MavWire 2016 Archive » MavWire — Monday, April 18, 2016

Dr. Kevin Schug and Dr. Barbara Shipman

Two UTA professors named Fellows of UT System Academy of Distinguished Teachers

Two UTA professors have been honored as 2016 Fellows of the UT System Academy of Distinguished Teachers in recognition for their leadership in education and commitment to improving learning across The University of Texas System.

Kevin Schug, Shimadzu Distinguished Professor of Analytical Chemistry, and Barbara Shipman, associate professor of mathematics and a UTA Distinguished Teaching Professor, will be inducted into the Academy in Austin on Tuesday, April 19. They represent two of the three 2016 inductees into the prestigious UT System organization.

UT System Academy Fellows serve as an advisory and advocacy group dedicated to fostering classroom innovation, promoting interdisciplinary perspectives, and catalyzing the sharing of best practices across campuses in the UT System. Members must be previous recipients of the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award.

Dr. Endel Iarve

NASA awards UTARI researcher $1 million to develop better models for rotor spar fatigue, composite materials

UTA and the UTA Research Institute will develop state-of-the-art computational methodologies to predict the strength and life of rotor blade assemblies, known as rotor spars, through a new $1 million agreement.

Endel Iarve, an accomplished research scientist and expert in composite materials, will lead the three-year project. In 2015, Dr. Iarve joined UTA and the new Institute for Predictive Performance Methodologies.

The NASA project is funded through the federal agency’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate in alignment with the Advanced Composites Project, which focuses on providing safe and sustainable domestic and global aviation. Researchers also are working to reduce the timeline for development and certification of state-of-the-art composite materials and structures, which will help make advanced composite components more competitive in commercial aircraft.

Read more about the NASA rotor spar, composite project.

Dr. Jeffrey Gagne

Environmental factors are relevant to development of toddlers' self-control

UTA researchers have found that by age 3 environmental influences, such as parenting, are relevant factors in the development of toddlers’ self-control when they are asked not to do something they want to do, such as run into the street or eat a forbidden snack.

Jeffrey Gagne, assistant professor of psychology, and co-author Kimberly Saudino, professor of psychological and brain sciences at Boston University, published their findings in the leading child development journal Developmental Psychology.

The researchers studied 300 pairs of twins and measured their inhibitory control through interviews with their parents and also by testing and videoing their responses to temperament assessments in a laboratory setting.

Read more about Dr. Gagne's child development research.

Dr. Julienne Greer

Research on social robots at next Focus on Faculty

Julienne Greer, associate professor of theatre arts, will discuss her research in social robotics for the Focus on Faculty lecture at noon-1:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 20, in the sixth floor parlor of the Central Library. A reception follows.

"Empathy and Embodiment: The Interdisciplinary Collaboration of Theatre Arts and Social Robotics" looks at social robots that will be our companions, caretakers, and trusted friends in the future. The presentation shows how theatre arts methodologies of performance, emotion, and storytelling apply to the emerging field of social robotics and human-robot interaction.

Dr. Greer is a 2015 recipient of a College of Liberal Arts faculty award granting the purchase of Pepper the emotional robot. She has developed the curriculum for an interdisciplinary course at UTA titled "Humans and Robots."

Focus on Faculty is sponsored by UTA Libraries.

Monday, April 18

Humanities Lecture Mohamed Keshavjee of the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London, author of Into That Heaven of Freedom: The Impact of Apartheid on an Indian Family’s Diasporic History. 5 p.m., auditorium, Architecture Building. Art and Art History.

Political Science Week Panel Discussion An alumni panel with Joy Grewatz, legislative associate of CapitalEdge; Dustin Henry, facilities planner, UT Medical Branch; and Jessica Watts, senior director of corporate relations, UT Dallas, discusses "Political Scienitists in the Real World." Noon, Room 116, University Hall. Political Science.

Position and Workforce Management Register online. 1:30-3:30 p.m., Room E200C, Enterprise Development Building, 140 W. Mitchell. Business Affairs.

Tuesday, April 19

Managing Projects and Making Decisions Register online. 9-11 a.m., Room 200, Wetsel Service Center. Human Resources.

Political Science Week Panel Discussion Political science faculty March Cichock, Brent Sasley, and Dale Story discuss "America and the World: Love It or Leave It." 12:30 p.m., Room 108, University Hall. Political Science.

Human Resources Lab Register online. 2-4 p.m., Room E200C, Enterprise Development Building, 140 W. Mitchell. Business Affairs.

Wednesday, April 20

Question, Persuade, Refer: Ask A Question, Save A Life Register online. 9-11 a.m., Room 601, Nedderman Hall. Human Resources.

Welcoming Diversity Register online. 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Room 200, Wetsel Service Center. Human Resources.

Political Science Week Panel Discussion Political science department experts Brent Boyea, Rebecca Deen, Thomas Marshall, and Allan Saxe discuss this year's presidential candidates and the election process. Noon, Room 115, University Hall. Political Science.

Women’s and Gender Studies Brown Bag Lecture Stephanie Tavera, English doctoral student, "Conspiracies of Silence: Sexing the Body in Nineteenth-Century Women's Medical Fiction." Noon-1 p.m., Room 200, Trimble Hall. Women's and Gender Studies.

Thursday, April 21

Coaching Skills for Supervisors Register online. 9-11 a.m. Room 200, Wetsel Service Center. Human Resources.

