Academic Affairs Research Fellows, 2011-2012
Rachel Friedman-Narr
Department
Special Education
Synopsis
Rachel Friedman-Narr is an Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education in the Michael D. Eisner College of Education. Her research topic is: "Examining the Nature of Parent-to-Parent Support to Families of Newly Identified Infants who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing". She has proposed novel research in conjunction with the DEAF project, housed in the Family Focus Empowerment Resource Center. Her study will use a mixed methods approach to quantify and qualitatively analyze the data in the DEAF Project database. Professor Friedman-Narr received her Ph.D. in Special Education/Deaf Education from the University of Arizona, her M.S. from the Department of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology at Columbia University and her B.A. from the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She has spent the majority of her career as a Speech Language Pathologist working with students who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing in schools for the deaf and local public schools.
Lindsay Hansen
Department
Music & Media Librarian
Synopsis
Lindsay Hansen is the Music & Media Librarian at the University Library. Her project will "identify little-known library and archival collections in California that are in some way related to Germany" and to provide access to these collections to students and scholars. Her plan is to work with the museum and archival community to create an online repository of pathfinders and finding aids complementing existing, larger collection of materials related to Germany. Ms. Hansen received a B.A. in Music from Knox College and an M.L.I.S. from UCLA. She is active in both the Music Library Association and German Studies Association. She was named a 2008/09 Research Fellow.
Florence Kyomugisha
Department
Gender and Women's Studies
Synopsis
Florence Kyomugisha of the Gender and Women's Studies Department is the Research Fellow for the College of Humanities. Her proposal is to continue to work on the Mbarara mothers' project with women at the Holy Innocents Children's Hospital. She has been working on establishing a hospital and health education structures for women in Uganda. The project combines the study of science and health with the engagement and theoretical perspectives of the humanities. She received her Ph.D. in Urban Studies from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee and also received a Graduate Certificate in Women's Studies. She holds an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee and a B.A. in Political Science and Public Administration from Makerere University, Kampala Uganda.
Richard Lorentz
Department
Computer Science
Synopsis
Richard Lorentz joined the Department of Computer Science in the College of Engineering & Computer Science in 1987. He began doing research in game playing and artificial intelligence in 1990. Together with his students, they have produced a number of world class game playing programs. His Research Fellow topic is: "A New Paradigm Artificial Intelligence-Possibilities and Limitations of Monte-Carlo Tree Search". He has proposed a novel approach (hybrid) to the Monte-Carlo Tree Search currently used in game programming and in Artificial Intelligence and will be investigating some revolutionary new algorithms that have been used to create programs that can play games at levels that were undreamed of as recently as eight years ago. Professor Lorenz received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Washington State University and his B.A. in Mathematics from Claremont McKenna College.
Lois M. Shelton
Department
Management
Synopsis
Lois M. Shelton earned a Ph.D. in Business Economics from Harvard University and is a member of the Department of Management in the College of Business and Economics. Her Research Fellow Project is entitled: "Beyond Work-Family to Work-Life: A Multi-Domain, Multi-Cultural Examination of the Life Role Management Practices of Entrepreneurs", which reflects her research interests in entrepreneurship, the work/non-work interface and role theory. She teaches strategy, management and organizational behavior, as well as international business courses in the undergraduate and M.B.A. programs.
Zeynep Toker
Department
Urban Planning & Studies
Synopsis
Zeynep Toker of the Urban Planning & Studies Department is the Research Fellow from the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences. Her proposal: "A Replicable Protocol for Designing Sustainable Parks in Asphalt Cities" is based within the local community and also enhances the College's work in the area of sustainability. A proponent of community design, she has been working with communities in different cultural settings helping them shape their built environments. She received her Ph.D. in Community and Environmental Design from North Carolina State University and received her M.C.P. and B.C.P. from Middle East Technical University.
Joy von Wolffersdorff
Department
Art
Synopsis
Joy von Wolffersdorff earned her M.F.A. in Art from California State University Los Angeles, her B.F.A. in Fine Art from Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California and her B.A. in Studio Art from University of California Davis. She has been a member of the Art Department Faculty in the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media and Communication since 1985 and is currently the Area Head for Drawing. Her Research Fellow Project is titled: "26 Glaciers". It is an extension of her 2009 Sabbatical work which was based on the effect that climate change is having on glaciers in Glacier National Park, Montana USA and Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada from an artist's perspective. This project will link artists around the world with sites specifically selected by scientists working on climate change. The scientists will select locations that they believe will be severely effected by climate change. Artists will be invited to document these locations over a ten-year span of time.