In the Spotlight: June 8, 2016

Kudos to these faculty, staff and students

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  • LACDA posterMark Neumann, professor of creative media and film in the School of Communication, had his work selected for the 2016 “Top 40 Artists” international juried exhibition at the Los Angeles Center of Digital Art. The exhibition runs June 9 through July 2. Neumann’s photographs use tiny prefabricated plastic figures set in natural wilderness and human built landscapes to create a variety of narrative scenes. Neumann’s image titled “Rest Stop at the Dam” also was selected for the exhibition poster.
  • Meliksah Demir, associate professor of psychological sciences, undergraduate Andrew Haynes, and alumna Shannon Potts, co-authored an article titled “My Friends Are My Estate: Friendship Experiences Mediate the Relationship between Perceived Responses to Capitalization Attempts and Happiness” published in the Journal of Happiness Studies. Across four studies, the authors reported that friendship experiences explain why receiving positive responses upon sharing a positive event with a friend is related to happiness. Demir’s work on friendship and happiness also received recognition in a recent BBC story “What I learnt using a ‘friendship app.’”
  • Tinna Traustadóttir, assistant professor of biological sciences, led a study titled “Exercise-induced Nrf2-signaling is impaired in aging” published in Free Radical Biology and Medicine. The study found the effects of exercise on cells varies with age. Compared to male participants who were older than 54, younger people had more positive effects from exercise, which triggered a response with a regulator of antioxidant genes.
  • NAU’s Family Violence Institute’s Associate Director Holly Hulen received an invitation to attend the United State of Women Summit in Washington D.C. Convened by the White House, the summit will cover economic empowerment, leadership and civic engagement, educational opportunity, health and wellness, entrepreneurship and violence against women.
  • Leave Green campaignNAU Housing and Residence Life’s “Leave Green Move Out” donation program recorded its third highest collection in program history. Big Brothers Big Sisters collected 31,197 pounds of unwanted items from the residence halls and Sunshine Rescue Mission collected more than 6,000 pounds of non-perishable food and 1,000 pounds of cleaning supplies. Accepted items included gently used clothing, household items, books, school supplies, furniture and small appliances. Housing and Residence Life has managed the program since 2010 to benefit several Flagstaff non-profit agencies.