena – University of Kansas
World War I Poetry
Lorie A. Vanchena, associate professor of Germanic Languages & Literatures at the University of Kansas, is author of a monograph and articles on 19th-century German political poetry. She also published Anton in America: A Novel from German-American Life, an annotated English translation of Reinhold Solger’s novel from 1862. She teaches courses on the German transatlantic experience, German literature and the modern era, and contemporary German-speaking Europe. Professor Vanchena serves as Academic Director of the European Studies Program and the Max Kade Center and she directs the undergraduate program in the German department. In 2015 she received the J. Michael Young Academic Advisor Award from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in recognition of merit for guiding undergraduate students to make good decisions toward their educational and career goals. Her current research project on World War I American immigrant poetry has been supported by a Seed Grant from KU’s Institute of Digital Research in the Humanities and the Max Kade Center; she employs 2-3 undergraduate research assistants who identify, transcribe, encode, and annotate poems. A first-year student joined the project last fall as an Emerging Scholar. Administered by the Center for Undergraduate Research, the Emerging Scholars Program allows participants to apply their federal work-study awards to positions as undergraduate research assistants.
Tuesday, May 28th
Stephanie Carr – Hartwick College
Microbes
Dr. Stephanie Carr is an assistant professor of biology at Hartwick College. As a microbiologist and a geochemist, Stephanie aims to understand how microorganisms impact our environment. Stephanie focuses on discovering how microorganisms survive extreme conditions, such as the oxygen-free and nutrient-limiting environments at the bottom of the ocean. The seafloor covers 70% of our planet, and the microorganisms in the seafloor live by recycling the elements of the ocean. Learning about these organisms is an important step towards understanding our planet. Dr. Carr earned her Ph.D. at the Colorado School of Mines. Her most recent research on Hydrothermarchaeota will be published this year in the International Society for Microbial Ecology Journal.
Wednesday, May 29th
Travis Fox – Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY
Drones
Travis Fox is an aerial photographer and the Director of Visual Journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York (CUNY).
An early adopter of drone technology, his work focuses on the details of low altitude aerial photography, a technique that is simultaneously intimate and vast. His project Natural Lines documents the tension between natural and man-made marks on the landscape. In The Pines, he explores the decay of a once-grand resort in upstate, NY. He is currently working on a project documenting the physical legacy of racism in America.
In his role at the Newmark J-School he oversees the Photojournalism, Documentary, Broadcast and Web Video programs. He also teaches CUNY’s first Drone Journalism course.
Thursday, May 30th
Rachel Plotnick – Indiana University
Pushing Buttons
Rachel Plotnick is an Assistant Professor of Cinema and Media Studies in The Media School at Indiana University Bloomington.
Prior to this position, she served as an assistant professor at UNC Charlotte. Rachel received her PhD in Media, Technology and Society from the School of Communication at Northwestern University. She also completed an MA in Communication, Culture and Technology at Georgetown University, and completed her BA in English and Journalism at Indiana University – Bloomington. Rachel’s master’s thesis looked at emerging forms of self-expression about illness on the Internet.
Rachel’s book, Power Button: A History of Pleasure, Panic and the Politics of Pushing is published with The MIT Press.
Friday, May 31st
Jessica Henry – Montclair State University
Forensic Misconduct
Jessica S. Henry is an Associate Professor of Justice Studies at Montclair State University. She received her JD from New York University School of Law and served as a public defender for nearly a decade in NYC. Her research and teaching focuses on wrongful convictions, the death penalty and life without parole, and hate crimes. Professor Henry is a frequent blogger for The Huffington Post and the Wrongful Convictions Blog, and is currently working on a book about wrongful convictions.
