In the Spotlight: April 23, 2021

Kudos to these faculty, staff and programs

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  • Associate professor of anthropology Lisa Hardy co-authored the article, “Fear of vaccines grows with the need for medical ethics” published with KevinMD. The article discusses the importance of public trust for the future of global public health bringing in a conversation about the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
  • Yvonne Luna, chair of the Department of Sociology and Social Work and associate professor of sociology, was selected by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities to be one of 35 higher education professionals in the 2021 Emerging Leaders Program. The program was created to prepare early- to mid-career academic and administrative staff to advance to administrative roles with greater responsibility and oversight.
  • Bertrand Cambou, professor in the Department of Applied Physics and Materials Science (APMS), had a patent granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office titled, “Generation of Keys of Variable Length from Cryptographic Tables.” The patent is for a cryptographic infrastructure that provides an approximation of the one-time pad scheme where a cryptographic table is shared between a message sender and recipient by a secure transfer.
  • Fatemeh Afghah, associate professor in the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems (SICCS), co-authored the article, “Green internet of things using UAVs in B5G networks: A review of applications and strategies” published in Ad Hoc Networks. The article is an overview of the techniques and strategies proposed to achieve green internet of things (IoT) devices by using unmanned aerial vehicle infrastructure.
  • From SICCS, assistant research professor Patrick Jantz, postdoctoral scholar Richard Massey, postdoctoral scholar Chris Hakkenberg and professor Scott Goetz co-authored the article, “Mapping tree diversity in the tropical forest region of Chocó-Colombia” published in Environmental Research Letters. The study developed a methodology to map tree diversity in tropical forest regions using α-diversity estimates from inventories as response variables and forest structural metrics and environmental variables as predictors.
  • Meredith Heller, senior lecturer of women’s and gender studies, was the recipient of the John Leo and Dana Heller award for her recent book titled, “Queering Drag: Redefining the Discourse of Gender-Bending.” The award honors the work and contributions to the Popular Culture Association and the LGBTQ studies that significantly contribute to the understanding and representation of LGBTQ people in popular culture. The book was featured on NBC’s list of “10 LGBTQ books to watch out for in 2020.”
  • Steven Gehrke, assistant professor in the Department of Geography, Planning and Recreation, co-authored the article, “Patterns and predictors of early electric vehicle adoption in Massachusetts” published in the International Journal of Sustainable Transportation. The study analyzed statewide vehicle registry data from 2008 to 2016 to identify the spatiotemporal patterns and environmental associates of early electric vehicle ownership.
  • Professor of educational psychology Timothy Thomason published three books in 2020. “Case Studies in Psychopathology” describes the lives and personalities of 50 famous people and provides diagnostic impressions regarding mental disorders they may have had. “Native American Psychology” provides the information mental health providers need to work effectively with Native American clients. “Wild Psychotherapy” describes the techniques used by some of the most creative psychotherapists in the country.
  • Frederick DeMicco, executive director of the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management, co-authored the article, “Club Medic – Hotel Onsite Medical Clinic: Franchise Model for a Lodging Market Competitive Advantage” published with Hospitality Net. The article discusses the benefits of using a Prontocare business model to add onsite clinics to hotels and resort spas.