The Academic Minute from 12.26 – 12.30
Monday, December 26th
Khurram Afridi – Cornell University
Wireless Charging of Electric Vehicles
Khurram Afridi is an Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering in Cornell University’s College of Engineering. He received his BS from Caltech in 1989, and he did his Master’s and Ph.D. work at MIT. His research interests are in power electronics and energy systems incorporating power electronic controls. He has worked in industry and academia for more than 25 years.
Tuesday, December 27th
William E. Pelham – Florida International University
Medication Doesn’t Help Kids With ADHD Learn
Pelham has authored or co-authored nearly 500 professional publications dealing with ADHD and its assessment and treatment-psychosocial, pharmacological, and combined. His research has provided the foundation for the current standard in the treatment for ADHD. He has won numerous awards for his contributions from organizations such as Divisions 53 and 37 of the American Psychological Association (APA) and Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD). Pelham is a 1970 graduate of Dartmouth College and earned his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1976.
Wednesday, December 28th
Joe Laycock – Texas State University
Why Exorcisms Won’t Go Away
Joseph P. Laycock is the author of several books on religious history including The Penguin Book of Exorcisms.
Thursday, December 29th
Rachael Woldoff – West Virginia University
Digital Nomads
Rachael A. Woldoff is an urban sociologist and Professor of Sociology. She received a PhD in sociology from The Ohio State University, specializing in crime and community. Her research and publications have focused on neighborhood crime and disorder, urban redevelopment, and racial/ethnic differences in neighborhood attainment, as well as the subjects of neighborhood racial change, gentrification, housing, and creative class cities. Her work has appeared in journals such as Social Forces , Urban Affairs Review, and Urban Studies. Her book, White Flight/Black Flight: The Dynamics of Racial Change in an American Neighborhood, was awarded the Best Book Award from the Urban Affairs Association. Dr. Woldoff received the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Researcher Award. She has coauthored three other books including High Stakes: Big Time Sports and Downtown Redevelopment (The Ohio State University Press 2004) and Priced Out: Stuyvesant Town and the Loss of Middle-Class Neighborhoods (New York University Press 2016). Dr. Woldoff was elected Chair of the American Sociological Association’s Community and Urban Sociology Section (CUSS). She is Deputy Editor of the ASA journal City and Community . She has also been elected to the Governing Board of the Urban Affairs Association (UAA). Her newest book, Digital Nomads: In Search of Freedom, Community, and Meaningful Work in the New Economy (Oxford University Press 2021), examines community, creative class cities, and the rise of remote work. Her newest research is on public housing residents and their experiences of forced relocation.
Friday, December 30th
Cara Giovanetti – New York University
Dark Matter
Cara Giovanetti is a third-year graduate student in the NYU physics department, working towards a Ph.D. after receiving a bachelor’s degree in physics from Princeton University. Cara is interested in the intersection between particle physics and cosmology, and how we can use cosmology to learn more about dark matter.
