Dave Toth, assistant professor of computer science, and his collaborators published two papers in the Journal of Computational Science Education (http://www.jocse.org/). The new issue was released December 1. “Using Supercomputing to Conduct Virtual Screen as Part of the Drug Discovery Process in a Medicinal Chemistry Course” describes how Toth and his collaborator, Dr. Jimmy Franco of the Merrimack College Chemistry Department, taught students in Dr. Franco’s Medicinal Chemistry course how to perform virtual screening with a supercomputer to identify potential drugs. Toth and Franco are finalists for the 2012 Undergraduate Computational Engineering and Sciences (UCES) Award for on this work. The winners of the award will be announced in February 2013 at the SIAM Conference on Computational Science and Engineering. “A Performance Comparison of a Naive Algorithm to Solve the Party Problem using GPUs” describes research Toth and his former student at Merrimack College, Michael Bryant, did with GPUs.
Gari Melchers Home and Studio Hosted Holiday Tours
Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont offered daily “Holidays with the Melchers” 30-minute guided tours of the artfully decorated Georgian house throughout December 2012. During the year, the museum is open daily, except Wednesdays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The tour showcased imaginative decorations and vignettes that interpret life at the Melchers’ cherished Falmouth country retreat. All exterior decorations were provided courtesy of the Rappahannock Valley Garden Club.
The museum gift shop, decked out for the season, offered a wide selection of books, advent calendars, art supplies and gift items.
Gari Melchers Home and Studio is a 28-acre estate and former residence of the artist Gari Melchers and his wife Corinne. The property, which is operated by the University of Mary Washington, is both a Virginia Historic Landmark and a National Historic Landmark. Located at 224 Washington St. in Falmouth, Va., a quarter mile west of the intersection of U.S. 1 and U.S. 17, it is open daily with an admission charge. The museum also serves as the official Stafford County Visitor Center. For directions and other information, call (540) 654-1015 or visit the museum website at www.GariMelchers.org.
# # #
News release prepared by: Julia Davis
Radio Show Features UMW Anthropology Professor
Jason James, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Mary Washington, discusses the cultural struggles that persist in post-Nazi Germany during an interview scheduled to air on the “With Good Reason” public radio program. The show, “After the Berlin Wall Came Down,” will air beginning Saturday, Dec. 1.
The program will focus on James’ argument that “there are still divisions within German culture – between the ‘good’ former West Germans and the ‘bad’ former East Germans – and that both sides struggle with a problematic past that includes Nazi and Fascist associations.”
James is an expert in nationalism, ethnic identity, Germany and East Germany, heritage preservation movements, tourism and collective memory and commemoration of the past.
James earned master’s and doctoral degrees in anthropology from the University of California, San Diego, after receiving a bachelor’s in philosophy and political science from Boston University. His two years of dissertation research in eastern Germany focused on the symbolic and political dimensions of conflicts over urban redevelopment and historic preservation.
“With Good Reason” airs weekly in Fredericksburg on Sundays from 1-2 p.m. on Radio IQ 88.3 Digital. To listen from outside of the Fredericksburg area, a complete list of air times and links to corresponding radio stations can be found at http://withgoodreasonradio.org/when-to-listen/.
“With Good Reason” is the only statewide public radio program in Virginia. It hosts scholars from Virginia’s public colleges and universities who discuss the latest in research, pressing social issues and the curious and whimsical. “With Good Reason” is produced for the Virginia Higher Education Broadcasting Consortium by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and is broadcast in partnership with public radio stations in Virginia and Washington, D.C.
# # #
News release prepared by: Charlotte Rodina
James Monroe Museum Hosts Holiday Events
The James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library hosted two public holiday events on Saturday, Dec. 1, including a decorating demonstration at the University of Mary Washington and an open house featuring festive musical performances at the museum.
“Deck the Halls 2012,” the 32nd annual holiday decorating demonstration by noted local floral designer Jan Williams, was held from 9:30 a.m. to noon in George Washington Hall’s Dodd Auditorium.
