CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Twenty-two UI faculty members were selected as associates or fellows of the Center for Advanced Study for the 2004-05 academic year.
The appointment grants one semester of release time for creative work on self-initiated programs of scholarly research or professional activity. The center’s annual competition culminated with 13 professors and associate professors receiving an associate appointment and nine assistant professors receiving a fellow appointment.
Two associates and four fellows also received Beckman appointments. Named for U. of I. alumnus and benefactor Arnold O. Beckman, the additional appointments recognized outstanding younger candidates who have made distinctive scholarly contributions.
U. of I. faculty members named associates, including those who received a Beckman appointment, and the research they intend to pursue:
- Beckman associate: Scott Althaus, speech communication and political science, “Public Deliberation and Popular Sovereignty in the Choice Between War and Peace.”
- Sandy Burgener, medical-surgical nursing, “Optimizing Quality of Life Outcomes in Persons With Dementia.”
- Janet Gaffney, special education, “High-Impact Late Intervention in Reading and Writing.”
- Lauren Goodlad, English, “Liberal Internationalism: Victorian Literary Encounters With the South.”
- James Imlay, microbiology, “Disruption of Sulfur Metabolism by Oxidative Stress.”
- Chang Liu, electrical and computer engineering, “Flexible Sensitive Skin: Large Area Electronics and Sensor Integration.”
- Michael Palencia-Roth, comparative and world literature, “Acompañado por Gabo: Las Pasiones Otoñales de Gabriel García Márquez (Living with Gabo).”
- Elizabeth Pleck, history and human and community development, “Changing Attitudes and Public Policy Toward Cohabitation, 1968-1990.”
- Fazal Rizvi, educational policy studies, “Identities ‘On the Move’: Student Mobility and Uses of International Education.”
- Taher Saif, mechanical and industrial engineering, “Deformation Mechanisms in Nano Grained Metal Films.”
- Beckman associate: Edmund Seebauer, chemical and biomolecular engineering, “Directed Self-Assembly of Nanostructures From Amorphous Semiconductors.”
- Mats Selen, physics, “An Experimental Study of Nuclear Forces Using Charmed Quarks.”
- Alexandru Zaharescu, mathematics, “Billiards and Farey Fractions.”
Assistant professors named fellows, including those who received a Beckman appointment, and the research they intend to pursue:
- Adrian Burgos Jr., history, “The Latins From Manhattan: Latinos, Black Baseball, and Making Urban Communities.”
- Debra Hawhee, English, “At the Edges of Language: Kenneth Burke’s Theories of the Body.”
- Paul Hergenrother, chemistry, “Using Small Molecules to Identify Novel Anti-Cancer Targets.”
- Elizabeth Hsiao-Wecksler, mechanical and industrial engineering, “Prevention of Falls in Older Adults: Assessment and Models of Human Balance.”
- Beckman fellow: Ilia Kapovitch, mathematics, “Genericity in Group Theory.”
- Silvina Montrul, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, “Understanding the Long-Lasting Effects of Early Linguistic Input in Bilinguals.”
- Beckman fellow: Daniel Pack, chemical and biomolecular engineering, “Design and Construction of Single-Shot DNA Vaccines.”
- Beckman fellow: Scott Silverman, chemistry, “DNA as a Catalyst for Chemical Reactions.”
- Beckman fellow: Benjamin Wandelt, physics and astronomy, “Probing for New Physics in Cosmological Data.”
