In the Spotlight: Sept. 20, 2019

Kudos to these faculty, staff and programs

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  • Psychological sciences professors Heidi Wayment and Ann Huffman co-authored “A brief “quiet ego” workplace intervention to reduce compassion fatigue and improve health in hospital healthcare workers,” which was featured in Applied Nursing Research. The article investigates the risk of health care professionals developing compassionate fatigue and the effects it has on their health. 
  • Mark Salvatore, assistant professor in astronomy and planetary sciences, contributed to research in multiple presentations at the 9th International Conference on Mars in July. He also spoke at the annual McMurdo Long Term Ecological Research meeting on the results of his recent fieldwork in Antarctica using satellites to identify and characterize microbial communities in glacial melt streams.  Additionally, he was awarded a supplement to his current National Science Foundation award for mapping the Antarctic continent using big data and novel image processing techniques. The supplement will allow Salvatore’s group to work with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Flagstaff to validate their remote sensing techniques in Arizona and assist the USGS in their efforts to geologically map the western Arizona region. 
  • Fé Murray, assistant clinical professor in communication sciences and disorders, was featured on First Bite, a podcast by Michelle Dawson that discusses issues in speech therapy. Murray discussed ethical recommendations when it comes to pediatric bilingual evaluations and treatment. 
  • Northern Arizona University was included in Colorado State University’s Five Universities with a Strong Social Strategy. The list, based on social media engagement rates, included Washington State, Texas A&M, Michigan State and South Carolina. 
  • Ty Robinson, assistant professors of astronomy and planetary sciences, and doctoral student Colin Chandler presented at the Exoclimes V meeting held in Oxford, England. Chandler spoke on the Habitable Exoplanet Explorer mission concept based on the final report, in which Ph.D. student Amber Young is mentioned as a contributing scientist. Robinson presented on his work related to simulating the atmospheres of mysterious mini-Neptune exoplanets.
  • Associate professor of astronomy and planetary sciences Mark Loeffler’s proposal “Spectroscopy and Physical Properties of Ices in Cold Astrophysical Environments,” was accepted for funding by NASA’s Astrophysics Research and Analysis Program. The goal of the project, which is funded for three years for a total of about $435,000, is to characterize the spectral properties of homonuclear molecules that are expected to exist in icy grains present in the Interstellar Medium. Professor Stephen Tegler and Lowell Observatory astronomer Will Grundy are also collaborators on this project.
  • William Culbertson, professor of communication sciences and disorders, authored “Fundamentals of Speech and Language Sciences,” a new textbook providing an understanding of core concepts in speech and language.
  • Nadine Barlow, chair of the Department of Astronomy and Planetary Sciences, organized the 10th Planetary Crater Consortium meeting held at the U.S. Geological Survey in August. The meeting discussed impact craters on the moon, Mars, asteroids and Europa, as well as gave updates on the modeling of crater formation, the effect of terrain properties on crater derived surface ages and new crater analysis tools. Barlow gave a talk at the meeting on “The Role of Large Impacts in Greenhouse Warming on Early Mars.” 
  • Dorothy Wu Nelson, lecturer in strategic communication merchandising, authored “Fashion and social networking: a motivations framework,” published in the Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management. The article examines potential motivations that drive social networking sites for fashion-related behaviors among millennial consumers using a Uses and Gratifications perspective. 
  • Cristina Thomas, assistant professor of astronomy and planetary sciences, co-authored two papers published through the American Astronomical Society’s Committee on the Status of Women.