Synergies is the news publication of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Texas. Created with alumni and other affiliates and supporters of the college in mind, Synergies debuted in Spring 2009 as a print publication, was published as an online issue in Fall 2009, and was offered in both print and online formats for Spring 2010. This fall 2010 issue is online only.
Message from the Dean
New CAS Dean Michael Monticino is happy to be back in the CAS Dean's Office and to be sending out the fall 2010 electronic issue of Synergies. Read his comments on news in the college, the new CAS website, and his desire to be more engaged with the college's alumni and friends.
College Announces Changes in Leadership
There has been an administrative domino effect in the college since Warren Burggren resigned his CAS dean position to become UNT provost. CAS has a new dean, a CAS associate dean has become interim dean of UNT's Toulouse Graduate School, and a department chair is now interim associate dean for administrative affairs. But wait, there's more...
Computational Chemists Tackle Climate Change
Much attention is being paid these days to combating climate change, with particular emphasis on the feasibility of carbon sequestration. UNT computational chemists, funded by a U.S. Department of Energy grant and led by Angela Wilson, think proteins may be the answer and have developed a technique for identifying protein molecules that are likely to be efficient CO2 binders.
Digitization is Key for Historians Torget and Moye
For UNT historians Andrew Torget and Todd Moye, the opportunities offered by digitization of resources promise to be transformative. For Moye, who directs the UNT Oral History Program, the first benefit of digitizing analog recordings will be broader access to OHP's extensive collection of oral histories. For Torget, who explores how the methods of traditionally high-tech fields can be applied to historical research, "digital methods allow researchers to visualize and interpret data in innovative ways..."
Alumnus Works for Comprehensive Immigration Reform
As a UNT political science major in the late 1970s, Domingo Garcia (BA, 1980) developed his political skills as well as his academic preparation. He now runs a successful law practice and has been elected to Dallas and statewide government positions, and expresses his "activist" tendancies in support of comprehensive immigration reform, among other issues. He also continues to support UNT.
Women's Studies Maymester Course Offers Insight into Tunisian Women's Lives
More than a dozen students accompanied Sandra Spencer, director of UNT's Women's Studies Program, on a unique study abroad program in the North African nation of Tunisia. Spencer explains why Tunisia is of particular interest to those interested in women's issues in predominantly Islamic countries and how the experience enriched her life as well as the lives of the students.
Write Stuff: Creative Writing Students Read Their Work
Denton has a national reputation for being a center of "indie music," with small-scale performances of an almost underground nature. What's the scene for emerging poets and prose writers? Current and former UNT creative writing students are discovering, and in some cases creating, new venues for introducing the broader Denton community to their works.
Not "Set" in His Ways: Kenneth John Verdugo
When you see him credited in the printed programs for Department of Dance and Theatre productions, it's easy to think of Kenneth Verdugo as basically a craftsman who designs and builds structures for dance works and plays – and teaches our students these skills. But Verdugo has a robust career going in the visual arts more broadly, with works being shown in galleries, at conferences, and on Vimeo.
Castleberry Peace Institute Established at UNT
We alluded to it in the spring 2010 issue, but it's now a reality: We're pleased to announce that the UNT Board of Regents approved the creation of the Castleberry Peace Institute at their May meeting! We also pay our respects to Steve Poe, founder of UNT's Peace Studies Program, whose untimely death in 2007 cut short an influential career in that field.
Additional NSF grant supports Research Training Group in Logic and Dynamics
In the fall 2009 issue, we reported that Su Gao, professor of mathematics, and several colleagues have been getting major funding for their groundbreaking research in invariant descriptive set theory. Gao and colleagues have now received a five-year $1.5 million NSF award to create a Research Training Group in logic and dynamics.
And the Winner of the LTC Summer Institute Blogging Contest is...
We featured the new Department of Linguistics and Technical Communication in the fall 2009 issue of Synergies. Here's an update on the LTC Summer Institute. The third annual institute attracted nearly 100 ESL students and teachers from Mexico and incorporated a blogging contest to enhance the students' language skills and cultural knowledge.
CAS Pics Page
Presenting images of a few additional recent activities in the College of Arts and Sciences
Philosopher's Essay Featured on Smithsonian Institution's Click! Website
Irene Klaver, an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies and director of the Philosophy of Water Project, teamed up with Brian O'Connor, a professor in the College of Information, to write an essay on the importance of environmental imagery. Now their piece about how photography shapes our perception of the environment and the accompanying image of a pair of ducks at the "little lake" in Denton's North Lake Park are part of the Smithsonian Institution's "click!: Photography Changes Everything" online project. Find their essay, "Photography changes our environmental awareness," at: http://click.si.edu/Theme.aspx?theme=2
Here are a few fall semester CAS events of special interest to alumni and friends of the college:
