Faculty Notes
Kira Bailey
Kira Bailey, David O. Robbins Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, coauthored "Early- Career Pedagogical Practice: The Value of Training Undergraduates to Teach," published in the Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education, Fall 2023. The essay details the experience of an undergraduate, Chandler Carr '24, mentored in pedagogical techniques such as topic and reading selection, assessment creation and grading, and classroom management. Carr's pedagogical training included co-instructing a course with Bailey. Carr found the experience to be rewarding, learning the areas in which they excelled and struggled. For the mentor, this was a valuable opportunity to reflect on their own pedagogical choices and techniques.
Andy Busch '07
Andy Busch '07, associate professor of health and human kinetics, published the article "Electromyographic Analysis of Shoulder-Complex Muscles Performing Overhead Presses with Dumbbell, Kettlebell, and Bottom-Up Kettlebell" in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies 37(2), Dec. 2023. He found that shoulder-complex muscles respond differently according to the type of single-arm overhead press performed. This data extends the knowledge for rehabilitation professionals, trainers, and coaches to understand how different types of overhead presses may alter recruitment activity of shoulder-complex muscles, which may prove helpful when targeting specific muscles.
Scott Calef
Scott Calef, professor of philosophy, edited and contributed to a volume in the Open Universe Pop Culture and Philosophy series entitled Anthony Bourdain and Philosophy: An Appetite for Life. The book contains 18 original essays (two by Calef) on philosophically interesting aspects of the life, work, and legacy of Anthony Bourdain, the world-renowned author, celebrity chef, travel documentarian, and social activist. Chapters address the rationality of addiction, the nature of gastronomic expertise, the problem of suicide, authenticity, the ethics of AI impersonation, Bourdain's approach to inquiry, his involvement in the #MeToo movement, culinary adventure programs, colonialism, cultural hegemony, and other themes.
Hanliang Guo
Hanliang Guo, assistant professor of math and computer science, coauthored "Hydrodynamic Bound States of Rotating Microcylinders in a Confining Geometry," with collaborators Yi Man from Peking University, China, and Hai Zhu from Flatiron Institute, New York. The article, published in Physical Review Fluids, shows that a microcylinder pair rotating in a confining geometry filled with viscous fluids can form various mesmerizing dancing patterns. In November, he also presented a talk titled Flow Coupling and Stochastic Oscillations Amplify Feeding Currents in Stentor Colonies at the annual meeting of American Physical Society, Division of Fluid Dynamics, held in Washington, DC. He also served as a session chair of the session Biofluids: Cilia and Flagella II at the meeting.
Danielle Hamill
Danielle Hamill, professor of biological sciences, was a coauthor of the article "Fly-CURE, a Multi-Institutional CURE Using Drosophila, Increases Students' Confidence, Sense of Belonging, and Persistence in Research." The article was published in the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, Dec. 2023.
Craig Jackson & Jeff Nilan
Craig Jackson, (left) professor of mathematics, and Jeff Nilan, (right) professor of fine arts, work with Elsa Hoam '27 on a digitally controlled Jacquard loom they created that lets computer programs design the weavings it creates. The device creates intricate fabrics by using up to 400 miniature "servo" motors to precisely control the warps and wefts of the weaving process. The loom allows the professors to expand their focus on textile processes in their team-taught, interdisciplinary Generative Art 200.4 course, which combines math, computer science, and fine arts. When creating generative art, they explain, artists deliberately cede control over a significant aspect of their work to an external agent. The artist still sits at the Jacquard loom and weaves the textile, but the computer program dictates the design. Students in the class explore generative design principles made possible by having a Jacquard loom they control digitally via a computer.
Sarah Kaka
Sarah Kaka, associate professor of education, presented two sessions at the Ohio Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference in Columbus, OH: Introducing Micro-Inquiries: The Cure for the Common Textbook, presented with colleagues from the University of Cincinnati and the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education; and Structured Academic Controversy: What Is It and How Can You Use It? She also was lead presenter and organizer of a presentation titled Cacophony at the Statehouse: Stories of Faculty Activism in Troubled Times at the College and University Faculty Assembly of the National Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference, Nashville, TN. At the Nashville conference, Kaka also presented Micro- Inquiries and Minoritized Voices: The Cure for the Common Textbook, and she was on a panel in a session titled The Ins and Outs of Publishing Your Work. In February, she presented Rise Up: Stories of Faculty Activism Amidst the Culture Wars with colleagues from around Ohio at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education Annual Meeting in Denver, CO.
