External Posts
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Associate Professor of Mathematics Scott Taylor has coauthored a paper published in the Pacific Journal of Mathematics. In their paper, "Tunnel number and bridge number of composite genus 2 spatial graphs," the authors' "main tool is a family of recently defined invariants for knots, links, and spatial graphs that detect the unknot and are additive under connected sum and vertex sum. In this paper, we also show that they detect trivial θ-curves," according to the paper's abstract.
Professor of Government Dan Shea was quoted extensively by the Portland Press Herald about how a recent referendum in Maine didn’t yield the desired outcome despite being the most expensive in the state’s history. Shea noted in the story that “once you reach a certain threshold, it’s not just diminishing returns, but it can start to move things in the other direction.”
The topping-out ceremony for the Paul J. Schupf Art Center and its role in Waterville’s revitalization was covered by various regional media, including Boston NBC. “We’re making sure these are investments that benefit everybody here,” President Greene told New England Cable News. The event was also covered by the Portland Press Herald, Bangor Daily News, and Fox and ABC affiliates.
Adam Howard, the Charles A. Dana Professor of Education, coauthored a paper recently published in the journal Curriculum Inquiry. Titled "Elite Universities: Their monstrous promises and promising monsters," it deploys "zombie, werewolf, and vampire metaphors [to] identify various ways that elite universities are monstrous and the kinds of student monsters that they produce, honour, harbour, and reject."
Assistant Professor of Geology Bess Koffman has published a new paper, "Late Holocene dust provenance at Siple Dome, Antarctica," with scientists from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, the University of Maine, Orono, and the University of Lille in France. Appearing in Quaternary Science Reviews, "the paper documents the composition of dust in the Siple Dome ice core from Antarctica and uses geochemistry to identify likely dust sources," she explained. "Siple Dome mineral dust has an unusual composition compared to other Antarctic ice cores, and we demonstrate that a key source of dust must be the ancient bedrock underlying parts of East Antarctica. We suggest that this old source of dust is more widespread than previously recognized and may be a unique tracer of atmospheric circulation patterns around Antarctica."
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Alison Bates is an organizing committee member of the international webinar series "Winds of Change: Offshore Energy Production and the Social Sciences.” This webinar highlights major findings from Europe and research needs for the emerging offshore wind industry in the United States. Each webinar is free and open to students, faculty, and practitioners, including this one on Nov. 11. Bates is presenting her research during the series and is an organizing committee member along with colleagues at the University of Maine and Bates College.
Associate Professor of French Mouhamédoul A. Niang has written a new novel, Rêves d’adolescents en terre noire, published by L'Harmattan. The book tells the story of four young characters, living in a poorly planned neighborhood on the outskirts of an African city. "Rêves d’adolescents en terre noire denounces urban discrimination, institutional corruption, and traditional violence while offering an alternative through an escape to nature, the love of which proves more fulfilling," he explained.
An op-ed in EdSurge highlighted the Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence and the role that AI plays in a liberal arts education. “AI will continue to have broad and profound societal impact, which means that the whole of society should have a say in what we do with it. For that to happen, each of us needs to have a foundational understanding of the nature of this technology,” said Amanda Stent, director of the institute.
Professor of Government Dan Shea was included in a segment on Maine Public discussing potential policy issues resulting from the recent election. “If you veer away from that complexity and murkiness, you're left with vague, often ambiguous language. Now somebody is going to interpret that language. If it's a constitutional amendment, that will be interpreted by the courts. And I would argue that's one of the least democratic institutions that we have,” Shea said.
The Boston Globe published a review of the Freedom & Captivity initiative led by Catherine Besteman, the Francis F. Bartlett and Ruth K. Bartlett Professor of Anthropology. “The exhibitions range from the searingly personal to investigations of the top-down systems that propel incarceration rates,” the article stated.