May 20, 2015
Faculty Highlights, Spring 2015
Music professor wins Accinno Teaching Award
Dr. T.J. Harper, an associate professor of music, has received the 2014-2015 Joseph R. Accinno Faculty Teaching Award, PC’s top teaching honor. Harper, who earned a doctorate in musical arts from the University of Southern California, joined PC’s faculty in 2009 and conducts three choral ensembles — I Cantori, the Concert Chorale, and the Oriana Women’s Choir. He has led students on international concert tours, including this year’s trip to Austria and the Czech Republic. “Dr. Harper has exhibited many traits that make him not only an excellent teacher but a leader in his field,” one nominator noted. “He never allows his great musical talent to outshine his students.” Winners of the Accinno Award receive a cash stipend, give a presentation during Commencement Weekend, are acknowledged at Academic Convocation in September, and have their names inscribed on a plaque in Phillips Memorial Library.
Granite State launches ACA despite opposition
New Hampshire serves as an example of how a state implemented the Affordable Care Act (ACA) despite opposition from elected leaders, according to two Providence College researchers. “At a time of continued deadlock in many states, the Granite State’s experience demonstrates that bipartisan collaboration and compromise remain possible,” said Dr. Robert B. Hackey, professor of health policy and management (HPM). He co-authored a national report for the ACA Implementation Research Network with Dr. Todd M. Olszewski, assistant professor of health policy and management, and Danielle Waldron ’15 (Taunton, Mass.), an HPM major. According to their analysis, New Hampshire officials established a partnership exchange in 2013 that preserved the state’s regulation of the health insurance marketplace and maintained local control over ACA education and outreach initiatives even though the state legislature and voters were against it.
Four decades of scholarship
INTI: Revista de la literatura hispánica, a scholarly journal founded by Dr. Roger B. Carmosino, associate professor of Spanish, celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2014. The publication spotlights international academic research in all areas of Latin American and Spanish literature twice a year. Carmosino said INTI is unique because of the breadth of scholarship it includes. In most issues, INTI contains literary criticism, creative writing, interviews, reviews of books, and works of art. In addition to renowned critics, writers, and artists, three Nobel Prize for Literature recipients have contributed to INTI.
Bringing building wonders to light
Benjamin K. Sweeney ’00, adjunct assistant professor of film, was the associate producer of the Building Wonders documentary series on PBS’s NOVA. Dr. Joan R. Branham, professor of art history and associate dean of the School of Arts & Sciences, served as a scholarly consultant for one of the films in the series, Hagia Sophia: Istanbul’s Ancient Mystery. Branham said the documentaries were used in two courses at the College during the spring semester.
Research catalyst
The American Chemical Society awarded Dr. Seann P. Mulcahy, assistant professor of chemistry, a $55,000 grant to investigate new ways to convert simple molecules derived from crude oil into more complex ring-like molecules. Working with students, Mulcahy is investigating how a novel chemical reaction that uses palladium as a catalyst is influenced by small changes in chemical structure. The metal palladium speeds up the reaction, making it more efficient and economical, and generating less waste.
Weighing in on deflated footballs
Like football fans everywhere, Dr. Seth T. Ashman, assistant professor of physics, wondered about the NFL’s contention that 11 of 12 footballs used by the New England Patriots during the first half of their AFC Championship game in January against Indianapolis were too low in air pressure. Ashman initially ran his own calculations using the “ideal gas law” and determined that temperature alone could not have accounted for deflation of the footballs by the reported 2.0 psi. After hearing that the Patriots subsequently simulated game-like conditions and did their own testing — subjecting footballs to rough treatment in cool, rainy conditions, and finding that the footballs did lose air — Ashman said the issue was “a gray area.” Subsequent reporting revealed most of the footballs had lost considerably less than 2.0 psi of pressure. The combination of temperature change, rainy weather, and the handling of the football to achieve the desired texture could lead to a pressure drop, he concluded.
