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11/25/02

Awards and Honors
Randolph Blake, Centennial Professor of Psychology and investigator and senior fellow at the Kennedy Center, received the 2002 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Texas in Arlington Oct. 26. The gala event was attended by more than 600 alumni, friends and community leaders. Blake was selected for his lifetime contributions to research in experimental psychology.

Professor of Education David M. Bloome will assume the presidency of the National Council of Teachers of English Tuesday, Nov. 26, the last day of the NCTE’s annual convention in Atlanta. NCTE is dedicated to improving the teaching and learning of English and language arts at all levels of education. The council’s 75,000 members include educators at primary, secondary and post-secondary levels. Bloome, who joined the faculty in 1995, is a professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Peabody. His research interests include reading and writing in classrooms — particularly the social and cultural dimensions of reading and writing and the uses of reading and writing in homes and communities. Bloome also looks at the ways that classroom conversations create knowledge, social relationships and social identities. He is co-editor of Linguistics and Education: An International Research Journal.

Jerry Fife, director of contract and grant accounting, student accounts and student loans, cashiers office and interim chief human resources officer, was awarded the Rod Rose Award for excellence in publication by the Society of Research Administrators. He earned the award for his publication in the Journal of Research Administration titled “Pricing the Services of Scientific Cores.” His two-part article was co-authored with Robert Forrester, who is retired from PricewaterhouseCoopers, and proposes a method for charging the cost of scientific cores at research institutions which may support research in similar or in multidisciplinary areas. The article, found in Volume XXXIII, Number II, 2002, has been lauded as a significant contribution to the field.

Papers and Presentations
Jimmy L. Davidson, professor of electrical engineering, materials science and management of technology, presented an invited talk, “Diamond Field Emission Devices,” to the Diamond 2002 Conference on Diamond, Diamond-like Materials, l Carbon Nanotubes, Nitrides and Silicon Carbide, Sept. 13 in Granada, Spain. The paper he presented was co-authored by Weng Poo Kang, professor of materials science and engineering, electrical engineering, and computer engineering, and Ph.D. graduate A. Wistora-At.
Patrick Meldrim, director of residence life in the Office of Housing and Residential Education, led a roundtable discussion on University Administration Response to Heterosexism and Homophobia at the Tennessee Collegiate GLBT Student Conference Oct. 11-12 at Vanderbilt. His co-leader for discussion was Peter Nielson, a senior in the School of Engineering.
Prasad L. Polavarapu, professor of chemistry, presented an invited talk on “Chiral analysis” symposium at the Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies meeting held in Providence, R.I., Oct.12-17. The title of his talk was “Determination of the Structures of Chiral Molecules in Solution Phase.”

Paul D. Sheldon, associate professor of physics and director of undergraduate studies in physics and astronomy, presented his invited review talk on “Charm and Beauty Spectroscopy” to the First International Workshop on Frontier Science Oct. 6-11 at INFN Laboratori in Frascati, Italy. Visit http://frontierscience.lnf.infn.it/ for more information.

Carol Swain, professor of law and political science, delivered the keynote address at the 2002 Academic Convocation at Virginia Military Institute in September. The convocation ceremony, which convened faculty, staff, cadets and members of the local community, officially marked the beginning of the new academic year at VMI. The title of the address was “I’ll Show Them: Beating the Odds and Taming the System.”

Kenneth Wong, professor of public policy and education, was invited by the Louisiana Legislative Task Force on Local School Governance and Administration to give recommendations on effective reforms in urban school districts Oct. 7. His presentation in New Orleans was titled, “Models of School Governance: Institutional Designs and their Effectiveness in Urban Systems.” Task Force members include state legislators, state and local school board members, the state superintendent, business and civic representatives, teachers and parents.

Professional Activities
Jane Kirchner, associate dean of the Blair School of Music and associate professor of flute; Cassandra Lee, assistant professor of clarinet; and John Johns, associate professor of guitar, performed the Trio in A Major, Op. 16 by Joseph Kreutzer at the Annual Convention of the National Flute Association in Washington, D.C., in August.

Items for “Faculty and Staff Notes” should be sent to Jessica Howard, via e-mail to jessica.howard@vanderbilt.edu, via fax to 343-7313 or by mail to the Vanderbilt Register, 708 Baker Building, 110 21st Ave. S., Nashville, TN 37203.

Posted 11/25/02 at 10 a.m.