Aug. 22, 2018

back to news and updates Aug. 22, 2018

Aug. 22, 2018

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

NEWS & UPDATES

Aug. 22, 2018

Excellence in the arts and sciences

It can be a challenge to communicate all of the successes and excellence occurring across units and disciplines in the College of Arts and Sciences, which is why this semester, we’ll begin featuring the voices of department and school leaders. Chairs and Directors — submit your statements here.

Michael Slater, Director of the School of Communication

Fake news. Disinformation. Bots. FBI indictments of Russian nationals for attempts to influence the U.S. election. Suddenly the new world of communication — internet, social media, blogs — has come to the center of world attention, and Western democracies, including our own, are struggling to adjust to new realities, for better and for worse.

Our discipline of communication finds itself at the center of efforts to understand and address such issues. How we train our undergraduates in making sense of this new world, in participating responsibly as journalists, strategic communicators, communication specialists, and citizens, has never been so important. The role of quality, evidence-based journalism is also increasingly recognized, and the training available through the Lantern and our courses is likewise increasingly valued.

I’m very glad to acknowledge the research efforts of our world-class faculty and graduate students, who have played leading roles in advancing understanding of these issues. The School of Communication is one of the pre-eminent programs in the world for the study and the teaching of communication, and we aim to contribute research-based knowledge to our society. This is evidenced by our #1 ranking among communication programs worldwide both in Shanghai Ranking and in the Center for World University Rankings.

We also are dedicated to addressing these issues in the classroom: For example, we are developing a course designed for all Ohio State undergraduates to provide a fundamental understanding of online, social, and traditional media — how to assess information and sources critically, recognizing the biases of others as well as one’s own — to strengthen informed citizenship, one of this university’s key missions.

This is an exciting place. And what we do — in teaching, in research, in service to our society — matters.

NEWS & RESEARCH

Why zebrafish (almost) always have stripes

One of the most remarkable things about the iconic yellow and blue stripes of zebrafish is that they reliably appear at all. Zebrafish begin life as transparent embryos, with three types of pigment cells on their skin. As they develop, the pigment cells somehow manage to organize themselves almost without fail into the stripes we all know. Now researchers have developed a mathematical model that may explain the key role that one of those pigment cells plays in making sure each stripe ends up exactly where it belongs on the fish. “It’s amazing that you have these individual cells that can sort themselves into these reliable patterns,” said Alexandria Volkening, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow at the Mathematical Biosciences Institute. The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.

Saltzman co-authors Science paper on oxygenation of Earth's atmosphere

Matthew Saltzman, director of the School of Earth Sciences, is co-author on a paper in Science, which links biological evolution to a dramatic rise of atmospheric oxygen about 400 million years ago. The study integrated geologic proxy data from iodine to calcium ratios in ancient sediments, which is novel in monitoring upper ocean oxygen levels around threshold levels for metazoan survival.

How ugly marital spats might open the door to disease

Married people who fight nastily are more likely to suffer from leaky guts — a problem that unleashes bacteria into the blood and can drive up disease-causing inflammation, new research suggests. It’s the first study to illuminate this particular pathway between bad marriages and poor health, said lead author Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, director of the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research and assistant professor of psychology. The study appears in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.

Immune cells in the brain have surprising influence on sexual behavior

Researchers have found a surprising new explanation of how young brains are shaped for sexual behavior later in life. Immune cells usually ignored by neuroscientists appear to play an important role in determining whether an animal’s sexual behavior will be more typical of a male or female, according to research led by Kathryn Lenz, an assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience in the College of Arts and Sciences. The study, which was done in rats, appears in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Jean-François Lafont named interim chair of Department of Mathematics

Mathematics professor Jean-François Lafont was named interim chair of the Department of Mathematics, effective Aug. 1, 2018, through July 31, 2019. Lafont received his doctorate from the University of Michigan in 2002 and was a postdoctoral researcher at the State University of New York at Binghamton. He is a member of the London Mathematical Society Student Texts’ editorial board and was a guest editor for Pure and Applied Mathematics Quarterly, among other editorial credits.

Harald Vaessin named chair of Department of Molecular Genetics

Molecular genetics professor Harald Vaessin was named chair of the Department of Molecular Genetics, effective June 1, 2018, through May 31, 2022. Vaessin earned his doctorate in developmental physiology from the University of Cologne in Germany. In March 2018, he won the President and Provost’s Award for Distinguished Faculty Service, an accolade that recognizes faculty members who have been at Ohio State for at least five years and have served in major leadership roles.

Cynthia Clopper named interim chair of the Department of Linguistics

Linguistics professor Cynthia Clopper was named interim chair of the Department of Linguistics, effective Aug. 15, 2018, through June 30, 2019. Clopper received her BA from Duke University and MA and PhD from Indiana University. She spent one year as a postdoctoral researcher at Indiana and one year as a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University before becoming a faculty member at Ohio State in 2006.

Carlisle Kletchka publishes professional development anthology

Dana Carlisle Kletchka, assistant professor in the Department of Arts Administration, Education and Policy, recently published a book entitled Professional Development in Art Museums: Strategies of Engagement Through Contemporary Art, with colleague B. Stephen Carpenter, II, from the School of Visual Arts at Penn State University. In this innovating anthology, Carlisle Kletchka and Carpenter have compiled translations and examinations of theory and practice at the intersection of collaborative professional development, art museums and contemporary art.

