The Academic Minute for 2020.04.06-2020.04.10

The Academic Minute from 04.06 – 04.10

Monday, April 6th
Tyler Carrington – Cornell College
Historical Personal Ads and Modern Dating
Tyler Carrington is a cultural historian of modern Germany and teaches a wide variety of courses in the German Studies curriculum, ranging from intro and advanced German language, culture, and literature courses to seminars in German history, gender and sexuality (especially masculinity), and urban studies.

Tuesday, April 7th
Barbara Christie-Pope – Cornell College
Zebrafish and Parkinson’s Disease
My background in neuroscience, pharmacology, biochemistry, and pathology supports my teaching a wide range of courses. I have an intense interest in the mechanisms underlying disease processes, the body’s response to disease, and how patterns of disease change geographically and historically. I am fortunate that Cornell College gives me full range to develop courses for both nonmajors and majors (biology and biochemistry/molecular biology) that encompass these interests.

Wednesday, April 8th
Rhawn Denniston – Cornell College
Stalagmites, Monsoons and Climate Change
Rhawn Denniston is the William Harmon Norton Professor of Geology and chair of the Environmental Studies program at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. His research involves the use of stalagmites and corals to investigate:

• Variations in precipitation, including droughts and wet periods, in the Australian tropics, Portugal, Nevada, and the Midwest
• Ocean temperature changes associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation in the ancient “greenhouse worlds”
•  Prehistoric hurricane activity in northern Australia
• The frequency of Australian bushfires prior to the arrival of Europeans on the continent

Denniston enjoys collaborating with scientists from around the world and involving students in all aspects of his research. His work is funded by Cornell College and the National Science Foundation.

Thursday, April 9th
Craig Teague – Cornell College
Soft Drinks and Carbon Monoxide Emissions
Craig Teague is a Professor of Chemistry and the Richard and Norma Small Distinguished Professor at Cornell College. He cares deeply about teaching and constantly strives to improve his courses in innovative ways.

Friday, April 10th
Tammy Mildenstein – Cornell College
Monarch Butterfly Preservation
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. Mildenstein has a Ph.D. in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana, Missoula.