February 2005 Accolades

February 1, 2005

Accolades is a monthly column recognizing the latest achievements of George Mason faculty and staff members. Submit Accolades information by the 15th of the month preceding to Attn: Daily Gazette, by mail to 4C5, by fax to 703-993-8784, or by e-mail to gazette@gmu.edu. Electronic photos with submissions are welcome.

Administration

Wally Grotophorst and John Zenelis, University Libraries, participated in a conference, Institutional Repositories: The Next Stage, sponsored by the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) and SPARC-Europe in Washington, D.C. Their poster presentation, "Leveraging Institutional Repository Technology to Address Archiving, Preservation, and Access Objectives Across the University," highlighted the new Mason Archival Repository System initiative. Zenelis also facilitated a roundtable discussion on digital preservation.

Ruth E. Kifer, University Libraries, was elected president of the Virginia Library Association (VLA) for 2005. VLA's mission is developing, promoting, and improving library and information services to advance literacy and learning and ensure access to information for citizens in Virginia.

Tara Laskowski, Creative Services, received a Pushcart Prize nomination for her short story, "Hole to China," which may be included in a collection of the best stories of the small presses that the Pushcart Prize series has published every year since 1976. She also had a story, "Like Everyone Else," published in the literary journal Pigeon.

Stanley Taylor, Arlington Campus, became chair of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce in January.

College of Arts and Sciences

Amal Amireh, English, received the Florence Howe Award for 2004 for the essay, "Between Complicity and Subversion: Body Politics in the Palestinian National Narrative." The Women's Caucus of the Modern Language Association gives the award annually for the best essay from a feminist perspective.

Karen L. Bune, Administration of Justice, spoke on "Domestic Violence: Critical Issues and Response Strategies" at the Virginia Public Health Association statewide conference.

Estel Dillon, Communication, produced and edited a documentary/concert film of singer Jane L. Powell that was recently released on DVD. Dillon, a producer-director for NBC News, shot, directed, edited, and produced the video program, which highlights a live performance. Powell is a native of Roanoke, Va., and performs primarily on the Norwegian Cruise Lines and at resorts and nightclubs, but has developed a European following after her performances in London.

Carol Gould

Carol Gould, Philosophy and Religious Studies and Center for Global Ethics, presented two papers at the American Philosophical Association (APA) Eastern Division Meeting in Boston. The first was "Reconceiving Democratic Governance and Self-determination: Or, What's Wrong with Imposing Democracy?" and the second was "Negotiating the Global and the Local: Situating Transnational Democracy and Human Rights." The latter is forthcoming in Globalization, Development, and Democracy: Philosophical Perspectives, edited by Deen Chatterjee and published by Rowman and Littlefield. In addition, Gould is the incoming editor of The Journal of Social Philosophy. Gould also read two papers at the annual convention of the American Political Science Association held in Chicago. She presented a commentary and chaired a session at the conference on Just War Theory of the American section of the International Society for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy, Stanford University. Gould wrote the book, Globalizing Democracy and Human Rights, which was published by Cambridge University Press in September 2004, and the article, "Democracy and Human Rights," which was included in The Essential Guide to Human Rights, edited by Christien van den Anker and published by Hodder Arnold in 2004.

Janine Ricouart, Modern and Classical Languages, co-edited a collection of essays on Anne-Marie Alonzo, an Egyptian-born writer from Quebec. The collection, Les Secrets de la Sphinxe: Lectures de l'oeuvre d'Anne-Marie Alonzo, was published by Les Editions du Remue-Ménage of Montréal in 2004. The book includes an introduction by the editors, an interview with Anne-Marie Alonzo, and an article by Ricouart titled "Lettre à la Sphinxe, le 14 juillet 2002."

Roy Rosenzweig, History and Art History, was honored with an Award for Excellence in the Humanities from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities for the work he did for the creation and development of the Center for History and New Media. He was one of six Virginians given an award.

Ramonu Sanusi, Modern and Classical Languages, wrote Le Bistouri des larmes [The Scalpel of Tears], which was published by Les Editions du Pangoulin in Huy, Belgium, in 2005. Set in Africa, Sanusi's novel is the story of a woman who was subjected to genital mutilation when she was a young girl and the resulting complications of this practice for her life and for society.

Laura Ellen Scott, English, wrote "Folk Hero." Her latest short story is online at Plots with Guns, a noir fiction e-zine.

Art Taylor, English, had a scholarly paper, "Reading Flannery O'Connor's 'A Good Man Is Hard to Find' in the Shadow of the Southern Belle Archetype," accepted for the 19th annual Southern Writers Symposium at Methodist College. He will present the paper on Feb. 25.

College of Education and Human Development

Fred Bemak made a presentation, "Psycho-Social Adjustment: A Critical Need in Post-Conflict Reconstruction," at the International Association of Forced Migration Ninth Annual Conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil. At the same conference, he and Rita Chi-Ying Chung presented"Redefining Traditional University Training Towards Human Rights." Bemak also chaired a session, "Ethical Decisions about Protection and Durable Solutions."