Department of Physics hosts DARPA program review

The Department of Physics held the first program review meeting Aug. 7-9 for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program, Topological Excitations in Electronics (TEE). TEE’s goal is to illustrate the utility of topological excitations in various applications including memory, logic, sensors and quantum information processing. More than 50 participants attended the meeting, including researchers from IBM, MIT, Cornell, New York University, Carnegie Mellon, the University of Virginia, the National Institute of Science and Technology, and from laboratories in Canada, France and Germany. Ohio State will receive $6.34 million in DARPA funding over the next three and a half years as part of the TEE program.

AWARDS

Sociology graduate student awarded NSF grant

Laura DeMarco, graduate student in the Department of Sociology, has won a National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant to support her research, entitled “Criminal Records and Housing Discrimination: An Audit Study.” DeMarco, along with advisor Ryan King, seeks to identify the prevalence and scope of criminal record use to disqualify applicants at an early stage of the housing application process.

Triplehorn Insect Collection video named a finalist in ESA contest

Huayan Chen and Luciana Musetti of the Triplehorn Insect Collection are featured in a video on biomimicry that has been named a finalist in the “YouTube Your Entomology” contest, sponsored by the Entomological Society of America. The video, "Wasps to Human Surgery: Inspiration From Nature", created by Jessika Raisor (Columbus College of Art and Design), is one of five finalists in the contest. The winners will be announced at ESA's annual meeting, "Entomology 2018," Nov. 11-14, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. You can watch all the 2018 contest finalists by clicking here.

Thorne receives visual arts fellowship

Jared Thorne, assistant professor in the Department of Art, was named a recipient of the 2018 Visual Arts Fellowship, sponsored by the Greater Columbus Arts Council and Columbus Museum of Art. Thorne, who was chosen from 94 applicants, will receive $5,000 and will be featured in an exhibition hosted by the Columbus Museum of Art in 2019.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Career Closet in need of donations

Please consider donating your gently used professional clothes, shoes and accessories to the Student Life Career Closet. All donated items will be used to provide a closet where students in need can “shop” for free professional attire. Donations will be accepted through Friday, Aug. 31, and can be dropped off at any one of nine locations. Visit go.osu.edu/careercloset for more information, or contact Lane Washington with questions.

Buckeye Wellness Health Athlete team hosts workshop

The Buckeye Wellness Health Athlete team invites you to a special workshop session, “Continuing the Mission to an Extraordinary Life," with Dr. Jack Groppel, co-founder of the Corporate Athlete training program and co-founder of the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute. This special event will be held Sept. 26 from 2-4 p.m. at the Blackwell Inn and Pfahl Conference Center. Registration is free and open to all Ohio State faculty and staff. Please register here.

Save the Date: SAC Town Hall

The College of Arts and Sciences Staff Advisory Council will host a Town Hall event Wednesday, Sept. 19 from noon-1 p.m. in the Smith Seminar Room in the Physics Research Building. Please RSVP to Jessi Jones.

ASCTech hosts professional portrait day

Need an updated headshot for your OPic or other professional use? Stop by the ASCTech Studio at 142 Hagerty Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 29 from 11-5 for a free portrait, uploaded to Box. If you'd like a specific time, please make an appointment by clicking here.

FEATURED EVENTS

Sept. 4: Education Abroad Expo

The 2018 Education Abroad Expo is the perfect place to learn more about Ohio State’s 200-plus study abroad programs. Join us on Tuesday, Sept. 4 from 2-6 p.m. in the Archie Griffin East Ballroom at the Ohio Union. Students can talk one-on-one with the experts and find out about the myriad of ways to study abroad at Ohio State. Visit the Office of International Affairs for all the details.

IN THE NEWS

Harvey Miller, Reusche Chair in Geographic Information Science
and director, Center for Urban and Regional Analysis, “How ‘green’ are the e-scooters?” Columbus Underground, Aug. 20

Joshua Hawley, associate professor, Center for Human Resource Research, “Electric scooters seemingly everywhere; regulations, not so much,” The Columbus Dispatch, Aug. 19

Mitchell Lerner, assistant professor, history, “John Bolton claims there’s ‘concern’ 3 countries besides Russia are meddling in elections,” Mic, Aug. 19

Kenneth Madsen, associate professor, geography, “Exhibit showcases images of Mexico border walls, fences,” Associated Press, Aug. 19

Paul Sutter, community outreach coordinator, CCAPP, “How to build a rocket in 3 easy steps,” Space.com, Aug. 16

Treva Lindsey, associate professor, women’s, gender and sexuality studies, “Scholars remember the ‘Queen of Soul’ Aretha Franklin,” Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, Aug. 16

Aaron Wilson, senior research associate, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center, “Extreme weather and climate change,” WOSU, Aug. 15

Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, professor, psychology, “How ugly marital spats might open the door to disease,” Ohio State News, Aug. 15

Kathryn Lenz, assistant professor, psychology, “Immune cells in the brain have surprising influence on sexual behavior,” Ohio State News, Aug. 14

Christopher Browning, ASC Distinguished Professor, sociology, “Black boys feel less safe in white neighborhoods, study shows,” The New York Times, Aug. 14

Marcus Jackson, assistant professor, English, “Micro-arts fest celebrates poetry, ritual and Frank Stanford at Silo City,” The Buffalo News, Aug. 14

UPCOMING EVENTS

July 17 - Sept. 22
Pattern Thinking: Australian Aboriginal Art
Urban Arts Space

Aug. 11 - Sept 15
Ohio Through the Lens of a Quilt Block
Urban Arts Space

Aug. 20 - Oct. 5
Field Day
Hopkins Hall Gallery

Aug. 29
Meet and Greet of Migration Studies Scholars
350A, Research Commons, 18th Avenue Library

If you have information or announcements for News & Updates, please submit online, or call (614) 292-8686. News & Updates is published every Wednesday; deadline for content is Monday at noon. Publication Guidelines

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