Faculty Honored for Professional Achievement and Outstanding Project Direction

Eric Bartelink, Anthropology, recently received an NSF Archaeology Award and four external contracts for his research. As director of the CSU, Chico Human Identification Laboratory, Bartelink mentors graduate and undergraduates interested in physical anthropology, forensic anthropology, and archaeology. He is also overseeing the inventory of the human remains in the CSU, Chico anthropology collection related to the Native America Grave Protection and Repatriation Act and has forged a good working relationship with members of the Mechoopda Indian Tribe. In addition, he has two articles in press, one accepted for publication, and two under review, and he has presented 25 scholarly papers at conferences since 2007.

Sara Cooper, Chicano Studies/Foreign Languages and Literatures, is the recipient of a Modern Languages Association (MLA) Florence Howe Award for Outstanding Feminist Scholarship in Foreign Languages. Since 2006, Cooper has published seven articles in major journals and a translation of a short novel from Spanish, and has presented three papers at MLA and six papers at international meetings. In recognition of her work on Cuban humor and graphic novels, Cooper has been invited to deliver the keynote address at the 7th Annual Conference on Comics and Graphic Novels at the University of Florida, Gainesville.

Sergei Fomin, Mathematics and Statistics, exemplifies the “teacher-scholar” model as co-PI on a National Science Foundation Research Experience in Mathematics for Undergraduates and Teachers grant. Fomin has co-authored a peer-reviewed article with students in the Journal of Fluids Engineering and has co-authored seven more publications in peer-reviewed journals related to mathematical modeling of hydro-mechanical, thermal, and chemical fluid flow processes. Fomin has also presented six papers at national and international conferences since 2006.

Troy Jollimore, Philosophy, received the National Book Critics Circle Award for his poetry book, Tom Thomson in Purgatory, and has an excellent publication record in philosophy, specifically in ethics and applied ethics. The list of his separate publications includes more than 80 items. Jollimore was awarded a one-year post as External Faculty Fellow at the Stanford University Humanities Center in 2006–2007, and as director of the CSU, Chico Humanities Center, he was instrumental in acquiring Presidential Scholars funding to bring prominent authors and philosophers to campus.

Stephen Lewis, History, received the Hubert Herring Book Award in 2007 for his book, The Ambivalent Revolution: Forging State and Nation in Chiapas, Mexico, 1910–1945. Dr. Lewis co-edited another book in 2006, his third book is under contract with Duke University Press, he was awarded a Davis W. and Helen E.F. Lantis University Professorship to finish his fourth book, and he has published four major articles or chapters in peer-reviewed journals and books in the last three years. In addition, Lewis has served as chair of five graduate MA committees and as a member of an additional five in the past three years, as faculty advisor to both the History Honor Society and the Chicano fraternity Gamma Zeta Alpha, and as coordinator of Latin American Studies.

Dawn Clifford, Nutrition and Food Science, was named 2008–2009 Outstanding Project Director for her involvement in Mission Nutrition. The program is a group of students at Chico High School on a mission to spread the word about the importance of fruits, vegetables, and physical activity. They travel to K-8 schools throughout the North State to entertain, motivate, and model healthy behaviors to children.

In addition to school-wide performances, they also interact with the K-6 audience on a more personal level with visits to the classrooms. Following the performance, Mission Nutrition members split up and visit each classroom. They bring fruit and vegetable snacks and initiate an informal facilitated discussion on the main messages from the performance.

Mission Nutrition involves a unique partnership between the Center for Nutrition and Activity Promotion, the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, the University, Chico High School and North State K-6 schools.

Darryl Eisele, Education, received the 2008–2009 Outstanding Project Director award for his role in the University Connection program. Since the fall of 1998, the program has provided an introduction to the worlds of higher education and professional education to high school seniors in Butte and Glenn counties.
Students in the program are enrolled simultaneously at their local high schools and as students at the University. Each morning, students meet together as a class to work on high school graduation requirements and electives. In the afternoons, they are enrolled as freshmen students across the CSU, Chico campus. This allows them to graduate from high school with General Education units earned toward an undergraduate degree.

Mike Ward, interim dean, Engineering, Computer Science, and Construction Management, was named 2008–2009 Outstanding Project Director for his work with Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. His recent research involves the design and implementation of surveillance robots used in hostile environments through Livermore contracts totaling more than $1.1 million for the past three years. The focus of the work is to design low-cost expendable robots using “off-the-shelf” technology. Early efforts produced small remote robots with video cameras that could be used to snoop inside and around buildings in urban settings. This was followed by large road-clearing robots using remote-controlled all-terrain vehicles that can lead a convoy of trucks. More recently, the nuclear industry has contracted with the University to provide small-scale robots for inspection and radiation detection inside nuclear reactor buildings.  

Ward’s technical expertise is in the area of modeling dynamic systems and control, with particular expertise in the dynamics of large flexible space structures. He received his PhD from Stanford University in mechanical engineering.

Ward joined CSU, Chico 20 years ago as a faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He has served as department chair, interim dean, and associate dean. Dr. Ward has also played a leadership role with regard to program assessment and engineering accreditation in the college.