Political Science Week Panel Discussion Political science faculty Daniel Sledge and Trey Thomas discuss "Understanding Emerging Threats." 12:30 p.m., Room 108, University Hall. Political Science.

Adventures in Antiquity Symposium Christopher Fuhrmann of the University of North Texas, "Police Brutality in the Roman World." 3:30 p.m., Room 2102A, Fine Arts Building. Philosophy and Humanities.

Travel and Expenses Register online. 8:30-11:30 a.m., Room E200C, Enterprise Development Building, 140 W. Mitchell. Business Affairs.

Biology Colloquium Series Jason Head of the University of Cambridge, “Snaking Through Morphospace: Anatomical Test of the Role of Regulatory Genetics and Ecology in the Evolution of a Hyperdiverse Clade.” 4 p.m., Room 124, Life Science Building. Biology.

Tuesday, April 26

Dealing Effectively with Conflict and Confrontations Register online. 9-11 a.m., Room 200, Wetsel Service Center. Human Resources.

Financial Statements and the Reconciliation Process Register online. 2-4 p.m., Room E200C, Enterprise Development Building, 140 W. Mitchell. Business Affairs.

Wednesday, April 27

Effective Delegation Register online. 9-11 a.m., Room 200, Wetsel Service Center. Human Resources.

Texas American College of Sports Medicine Lecture Hirofumi Tanaka, director of the Cardiovascular Aging Research Laboratory at UT Austin, “Masters Athletes: Super Humans with Gray Hair and Wrinkled Skin?” Noon, Lone Star Auditorium, Maverick Activities Center. Kinesiology.

Social Work Colloquium Joanne Sobeck of Wayne State University, “Building Research Capacity.” RSVP to michael.olayiwole@mavs.uta.edu. 1-2 p.m., Room B107, Social Work Complex B. Research and Professional Development, Social Work.

Thursday, April 28

Finance Lab Register online. 8:30-10:30 a.m., Room E200C, Enterprise Development Building, 140 W. Mitchell. Business Affairs.

Frontiers in Science Edward F. DeLong of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, “Towards 4-Dimensional (Eco) Systems Biology in the Sea.” 1 p.m., Carlisle Suite, E.H. Hereford University Center. Biology.

Friday, April 29

Psychology Colloquium Stephan Motowidlo of Rice University, “Knowledge about the Utility of Prosocial Professionalism.” Noon, Room 110, University Hall. Psychology.

(For an expanded list of events, see the Events Calendar.)

Tuesday, April 19

Baseball Mavericks vs. Dallas Baptist. Tickets $5, $3 students. 6:30 p.m., Clay Gould Ballpark. Also, vs. Louisiana-Lafayette. 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 29. Athletics.

Clavier Piano Recital Free. 7:30 p.m., Irons Recital Hall, Fine Arts Building. Music.

Thursday, April 21

Percussion Ensemble Concert Free. 7:30 p.m., Irons Recital Hall, Fine Arts Building. Music.

MavPlays: 'Helios 24/7' Helios 24/7 by playwright-in-residence Natalie Gaupp follows a businesswoman and her artist daughter at odds in a world where the need for sleep can be permanently expunged. Tickets $7 faculty, staff, students, and seniors; $10 general public. 8 p.m., Studio 137, Fine Arts Building. Also, 8 p.m. Saturday, April 23. Theatre Arts.

Friday, April 22

Maverick Film Festival The competition features four-minute films by students. 7 p.m., Rosebud Theatre, E.H. Hereford University Center. Art and Art History.

MavPlays: 'Dogwood' Dogwood by playwright-in-residence Nova explores three people still nursing the scars of childhood whose aging parents were not aware of the damage they caused. Tickets $7 faculty, staff, students, seniors; $10 general public. 8 p.m., MainStage Theatre, Fine Arts Building. Also, 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 24. Theatre Arts.

Friends of the Library Kathleen Kent, author of The Outcasts. 7:30 p.m., sixth floor parlor, Central Library. UTA Libraries.

Sunday, April 24

Symphonic Band and Winds Concert Free. 5 p.m., Irons Recital Hall, Fine Arts Building. Music.

Monday, April 25

Administrative Professionals Day A luncheon for UTA's administrative professionals. 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Bluebonnet Ballroom, E.H. Hereford University Center. Human Resources.

Saturday, April 30

Softball Softball Mavericks vs. Troy. Tickets $5-7, $3 students. 1 and 3 p.m., Allan Saxe Field. Athletics.

The Day of the Child The multicultural celebration of children, families, and reading includes storytelling in several languages, entertainment, crafts, games, and prizes. 2-5 p.m., Maverick Activities Center. Modern Languages.

Ongoing

Faculty Creative Works Exhibit Artwork by faculty of the Art and Art History Department and posters, playbills, and a model set design by Theatre Arts faculty from their 2015 productions. Sixth floor, Central Library. Through Monday, April 25. UTA Libraries.

UTA Libraries: 'Score' Using Special Collections photos, the exhibit showcases the early days of baseball, basketball, and track; the end of Maverick football; and Olympians and Paralympians from UTA. Through April 30. Also, Academic Evolution: The University of Texas at Arlington runs through Aug. 31. Sixth floor, Central Library. UTA Libraries.

Planetarium Explore the secrets of the universe in the new show Dark. The spring schedule includes Astronaut, Cosmic Colors, From the Earth to the Universe, Pink Floyd, and SpacePark 360: Infinity. Through May 29. UTA Planetarium.

(For an expanded list of events, see the Events Calendar.)