Introducing new faculty members

Rebecca DeRoo, Ph.D., joins the Department of Art History and Archaeology in Arts & Sciences as assistant professor. She earned a bachelor's degree from Bryn Mawr College in 1992 and her doctorate from the University of Chicago in 2000. Her interests are interdisciplinary, and her teaching will include modern and contemporary art; photography, film, and visual culture; theory and criticism; and gender studies.

Catherine Keane, Ph.D., joins the Department of Classics in Arts & Sciences as assistant professor. She earned a bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University in 1992 and her doctorate in 1999 from the University of Pennsylvania, where she received the Benjamin Franklin Fellowship from 1994-99. Her special research interests are Roman poetry, especially satire; Greek comedy; literary criticism; and literary history in antiquity, especially theories of genre and the reception of Homer. She taught at Reed College as a visiting assistant professor and most recently was a Mellon postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University.

Stephen Zatman, Ph.D., joins the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences in Arts & Sciences as assistant professor. He earned a bachelor's degree with honors from Cambridge University in 1993, a master's degree in 1995 and a doctorate in 1997, both from Harvard University. He conducts research on Earth's magnetic field, using measured variations in the field from observatories and satellites to infer the workings of the dynamo at the center of the planet. He also conducts research on the deformation of the Earth's crust, in particular the slow crumpling or rifting of relatively stable regions in the middle of continents.

Margaret Finders, Ph.D., joins the faculty of the Department of Education in Arts & Sciences as associate professor and director of the Teacher Education Program. She earned all her degrees from the University of Iowa, including a bachelor's degree in English in 1976, a master's degree in curriculum and instruction in 1990 and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction in 1994. She taught for 13 years in middle schools and acquired extensive experience in teacher education during the seven years she was on the faculty of Purdue University. Her teaching and research interests include the sociopolitical dimensions of literacy, early adolescence, and gender equity in schools. She is interested in questions regarding teacher education as it intersects issues of equity and justice.

Of note

V�ctor G. D�vila-Rom�n, M.D., associate professor of anesthesiology, medicine and radiology in the School of Medicine, is serving as a member of the National Institutes of Health's Diagnostic Radiology Study Section, Center for Scientific Review. D�vila-Rom�n will serve on the study section through June 30, 2005. Members are selected on the basis of their demonstrated competence and achievement in their scientific discipline as evidenced by the quality of research accomplishments, publications in scientific journals and other significant scientific activities, achievements and honors.

Stuart I. Greenbaum, Ph.D., dean and Bank of America Professor at the Olin School of Business, has been appointed to the board of advisers of the World Agriculture Forum (WAF), an independent organization created in 1997 to meet the urgent need for open debate and discussion of providing food, fiber and fuel for people around the world. Through research, communications and a biennial World Congress, the WAF brings together experts from all sectors responsible for providing for the world's growing population.

Patricia Collin-Osdoby, Ph.D., research associate professor in biology in Arts & Sciences and the Division of Bone and Mineral Metabolism in the School of Medicine, has received a four-year, $924,000 grant renewal of her research project titled "Influence of Endothelial Cells on Osteoclast Development" from the National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health. Previously, this research was funded for a five- year period, also through the NIDDK.

Brian N. Finck, Ph.D., National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellow in medicine, received a two-year $60,363 grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for research titled "Dysregulated Fat Utilization in Diabetic Cardiomyopathy."

To press

Christine A. Knoblauch-O'Neal, senior artist in residence in the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences, wrote "As Is: A Classical Ballet Improvisation" for the Summer/Fall 2001 edition of Contact Quarterly. This tribute to Richard Bull, former director of the M.A. program at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., details Knoblauch-O'Neal's thesis workshop and performance combining classical ballet and structured improvisation.

Speaking of

Campus Authors

Creating Conversations: Improvisation in Everyday Discourse

R. Keith Sawyer, Ph.D., assistant professor of education in Arts & Sciences

(2001, Hampton Press)

Conversation is one of those everyday, common sense abilities that we can all do without thinking. But paradoxically, understanding how conversation works is one of the most difficult problems for scientists. And even after decades of research, computers are still miserable conversationalists. "Creating Conversations" explores this paradox: How can conversation be so difficult, and at the same time come to us so naturally?

The answer to the paradox is found in the creativity of everyday conversation. "Creating Conversations" takes a fresh approach to the study of conversation, emphasizing its collaborative, creative nature. To develop this novel perspective on everyday discourse, Sawyer draws from his own studies of jazz, children's play, and Chicago improvisational theater. The book's unifying theme is that the same creativity --improvisational creativity --is found in all verbal interaction. Sawyer develops his improvisation view of conversation with reference to theories from psychology, linguistics, anthropology and communication theory.

Using improvisation and performance as the central themes, each chapter takes a different perspective on conversational creativity. The chapters are filled with examples of conversation from cartoons, television sitcoms, theater, movies and everyday life. Each chapter weaves these examples together around one or two common themes and provides insights from recent research in psychology, anthropology and linguistics. The central message is that something that we all take for granted --the ability to participate in everyday conversation --is, in fact, a complex, creative ability. "Creating Conversations" will appeal to all readers interested in creativity, conversation and language.

For more information, visit www.creatingconversations.com.

Yin named board member of St. Jude Medical

Frank C-P Yin, Ph.D., M.D., the Stephen F. and Camilla T. Brauer Professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and professor of medicine in the School of Medicine, is one of three new medical directors of St. Jude Medical Inc., based in St. Paul, Minn.

Joining Yin are Rick Devenuti, vice president and chief information officer of Microsoft Corp., and Stefan Widensohler, president and chief executive officer of the Krauth Medical Group, based in Hamburg, Germany.

Yin has served as professor and chair in the Department of Biomedical Engineering since 1997. A cardiologist and engineer, Yin is director of the Institute for Biological and Medical Engineering.

Before holding these positions, Yin was professor of medicine and biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Yin is widely published, holds numerous honors and awards, and serves on several advisory boards, including the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering.

"We're extremely pleased to add the talents and expertise of these three highly accomplished individuals to the St. Jude Medical board of directors," said Ronald A. Matricaria, chairman of the St. Jude Medical board. "Rick, Stefan and Frank offer a wide range of valuable experience in information technology, international health-care markets and biomedical engineering, and come to us with strong leadership credentials. We welcome them to our board and look forward to their contributions."

St. Jude Medical is dedicated to the design, manufacture and distribution of innovative medical devices of the highest quality, offering physicians, patients and payers unmatched clinical performance and demonstrated economic value.

Obituary: Herman Russell, 75

Herman Russell, M.D., an orthopaedic surgeon and former assistant in clinical surgery at the School of Medicine, died of cancer Thursday, Oct. 25, 2001, at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur. He was 75.

Notable submissions