Williams, who helped decorate the White House for Christmas for many years, is the owner of Jan Williams Florals in Fredericksburg. She demonstrated how to craft unique holiday decorations from native evergreens and plants.
The museum, located at 908 Charles St. in downtown Fredericksburg, hosted its annual holiday open house from 4 to 6 p.m. The jazz ensemble from the Quantico Marine Corps Band presented a free concert of seasonal music in the museum’s courtyard. Guests also experienced music played on Eliza Monroe’s Astor pianoforte as well as the harp music of Mary Triola.
The open house showcased a special exhibit, “A Monroe Christmas,” showing typical holiday celebrations during President James Monroe’s era. A James Monroe interpreter will be on-hand to greet guests.
For more information on the events or to purchase tickets for “Deck the Halls 2012,” call (540) 654-1043.
The James Monroe Museum is a National Historic Landmark administered by the University of Mary Washington. Founded in 1927, it is the nation’s largest repository of artifacts and documents related to the fifth president of the United States. For hours of operation, directions and other information, visit www.jamesmonroemuseum.org.
# # #
News release prepared by: Charlotte Rodina
Revised Holiday Schedule 2012-2013
The 2012 Winter Holiday Schedule has been revised. In appreciation for your continued dedication and hard work, President Hurley has awarded an additional day of recognition leave. The winter holiday will now begin on December 20, 2012. The University will be closed on Friday, December 21, 2012.
The 2013 Holiday Schedule has also been revised to reflect the Governor’s additional day of leave. The University will be closed on Friday, March 8, 2013 for Spring Break. If you have questions regarding this schedule, please contact the Office of Human Resources at 654‐1214.
Please see the detailed schedule at: http://www.umw.edu/documents/document/umw-holiday-calendar/.
Office Sustainability Tip of the Week
With Thanksgiving over and some of us still recovering from the craziness of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, Two-For-One Tuesday, Warehouse Blowout Wednesday (OK, I admit, I may have made some of these titles up….), this is the time of the season where we inevitably start thinking about mail more often than we usually do. Sending out and receiving holiday cards, heading to the Post Office on your lunch break to mail gifts, wondering if your nieces and nephews will get their presents in time for Christmas, anxiously looking out the window for the mail carrier wondering where YOUR present is…we tend to start thinking a bit more about “the mail” than we usually do around this time of year.
So with mail on our minds, do you know how much UNWANTED mail we receive each year? There are estimates that the U.S. Postal Service sends out approximately 90 billion pieces of unsolicited mail/advertising every year. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that about 44% of this mail is tossed away, unopened. So maybe we should take a moment to think about the junk mail we receive in our own offices. Do you continually receive mail addressed to former employees? Catalogs or newsletters from companies that have no relevance to your department? Advertisements for products and services that you have absolutely no interest in? There are services out there (http://www.catalogchoice.org, http://ecocycle.org/junkmail, http://www.greendimes.com, and many others) that you can look into to help reduce the amount of unsolicited mail that you receive from companies . But perhaps the most effective and simplest way to stop getting these items might be to contact the customer service telephone number or send an e-mail to the company’s website and request to be taken off of their mailing list. Companies likely have no more interest in sending unwanted mail to you than you have in receiving it. Spending the few minutes it takes to make a phone call or send out an email seems well worth the time, energy, and waste involved with continually receiving and disposing of unwanted mail. In addition to the obvious waste of paper, think of all the energy needed to haul away all of this unnecessary mail each year. It’s also important to consider how to go about reducing the amount of junk mail that you receive at home. If you want to reduce the volume of unsolicited mail you receive in your own home, Direct Marketing Association (http://www.dmachoice.org) is a free service that helps you manage your mail preferences to reduce the likelihood of receiving mailings from companies/services that you have no interest in.
