March People Notes

Ti-Grace Atkinson has joined the Arts & Sciences faculty as a lecturer in philosophy. She is completing her dissertation at Columbia University. Her areas of specialization include feminist philosophy and theory and the philosophy of language. She has taught at Columbia College, Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, Case Western University and Harvard. A renowned feminist theorist, Atkinson is the founder of the Institute for Contemporary Art in Philadelphia. She is the author of Amazon Odyssey, a collection of her writings.

Jody Azzouni, professor of philosophy, gave several talks in 2002: "Applied Mathematics: One Language, Two Interpretations" at the University of California at Irvine; "Why Scientific Laws and Empirically Applied Mathematical Doctrine Must Be Taken by Us to Be True" at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; "Dreaming" at Vanderbilt University; "Theoretical Terms, Observational Terms and Scientific Realism" at the annual meeting of the British Society for Philosophy of Science at the University of Glasgow and at the CUNY Graduate Center; "How and Why Mathematics Is Unique as a Social Practice" at Brussels University and at Columbia University; and "Comments on Don Fallis' 'What Do Mathematicians Want? Probabilistic Proofs and the Epistemic Goals of Mathematicians' " at the Eastern Division APA meeting. Azzouni gave a talk on "Truth and Ontology: Why We Can Have One without the Other" March 6 at Wayne State University. Azzouni also has published several short stories recently: "Giant Squid in High Places," Willow Springs, June 2002, which won the George Garrett Fiction Award; "Mom on Paper," Hanging Loose, Fall 2002; and "Phonecall," Wisconsin Review, Spring 2002.

Odilia Bermudez, a scientist in the Epidemiology and Dietary Assessment Program, and Dr. Antonio Martin, scientist in the Nutrition and Neurocognition Laboratory, both at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) will facilitate workshops and participate in the "Health Educator's Corner" at the Diabetes Expo 2003: Cultural Diversity World at the World Trade Center in Boston on March 8. Jessica Bruzzichesi, volunteer recruiter, along with HNRCA Community Advisory Board members and Metabolic Research Unit staff will provide information about the HNRCA and will perform Body Mass Index calculations on Expo participants. The Diabetes Expo 2003 is sponsored by the American Diabetes Association.

Jeffrey B. Blumberg, associate director of the HNRCA and director of the HNRCA Antioxidants Research Laboratory, presented an invited symposia talk on "Potential Health Benefits: Antioxidant Capacity of Oat Polyphenolics in Vivo," at the 43rd annual meeting of the American College of Nutrition in San Antonio, Texas, last fall. Blumberg and Tufts nutrition alumna Diana McKay received the Best Review Paper Award of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition for 2002 for their paper, "The Role of Tea in Health: An Update."

Jane M. Carroll has joined the Development Division as associate director of dental development. Her responsibilities encompass all phases of fund-raising and alumni relations, with particular focus on capital fund-raising for endowment funds to enhance student and faculty support. Carroll has more than 15 years of fund-raising experience. Most recently she was with the YMCA of Greater Boston, where she led a capital campaign to build and renovate YMCAs in Greater Boston. Prior to that, she was director of major gifts at Boston College and worked on BC's $125 million campaign. She grew up in New England, earned a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MBA from Simmons School of Management. Additionally, she has achieved CFRE status, a professional designation awarded by a consortium of 13 international fund-raising societies whose sole mission is to be the standard bearer of the highest ethical and professional practices in serving the philanthropic sector.

Dr. Barbara Carter, professor of radiology; Dr. Robert Kennison, professor of obstetrics and gynecology; Thomas Linsenmayer, professor of anatomy and cellular biology; and Dr. Harry Selker, professor of medicine, are the recipients of the 2002 Distinguished Faculty Award at the School of Medicine in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the school through their teaching, scholarship and service. Dr. Nicolaos E. Madias, acting dean of the medical school, presented the awards at the general faculty meeting on February 10.

Patrick Carter, M05, concerned that electricity would be shut off at the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans in Boston's Government Center, collected $655 in donations at the medical school and delivered the money to the shelter February 7. The electric company has agreed to a payment plan for the $190,000 bill, accumulated over five years because of the negligence of a financial officer. E-mail patrick.carter@tufts.edu if you wish to donate.

Consuelo Cruz has joined the faculty as an assistant professor of political science. She earned her doctorate in political science from MIT in 1994. Before that, she worked at the World Bank. She has worked as an assistant professor at Columbia University, where she served as director of the Institute for Latin American and Iberian Studies, and also has taught at Princeton. She is working on a book, The Politics of Fate and Possibility: World Making in the Tropics, which explores the development of democracy in Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Dr. Marshal Folstein has stepped down as chair of psychiatry at the School of Medicine. Dr. Jonathan Schindelheim is serving as acting chair.

