Notables
Eleni
Bastéa, associate professor in the School of Architecture
and Planning, has been elected to serve on the executive board
of the Modern Greek Studies Association (MGSA).
I
am deeply honored to be elected to the board for a three-year
term, 2003-2005. As an architectural historian, I have conducted
most of my original research on the planning and architecture
of 19th and 20th century Greece, said Bastéa, author
of, The Creation of Modern Athens: Planning The Myth,
(Cambridge University Press, 2000).
The Modern
Greek Studies Association, founded in 1968, is an American-based,
non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of Modern
Greek studies in the United States and Canada.
Bastéa
said that most of the academic research in Modern Greek studies
has focused on literature, history and anthropology.
Modern Greek studies needs to expand its visibility and counterbalance
the occasional isolation of the field by encouraging the active
collaboration of Modern Greek scholars with colleagues in other
studies and disciplines, she said.
I
believe that this comparative and interdisciplinary approach
to international studies reflects the aims of The University
of New Mexico, as it establishes closer ties with other programs
in foreign countries. I look forward to bringing my experience
from the MGSA Board back to this campus, Bastéa
said.
***
UNM Health
Sciences Center Behavior Health Administrator Pamela Galbraith
recently accepted a position with the American Hospital Association
(AHA) Section for Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Services.
She will serve for three years as a member of the governing
council.
Galbraith
will advise the AHA on member service strategies, public policy
issues, advocacy positions and emerging issues, as well as serve
as a liaison between the AHA and medical field.
***
Research
Professor Arthur H. Guenther of the Center for High Technology
Materials has been asked by the president of the International
Commission for Optics (ICO) to focus his activities on growing
an optics enterprise in Africa.
The request
was made by ICO President Rene Dandliker of Neuschatal, Switzerland.
Guenther
recently attended the 6th African Laser, Atomic, Molecular and
Optical Sciences Network ( LAM) Symposium in Tunis, Tunisia.
More than 30 nations were represented including 16 from Africa.
Guenther spoke on a Comprehensive Photonics Education
Program, The Albuquerque Model.
Without
question our extensive optics education program in Albuquerque
from middle school to post graduate levels continues to garner
both national and international recognition, Guenther
said.
Guenther
recently completed a three-year term as the elected president
of ICO, an organization of some 50 plus nations.
Additionally,
he edited a text International Trends in Applied Optics
with contributors from throughout the world, the royalties of
which go towards the funding of optics educational activities
in developing nations.
***
The American
Educational Research Association (AERA) has awarded a post-doctoral
fellowship to Native American Programs staff Tiffany Lee.
Lee coordinates
education programs at UNM sponsored by the Council of Energy
Resource Tribes (CERT), is also a research consultant for the
David & Lucile Packard Foundation and teaches part time
for UNMs Native American Studies.
Beginning
this August, Lee, who is of Navajo/Lakota descent, will engage
in two to three years of research on Educational influences
on the development of Native American identity and on service
to Native American communities in collaboration with mentor
Greg Cajete, Ph.D., UNM associate professor of education and
Native American Studies director.
My
goal with this fellowship is to conduct community-based research
as a way to learn about identity issues among Native American
young people, and in that effort, learn how educational programs
can be successful in instilling our communities values
among this population, Lee said.
AERA awards
up to 12 fellowships each year to researchers who obtained a
higher degree (Ph.D., Ed.D, or equivalent) in the past 10 years
and show potential or demonstrated capacity to perform educational
research.
They must
also have teamed with mentors who are established members of
the education research community.
***
The American
Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) selected Biology
Professor Maggie Werner-Washburne as one of nine scientists
to participate in a project showcasing the achievements of distinguished
U.S. Hispanic women scientists to wide audiences of scientists,
educators, students and policymakers in Latin America.
Werner-Washburne
will be one of three scientists honored at the annual meeting
of the Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science, in Recife,
Brazil, July 2003.
The six
other scientists selected were honored at annual meetings held
in Costa Rica and Panama last year.
The project,
AAAS Lecture Series on Women in Science and Engineering, selected
American Hispanic women scientists with compelling personnel
stories about overcoming the challenges of pursuing scientific
careers who are interested in sharing their experiences with
Latin American colleagues.
Applicants
are selected on the basis of their outstanding careers working
in scientific fields traditionally dominated by male scientists.
These fields include biological and physical sciences, mathematics
and engineering.
The selected
scientists and engineers will lecture about their fields of
work, their personal experiences as women scientists, opportunities
and obstacles in career advancement, strategies used to prevail
over such challenges and the role of women in science and technology.
The project
is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).