Hopefully this week’s entry has given you something to think about the next time you open up your mailbox and curiously find a three pound catalog from a North Dakota Soy Candle company (no offense intended towards soy candles OR North Dakota). If you have any suggestions for things we can all do differently each day to create more sustainable office environments, please feel free to leave a comment or email me the idea to be featured in a future Tip of the Week.
The PCS Action Group members for the “Office Sustainability Tip of the Week” are Kevin Caffrey, Elizabeth Sanders, Robert Louzek, and Dre Anthes.
Last week’s tip of the week: Green Thanksgiving
Jason James to Appear on Radio Program
Jason James, associate professor of anthropology, will discuss the cultural struggles that persist in post-Nazi Germany during an interview scheduled to air on the “With Good Reason” public radio program. The show, “After the Berlin Wall Came Down,” will air beginning Saturday, Dec. 1.
The program will focus on James’ argument that “there are still divisions within German culture – between the ‘good’ former West Germans and the ‘bad’ former East Germans – and that both sides struggle with a problematic past that includes Nazi and Fascist associations.”
“With Good Reason” airs weekly in Fredericksburg on Sundays from 1-2 p.m. on Radio IQ 88.3 Digital. To listen from outside of the Fredericksburg area, a complete list of air times and links to corresponding radio stations can be found at http://withgoodreasonradio.org/when-to-listen/.
BOV Commends University’s Response to Mason Hall Fire
On Nov. 17, the University of Mary Washington Board of Visitors passed a resolution of appreciation commending the students and staff who were instrumental in the response to the Mason Hall fire. In the resolution, the BOV expresses appreciation to student staff members of the Office of Residence Life (resident assistants and office assistants), to the professional staff members of Residence Life, UMW Police, Emergency Management and Safety, Facilities and Housekeeping, University Events, University Relations and Communications; and to the senior level administrators for their service during the incident.
Rose Wagner Named Excellent Eagle Employee
Congratulations to Rose Wagner, recruitment coordinator in the Office of Career Services, who has been selected as the Excellent Eagle Employee for the month of December. A parking spot of her choosing has been reserved for her until the end of the month.
Here is what one of her co-workers said about her:
”Rose has been an integral teammate for the office of Career Services. Her determination and attention to detail allows for even the largest of events to go smoothly. Her quality customer service and friendly disposition greet students, faculty, staff, and current employers day in and day out. Rose has taken the time to fill in when needed on a variety of tasks for both Academic Services and Career Services. She accepts new responsibilities without question and provides results that exceed expectations. Most recently, Rose was willing to assist in the planning and day of logistics of a major event in the Office of Academic Services. She was quick to prepare materials needed, able to help greet guests, and dedicated the man hours it took to make it a success. Rose is modest and hardworking. Her eagerness to learn and ability to juggle multiple priorities is the key to her success within our office. We are grateful to have her on our team!”
To nominate someone who you believe is an Excellent Eagle Employee, send an email to Priscilla Sullivan (psulliva@umw.edu) with Excellent Eagle Employee in the subject line. In your email, be sure to list the person’s name, department, work location (with the most convenient parking lot), and of course, the reason why you believe they should be recognized. Please spread the word to other employees about this wonderful opportunity to recognize a co-worker(s).
Elizabeth Larus Presents in Taiwan
Elizabeth F. Larus, professor of political science and international affairs, presented a paper, “The Challenges of Economic and Social Development Faced by the CCP’s Fifth Generation Leaders,” at the International Conference on the Chinese Communist Party’s 18th National Congress – Transition of Power and Policy Outlook [中共『十八大之權 力 傳 承 與 政 策 動 向」國 際 會 議 ], in Taipei, Taiwan, Nov. 12-13. Larus was the sole female participant at the two-day conference, and the only participant from a liberal arts university. Professor Larus participated in the conference at the invitation of Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Institute for National Policy Research. During the conference’s round table discussion, Larus was able to offer to the diplomatic community in attendance comments on recent developments in China. Elizabeth Freund Larus is author of Politics and Society in Contemporary China.