Rita Chi-Ying Chung presented a paper on "Psychosocial Issues in Trafficking Girls/Women" at the International Association of the Study of Forced Migration Conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Anastasia Samaras and colleagues Clare Kosnik, Clive Beck, and Anne Freese had their work, "Self-Study Research in Teacher Education as a Basis for Personal, Professional, and Program Development," accepted for an interactive symposium presentation at the American Educational Research Association Conference in Montreal, Canada. They are also editors of a new self study of teaching practices book, Making a Difference in Teacher Education through Self-study: Studies of Personal, Professional, and Program Renewal, published by Kluwer/Springer.

Donna Sterling received the Annual Science Educator Award for Outstanding Teaching from the Virginia Association of Science Teachers.

College of Visual and Performing Arts

Rachel Bergman, Music, presented her paper, "Creativity in Captivity: Viktor Ullmann's Der Kaiser von Atlantis," at the annual National Opera Association (NOA) convention in New York City as winner of the 2004 NOA 19th Annual Scholarly Paper Competition. The paper will also be published in The Opera Journal. She also presented a similar paper at the Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities in Honolulu. Bergman presented her paper, "Set on Notes: Palindromes and Other Symmetrical Structures in the Music of Viktor Ullmann," at the annual meeting of the Society for Music Theory in Seattle.

Lisa Billingham

Lisa A. Billingham, Music, presented a workshop on choral conducting methods at the Virginia Music Educators State In-service Conference in Norfolk. She also presented a workshop, "Laban Movement Theory and the Choral Rehearsal," at the 2005 Hawaii International Conference on the Arts and Humanities in Honolulu.

Chawky Frenn, Art and Visual Technology, has an exhibit of his paintings, "Quest for Meaning: What is Truth?" at the Washington Theological Union in Washington, D.C.

Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution

Marc Gopin

Marc Gopin and Joseph Montville, Center for World Religions, Diplomacy, and Conflict Resolution (CRDC), conferred with members of the three Abrahamic traditions and senior representatives of Morocco, the Arab League, USAID, and several other organizations. CRDC sponsored the event with Initiatives of Change and The Center for Islam and Democracy. Gopin represented the CRDC and George Mason at three sessions of the World Economic Forum at the Dead Sea in Jordan. He made a presentation on interreligious relations at a special session with the senior representatives of Middle Eastern religions and senior correspondents of Middle Eastern media. Gopin also was one of several facilitators of a session on the Arab-Israeli conflict that included major business leaders, a U.S. congressman, and representatives of Israel and Palestine. He was also a guest of the Council of 100, a special organization within the World Economic Forum designed to address the relationship between Islamic civilization and the West. The council forum was directed by the Saudi ambassador to Great Britain and the former archbishop of Canterbury. Gopin also met in Jordan with Christopher Shays, (R-Conn.); Nabil Sha'ath, Palestinian Authority foreign minister; Majid Al-Katarneh, special adviser to the prime minister of Jordan; Mustafa Ceric, the Grand Mufti of Bosnia; and journalists, businessmen, religious leaders, and policy makers. Gopin, CRDC board members, and ICAR faculty and students met for the Agenda for Reconciliation conference in Caux, Switzerland, with signatories of the Geneva Accord, and a number of Israeli and Palestinian civil society activists. Initiatives of Changesponsored this year's conference along with CRDC. Gopin and CRDC board members Abdul Azziz Sachedina and Krister Stendahl were scholars in residence for two weeks at the Washington National Cathedral's College of Preachers. This event, developed by CRDC senior fellow Montville, brings together clerics from the Abrahamic faiths. Gopin spoke on "Religious Perspectives on War" at the Hyatt Classic Residence and at Asbury Methodist Village. He gave a presentation on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the University of Virginia and at Haverford College.

Linda Johnston received a fellowship from Hands along the Nile to help with a dialogue project. The organization, which has its headquarters in Washington, D.C., works to contribute to the peace and stability of the Middle East by developing partnerships between Americans and Egyptians. She is also director of the International Peace Research Association (IPRA) Dorothy Marcus Senesh Fellowship Program for women in the third world who want to continue their education. Johnston is on the executive board of the IPRA, headquartered in Wisconsin, which advances interdisciplinary research into the conditions of peace and the causes of war and other forms of violence, and is a member of the executive board and secretary of the IPRA Foundation board of directors. Johnston also serves on the board of directors of Global Peace Service in Washington, D.C., a national peace organization that is working to create a professional peace service.

Richard Rubenstein moderated the discussion, "The Elections of 2004: Is There a 'Culture War' in America?" which is part of the Forum on Values Conflicts series held at the Pohick Regional Library. Featured speakers included Anatole Lieven of the Carnegie Endowment, author of America: Right or Wrong, and Dan Rothbart, Philosophy and Religious Studies.

Dennis Sandole

Dennis J.D. Sandole taught a course on his three-pillar mapping of conflict and conflict resolution for students participating in the master's degree program in conflict resolution at Sabanci University in Istanbul, Turkey. The program is directed by ICAR alumnus Nimet Beriker. Sandole also gave a lecture on the role of the European Union as a source of peace building in Bosnia at Bogazici University (University of the Bosporus), in Istanbul. Sandole also had an article, "The 'New' Terrorism: Causes, Conditions, and Conflict Resolution" published in Wiener Blaetter zur Friedensforschung (Vienna Journal of Peace Research), no. 121, December 2004, of the University Center for Peace Research, University of Vienna.