Eric Frank, a neurobiologist from the University of Pittsburgh Medical School, has been named chairman of the School of Medicine's Department of Physiology. A 1967 graduate of Reed College, Frank earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University; his dissertation was titled "Control of Facilitation at the Neuromuscular Junction of the Lobster." He completed post-docs at Harvard and the Institute of Physiology in Norway. His research focuses on neuron synapses and the development of sensory neurons. He is expected to arrive at Tufts on April 1. James Dice is serving as interim chair until then.

Hugh Gallagher has joined the faculty as a research scientist in physics and astronomy. Before coming to Tufts, Gallagher taught for four years in the Department of Particle and Nuclear Physics at Oxford University. He earned his Ph.D. in physics and astronomy from the University of Minnesota School of Physics and Astronomy. His dissertation focused on neutrino oscillation searches with the Soudan 2 Detector.

Neva Goodwin, Julie Nelson and Frank Ackerman, staff members at the Global Development and Environment Institute, along with Thomas Weisskopf of the University of Michigan, have written Microeconomics in Context (Houghton Mifflin, 2003), an introductory, college-level textbook that describes the workings of a modern economy through the lens of "contextual economics." Microeconomics in Context builds upon the strengths of standard, neoclassical economics, but takes account of environmental, technical, institutional, political and social issues that are neglected in other introductory textbooks.

David Valdes Greenwood, lecturer in the English department, has received a commission from the Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) of New York to write a play about the last years of the life of Charles Darwin. EST is one of the nation's premiere developmental theaters for new work, and the commission is the result of a multi-stage juried process. Commissioned works lead to future inclusion in the EST First Light Festival. In March, he will be traveling to Darwin's home outside of London and to Cambridge University to study the Darwin Manuscript Collection as part of his research for the work.

Dr. Aidee N. Herman, assistant clinical professor of periodontology and chair of the Equal Educational Opportunity Committee at the School of Dental Medicine, was named co-chair of dental affairs by the Latin American Health Institute in Boston in February. She participated in a panel discussion on leadership skills in professional education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in January. Herman also gave a presentation on "Diversity in the Future of Dental Medicine" at the Yankee Dental Congress in Boston in February.

Andrew C. Hess, professor of diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, was the guest speaker at the Global Forum February 12 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. His topic was "The U.S. and Iraq: Big Bang Politics in the Middle East and Its Global Consequences." On March 1, Hess participated in the United Nations Association of Greater Boston's Global Classrooms: Peacekeeping Unit Curriculum. He spoke on the India and Pakistan Panel: Prospects for Peace at the all-day seminar.

Joseph Hurka, lecturer in English, will have his Fields of Light, winner of the Pushcart Editors' Book Award, released in paperback in March. He will begin a series of readings on April 22 at the KGB Club in New York.

Dr. Mitzi Johnson, assistant professor of pediatrics, had her article, "A Peek in Baby's Diaper," a guide for new parents on what to expect in an infant's bowel movements, published in the January 2003 issue of American Baby.

Chris Younghoun Kim, former interim director of orchestra at Tufts, has joined the faculty as director of choral activities and a lecturer in the music department. He holds a master's degree in orchestral conducting from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He has worked as the artistic adviser to the Kalistos Chamber Orchestra in Boston, assistant conductor of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in New Orleans and as music director of a comic opera guild in Ann Arbor. He also taught music, band, jazz and orchestra for four years in the Quincy, Mass., public school system.

Richard M. Lerner, Bergstrom Chair in Applied Developmental Science, will give a presentation at the Explore the Nature and Development of Purpose in Youth conference at Stanford University March 21-25.

Robert Mabrito has joined the Arts & Sciences faculty as a lecturer in the philosophy department. He earned a Ph.D. in philosophy in 2001 from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. His primary scholarly interests are in the philosophy of language and metaethics. Mabrito's dissertation, Studies in Disagreement and Inconsistency, explores expressive construals of normative discourse, normative construals of semantic discourse and the plausibility of semantic non-factualism. He has taught at the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University.

Antonio Martin, a scientist in the HNRCA Nutrition and Neurocognition Laboratory, gave a presentation on "Phospholipase A2 and COX-2 Expression Regulate PGE2 Synthesis in the Brain Following Exposure to Inflammatory Cytokine TNFalpha: Effect of NSAID and Vitamin E" at the 32nd annual meeting of the Society for Neurosciences in Orlando, Fla., last November.

