Notable & Quotable
Mary McHugh, director of the Stevens Service Learning Center and an adjunct lecturer of political science, was quoted in a May 4, 2017, Salem (Mass.) News story about Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s reelection prospects in 2018. “It’s hard to beat an incumbent, especially a popular one,” McHugh said. “And Massachusetts voters seem to like the checks and balances of having a Republican governor and Democratic Legislature.”
Associate professor of health sciences, Zi Yan, was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal supporting the benefits of outdoor group exercise in the winter during the pandemic. Yan, who’s interdisciplinary research involves psychology, public health and exercise science offered that exercise classes provide physical benefits and much-needed social support, especially during the winter months.
James Kaklamanos, assistant professor of civil engineering, was honored by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of this year’s 10 New Faces of Civil Engineering worldwide. The program recognizes the next generation of civil engineering professionals, 30 years and younger, who have demonstrated the potential to lead the field to new heights. Kaklamanos, who serves as faculty adviser to Merrimack’s ASCE student chapter, was cited for his exemplary work with students.
Assistant Professor of Practice Kathryn Welby ’01 was featured in a MoneyGeek article about how to teach children about money.
Health sciences assistant professor Juliana Cohen was interviewed by both the Washington PostandGood Morning America(GMA) for a story on school lunches.Cohen says that because children learn better when they eat, schools should provideenough time to have lunch.
Janine LeBlanc-Straceski, associate professor and chair of biology, published a paper, “A Conserved Role of the Unconventional Myosin 1d in Laterality Determination,” in the March 2018 issue of Current Biology. The paper was an international collaboration with colleagues in Germany and France and the culmination of many years of work with LeBlanc-Straceski’s students.
Research from sociology assistant professor Daniel Herda was recently publishedin the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs. His research examines the discrimination experiences of young Muslim Americans in Southeastern Michigan and how these can alter their self-perceptions and opinions about theUnited States.
Lisa Perks and Jacob Turner, both associate professors of communication and media, have hadamanuscript about their experiences working with undergraduate students working on scholarly research projects accepted by the peer-reviewed journal Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research.
William Wians, professor of philosophy, delivered the opening keynote address at the 2018 Fonte Aretusa conference in Siracusa, Sicily, on June 6. His topic was ‘Violence and the Origins of Beauty’. Prof. Wians discussedthree figures closely associated with the Greek city of Syracusa on Sicily: Aeschylus, whose play “Prometheus Bound” was produced in the city’s outdoor theater around 405 BC; the poem of Empedocles, who was born in nearby Acragas; and the philosopher Plato, who spent 13 years in Siracusa in a failed attempt to produce a philosopher king out of the local ruler Dionysius the Second.
William Wians, professor of philosophy, served as co-editor of two recent volumespublished by the scholarly publishing house Brill. They are“Reading Aristotle,” a collection of original essays on the ancient Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle (co-edited by Ron Polansky at Duquesne University), and “Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy,”volume 32 of a leading series in ancient philosophy (co-edited by GaryM. GurtleratBoston College).
Anne Flaherty, associate professor of political science and public policy, presented her research at the APSA conference on Black Lives Matter and Indigenous Deaths in Custody in Australia and Canada. The presentation focused on the long history of indigenous peoples’ deaths in custody, challenges in the lack of coherent policy and resource responses and the potential for future changes in both countries.
Melissa Zimdars, assistant professor of communication, wrote a fake news “how-to” for the Young African Leadership Initiative as part of the U.S. State Department’s ongoing campaign to counter misinformation in Africa. YALI supports young African leaders as they spur growth and prosperity, strengthen democratic governance and enhance peace and security across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Jim Kaklamanos, associate professor of civil engineering and Zampell Family Faculty Fellow, was recently recognized with the Distinguished Service Award from the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Tufts University, where he earned his Ph.D., M.S. and B.S.C.E. The Distinguished Service Award is presented to an alumnus or member of the Tufts CEE community who exemplifies service to their profession and the department.
Charlotte Berkes, associate professor of biology, and Jimmy Franco, department chair and associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, recently co-authored a journal publication titled Kinase Inhibitor Library Screening Identifies the Cancer Therapeutic Sorafenib and Structurally Similar Compounds as Strong Inhibitors of the Fungal Pathogen Histoplasma capsulatum, describing the discovery of novel antifungal molecules to combat Histoplasma capsulatum, a neglected fungal pathogen. Several former Merrimack College undergraduates contributed to this research.
Dan Vlahos,assistant professor of visual and performing arts, was recognized as Designer of the Week by Print Magazine on April 10, 2018.Vlahos sharessome of his work in the local community, his favorite and most challenging projects, and his plans for the future. “Three things that inspire me are graphic design history, my students and contemporary design outside of graphic design (especially architecture),” he said.
Associate Clinical Professor Brigid Hopkins was named a 2021 Board of Certification (BOC) Dan Libera Award Honoree. Hopkins has been a long-time leader and volunteer in the BOC community.
Brittnie Aiello co-authored “’Grandma is the next best thing to mommy:’ Incarcerated motherhood, caring relationships, and maternal identity” in the International Journal of Care and Caring. Features incarcerated mothers’ separation from their children and conflicted feelings toward caregivers.
Dr. Omer Unsal, assistant professor of finance at the Girard School of Business, recently published an article titled Corporate crimes and innovation: Evidence from US financial firms. By utilizing a large sample of financial firms located within the United States between 2002 and 2019, Unsal found that fraudulent financial firms innovate fewer new products, services, and patents. The article can be found in the Journal of Economic Modelling.
Melissa Zimdars, assistant professor of communication, was quoted in a May 16, 2017, post by technology blogger Richard Hartley about new measures taken by Facebook to root out “fake news.” Zimdars, who has gained national attention for creating a list of untrustworthy news sites, said it seemed Facebook was largely responding to bad press. “My initial read on it is it’s ultimately kind of a PR move. It’s cheap to do. It’s easy. It doesn’t actually require them to do anything,” she said.
Assistant professor of communication and media, Melissa “Mish” Zimdars, was featured on Newsy television to discuss how more news sites are sharing partisan messages while “masquerading” as local news sites.