Robinson Professors

Harold Morowitz, Robinson Professor of Biology and Natural Philosophy, wrote a paper, "A Paradigm Shift in Biochemistry," with V. Srinivasan and E. Smith, which was published in the Journal of the Washington Academy of Science, Fall 2004. A tribute to current applications of Morowitz's early research appeared in "Life, Reinvented," an article in the November Wiredmagazine. The article discussed the influence Morowitz had on MIT researcher Tom Knight.

James Trefil, Robinson Professor of Physics, wrote a paper, "Why I Never Use PowerPoint When I Teach: Some Thoughts on Technology and Instruction," which was published in the Bulletin of the Chemists and Technologists of Macedonia, vol. 23, no. 2. He also wrote a review for the Nov. 14, 2004, edition of the Washington Post Book World of Richard Dawkins' The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution.

Roger Wilkins, Robinson Professor of History and American Culture, was awarded the Staige D. Blackford Prize for Best Nonfiction published in 2004 by the Virginia Quarterly Review. Wilkins received the award for "Doing the Work: Why We Need Affirmative Action," which appeared in the Winter 2004 issue. His essay explores racism, segregation, and privilege in American culture and presents a powerful argument for the continuing need for affirmative action. Wilkins also gave a lecture on "The Civil Rights Movement: Its Impact on American Democracy," at Southeastern Center for Intercultural Studies at Presbyterian College, Clinton, S.C. He was chief toaster, roaster, and introducer for the National Press Club's Fourth Estate Award given to William Raspberry. He was the guest speaker at the Madeira School for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Wilkins appeared at the National Archives and on The Lehrer Newshourwith Nick Kotz, the author of Judgment Days: Lyndon Baines Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Laws That Changed America as part of the publication events for the book.

School of Computational Sciences

Kristy Garnet was awarded an ambassadorial scholarship from the Rotary Foundation to study Spanish language and culture at VenUSA College in Mérida, Venezuela, next fall.

School of Information Technology and Engineering

Jeremy Allnutt, Electrical and Computer Engineering, was elected fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), one of the highest honors IEEE can bestow in recognition of a member's technical, educational, and leadership achievements. Allnutt received his award for contributions to the propagation of signals from satellites through the atmosphere.

Rafal Kicinger, Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering (CEIE), received the International Internship Award from the 21st Century COE of Flow Dynamics, Institute of Fluid Science of Tohoku University, in Sendai, Japan. He is currently working in Sendai with Shigeru Obayashi, a professor and one of the leading experts in the field of computational fluid dynamics and multiobjective optimization. This award is a result of ongoing cooperation between CEIE and Tohoku University.

School of Law

Peter Berkowitz, Hoover Research Fellow, is a contributing author for Beyond Paradise and Power: Europe, America, and the Future of a Troubled Partnership edited by Tod Linberg. This collection of essays, published by Routledge in 2004, examines the strained relationship between the United States and Europe, analyzing current transatlantic relations and how they have evolved since Sept. 11, 2001.

School of Management

J.P. Auffret was an invited speaker at the Waseda International Workshop on ICT, CIO, and e-government sponsored by Waseda University (Japan), the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, and the International Telecommunications Union, and held in Tokyo. Auffret spoke on "The Development and Evolutions of CIO University."

Sidhartha Das, Decision Sciences, co-wrote "An Algorithm for Scheduling Batches of Parts in a Multi-Cell Flexible Manufacturing System," which was accepted for publication in the International Journal of Production Economics.

Amitava Dutta, Management, was approved as a certified information systems auditor by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association. Dutta also served as conference co-chair for the 14th Workshop on Information Systems and Technology held in Washington, D.C., where he presented his paper, "Assigning Numbers to Intangible Benefits."

Jim Hsieh, Finance, co-wrote a paper, "The History and Performance of Concept Stocks," which was accepted for publication in the Journal of Banking and Finance.

Mahesh Joshi

Mahesh Joshi, Management, and Sidhartha Das, Decision Sciences, presented "Autonomy and Performance in Technology Services Organizations" at the national meeting of the Proceedings of the Decision Sciences Institute in Boston.

David Kravitz, Management, joined the editorial board of Group and Organization Management.

Sarah E. Nutter, Accounting, spoke at the Mercatus Center's Freedom to Prosper Conference for the Congressional Black Caucus, National Urban League, and NAACP. Nutter's lecture, "Equity in Tax Policy: A Realistic Possibility?" considered the theoretical and practical issues that must be addressed in developing sound tax policy. The purpose of the conference was to stimulate discussion among key policy makers about how the interplay of government policy and economic/market incentives can solve current problems.

Beth Schneider, Management, had the second edition of her textbook, Interpersonal Skills in Organizations, published in January by McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Schneider wrote the text with Suzanne Dejanasz of the University of Mary Washington and Karen Dowd of the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. The authors also wrote the instructor's manual and test bank for the textbook.

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