Dr. Mohsen Meydani, director of the HNRCA Vascular Biology Laboratory, discussed "The Antiatherogenic and Anti-inflammatory Potential of Oat Phenolics," and Dr. Simin Meydani, director of the HNRCA Nutritional Immunology Laboratory, spoke on "Mechanism of Age and Vitamin E-Induced Changes in Cyclooxygenase Activity" at the Oxidants and Antioxidants in Biology conference in Cadiz, Spain, February 6-9. The conference was sponsored by the Oxygen Club of California. Simin Meydani has been invited to moderate a symposium on "Nutrition and Immunity" at the American College of Nutrition's 44th annual meeting in Nashville, Tenn., this October.

Jose M. Ordovas, director of the HNRCA Nutrition and Genomics Laboratory, gave a presentation on "Nutrigenomics: Revolutionizing Disease Treatment" at the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition conference January 22 in San Antonio, Texas.

Jan A. Pechenik, professor of biology, gave a keynote address at Swarthmore College last December for a symposium on aging. He talked about aging in an unusual context, as it applies to the early developmental stages of marine animals. In early February, he gave an invited research seminar at Boston University on the ways in which experiences in the larval stages of marine animals can influence the survival, competitive and reproductive success of juveniles and adults. Pechenik has completed the revision for the fifth edition of A Short Guide to Writing about Biology, in which he emphasizes writing as a means of recording, evaluating, sharing and refining ideas.

Vincent Pollina, associate professor in the Department of Romance Languages, served as discussant in two sessions on Dante's Inferno and Paradiso at the Boston Dante Conference, held at Boston University in November 2002. Also last November, at the University of Montréal, he lectured on "Le Troubadour Bernart de Ventadorn en version double: Manuscrits, textes, musique," and last spring on "Transparences mélodiques du troubadour Marcabru."

Henry Rubin has joined the Arts & Sciences faculty as a visiting assistant professor of sociology. He had been a visiting assistant professor of sociology at Hamilton College in New York. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from Brandeis University in 1996, and has also taught at Clark University and Harvard, where he advised undergraduates. He was a recipient of a Certificate of Distinction in Teaching from Harvard's Derek Bok Center for 15 consecutive semesters. Rubin's research interests are in classical and contemporary social theory, the sociology of culture and media and the sociology of gender and sexuality.

Dr. Robert M. Russell, director of the HNRCA, chaired a National Institutes of Health (NIH) conference on "Dietary Supplement Use in the Elderly" at the NIH in Bethesda, Md., January 14-15, and presented a talk on "Caution in High-Dose Supplement Use: A Case Study of Beta-Carotene." At that conference, Katherine L. Tucker, director of the HNRCA Epidemiology and Dietary Assessment Program, gave a presentation on "Evidence of Use of Dietary Supplements by the Elderly: Current Usage Patterns," and Dr. Bess Dawson-Hughes, director of the HNRCA Bone Metabolism Laboratory, discussed "What Is the Evidence for Supplement Use for Healthy Bones?" Dr. Irwin H. Rosenberg, dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, participated in a panel discussion that addressed clinical and epidemiologic studies and critical research needs in this area. In February, Russell worked as a member of the Food Advisory Committee of the Food and Drug Administration, consulting on the design of an FDA action plan to address concern about acrylamide levels in food. The origin of the concern over acrylamide was the finding reported by researchers at the Swedish National Food Administration and Stockholm University that the chemical acrylamide was present in a variety of fried and oven-baked foods. Acrylamide is a potential human carcinogen and genotoxicant.

Karen Shirer is the new director of planning and analysis for the University Development Division. In this reorganized position, Shirer has several major responsibilities, including the planning activities for the next campaign, developing a management reporting process across all functional areas of the division, developing and implementing a resource allocation program that partners fund-raising, alumni relations and communications goals with investments needed for success as well as a host of analysis projects. In addition, Shirer will play a leading role in several aspects of the implementation of the new Alumni and Development system. Her prior experience includes various planning and financial projects at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and at the School of Veterinary Medicine from 1994 to 1998. Most recently, she was the director of administration for the School of Nursing at UCLA, where she was responsible for strategic planning as well as the CFO for a $12 million operation.

Alexander Vilenkin, professor of physics, had a paper that he recently completed with Arvind Borde and Alan Guth appear as the cover story in the January issue of Research News and Opportunities in Science and Theology. In this paper, the authors prove that an expanding universe must have had a beginning. They also show that the currently popular "cyclic" models of the universe do not avoid the issue of the beginning. Vilenkin's work with Jaume Garriga on the "dark energy" problem was reviewed in the October 2002 issue of Nature Science News.

Kenneth Wineburg and Paula Cerqueira, both D03, were awarded Massachusetts Foundation/Louis J.P. Calisti scholarships, named after a former dean of the dental school, during the Yankee Dental Congress, which took place January 29 through February 2 in Boston. In addition, Michael Joseph, D03, was inducted into the American College of Dentists, along with selected dental students from Boston University, Harvard and the University of Connecticut.