SUNY Oswego was represented in multiple ways at the March meeting of the American Physical Society, which took place March 13-17 in New Orleans. Physics student Shelby Davis, pictured above, presented “Thin Film Organic Solar Cells: Theoretical and Experimental Band Gap Energy Calculations,” having as co-authors SUNY Oswego students Stephen Porter (physics) and Jerry Chamnichanh (electrical and computer engineering), December 2016 physics graduate Julia D’Rozario, and physics faculty member Carolina Ilie; as well as Zahra Ahmadi, Jack Rodenburg and Peter Dowben (University of Nebraska at Lincoln); Lucie Routaboul (University of Strasbourg); and Axel Enders (University of Bayreuth, Germany). Oswego physics major and Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence recipient Nicholas Noviasky presented “Voltage Controlled Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy,” with co-authors including Ildar Sabirianov and Ilie of Oswego’s physics department, as well as UNL’s Shi Cao, Xiaozhe Zhang, Guanhua Hua, Andrei Sokolov and Dowben, plus Eugene Kirianov (Southwest High School, Lincoln, NE). The Nebraska team representative, Guanhuo Hua, also gave an oral presentation on voltage control of magnetic anisotropy in “Magnetism in Curved Nanostructures and Nanowires” having as co-authors Noviasky and Ilie of Oswego, and UNL’s Cao, Sokolov, Yuewei Yin, Xiaoshan Xu and Dowben. Also, the SUNY Oswego team book “Electromagnetism: Problems and Solutions” by Ilie and alumnus Zac Schrecengost and illustrated by D’Rozario was part of the Institute of Physics booth, exhibited for the full week at APS.

Cristina Dragomir of the political science faculty published the article “Scheduled tribe status: the need for clarification” in the Center for the Advanced Study of India’s India in Transition publication and Hindu Business Line (which was also translated in Hindi to a total audience of more than a million readers). Her piece referred to the selected tribe status proceedings -- which provide advantages to designated communities -- in India, and the related politics of exclusion.

Eric Hellquist of the biological sciences faculty was a contributing author ​on a paper published with three colleagues at Rochester Institute of Technology. “Phenolic content of invasive and non-invasive emergent wetland plants,” published in the journal Aquatic Botany, describes concentrations of chemical compounds in wetland plants that may enhance the success of invasive species. Some of the data presented in the paper was collected at Rice Creek Field Station and Fallbrook. The senior author of the paper, Melissa (Maurer) Harrison, is a 2012 graduate of SUNY Oswego.

Abigail Jago presenting

Abigail Jago, pictured, a senior zoology major, presented a poster on her research at the annual meeting of the Eastern Branch of the Entomological Society of America, held March 18 to 21 in Newport, Rhode Island. Her poster, "Comparative analysis of trace metals in the ovipositors of wood-boring sawflies," was co-authored by faculty members Karen Sime (biological sciences) and Paul Tomascak (atmospheric and geological sciences). During the meeting, Jago was interviewed about her entomological interests by a local newspaper, the Newport Daily News.

Helen Knowles of the political science faculty published an op-ed in the Wenatchee World (Washington) newspaper, headlined "80 years on, Elsie is still with us," marking the 80th anniversary of the West Coast Hotel v. Parrish Supreme Court decision, a topic she is writing a book about.

Joshua McKeown, associate provost for international education and programs, was selected to be a mentor for the Connecting with the World: International Relations for Higher Education Institutions, this year focused on Myanmar. The program connects "a distinguished group of professionals from around the globe who are interested in providing mentorship to Myanmar participants, learning about Myanmar higher education and sharing experiences from the international education field with like-minded individuals." Myanmar (formerly Burma) is emerging from years of isolation and dictatorship into a functioning democracy in Southeast Asia. More advanced and sophisticated university collaborations internationally are part of its ongoing national development. As part of this volunteer mentorship, McKeown is guiding a participant from Myanmar via distance learning through many topics, including the history of internationalization/international offices, building an international office, international rankings and how to be an internationally ranked university, proposal writing and higher education finance, among others.

 

To submit items for People in Action consideration, please email information to proffice@oswego.edu. Deadline is Thursday before publication date.