Brianna Mack
Brianna Mack, assistant professor of politics and government; Ashley Kennard, assistant professor of communication; Dawn Chisebe, chief diversity officer; and Phokeng Dailey, Warren C. Fairbanks Associate Professor of Communication, coauthored "Pedagogical Pivots to Promote Inclusion in a Summer Bridge Program." The essay was published in a special issue of the Journal for Research & Practice in College Teaching, Vol. 8 No. 2, 2024, titled "Teaching for Inclusion: Personal Narratives of Works in Progress." In the essay, they describe how an exchange between a local resident and program faculty prompted the faculty to shift their focus for the rest of an experiential learning trip. As instructors for a bridge program serving individuals from historically marginalized communities, they use collaborative teaching to promote interdisciplinary thinking. They reflect on the value of their ability to pivot while teaching in the environment and link it to their collaborative pedagogy and its usefulness to teach inclusivity by challenging prior notions of historical memory.
David Markwardt
David Markwardt, associate dean of the OWU Connection and associate professor of biological sciences; Craig Jackson, professor of mathematics, and Hanliang Guo, assistant professor of math and computer science, were awarded a National Science Foundation EPIIC (Enabling Partnerships to Increase Innovation Capacity) grant to broaden participation in "innovation ecosystems" that advance key technologies in advanced manufacturing, advanced wireless, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, quantum information science, semiconductors, novel materials, and microelectronics. The $396,000 award will fund initiatives on and off campus for three years to develop partnerships with industry that allow junior-level students to participate in high-quality summer internships. Students will receive pre-internship training and mentorship and will return from their summer internship with an applied research project of relevance to their industry partner. Students will work on their applied research project during their senior year under the mentorship of an OWU faculty member.
Leigh Mascolino
Leigh Mascolino, director of career connection, published a young adult fantasy/romance novel titled The Djinn Entrapment: A Thrilling Genie Romantic Adventure. Mascolino spent nearly 20 years writing the novel.
Glenda Nieto-Cuebas
Glenda Nieto-Cuebas, George and Louise Peters Associate Professor of World Languages and Cultures, Spanish, published a coedited volume, coauthored a book chapter, cotranslated a play, presented a talk in Puebla, México, and is collaborating on a grant-funded research project with a colleague at MacEwan University in Canada "to theoretically and practically define a new line of research" in Spanish theater. The book she coedited, La Comedia Entre Dos Mundos, was published by the Menéndez Pelayo Society in Spain and includes 18 essays from well-established scholars whose research focuses on Spanish early modern theater. Her coauthored book chapter was "Dismantling Myths and Repositioning the Other: Tirso de Molina for the 21st-Century Classroom," published in Tirso de Molina: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from the Twenty-First Century. In the article, Nieto-Cuebas and Erin Cowling demystify the hegemony of the character of Don Juan and highlight other works written by Tirso de Molina. In November, she presented Papá Calacas and Transborder Vision of Octavio Solís in His Adaptations of Spanish Early Modern Plays at the conference of the International Association of Hispanic and Spanish Golden Age Theatre.
Dustin Reichard
Dustin Reichard, associate professor of biological sciences; Josie Fornara '23; Lily Hambric '24; and Laurie Anderson, professor of biological sciences, published the article "Camera Traps Reveal Two Novel Predators of Black-Throated Sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata) Nests but Limited Support for the Nest Concealment Hypothesis" in The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. They investigated whether nests that were better hidden by vegetation were less likely to be eaten by predators, but they did not find much support for that hypothesis. In the process, they identified two new predators of blackthroated sparrow nests, striped skunks and gray foxes, which were not previously documented. An OWU Connection grant funded the research, which contributed to Fornara's honors thesis.
Rosemary Riley
Rosemary Riley, part-time instructor in Health and Human Kinetics, presented Obesity Medications: Impact on Dietetic Practice at the Ohio Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics meeting on April 12 in Cincinnati. About 200 dietitians from around Ohio attended.