UMW Families Attend Engineering-Maker Camp
University of Mary Washington kids got their first taste of 3-D printing and robotics last week when they attended an Engineering-Maker Camp at the Stafford campus.
The College of Education offered the free two-day camp to University employees’ kids where they learned about 3-D design, scanning and printing; basic wiring and circuit-building; built electronic books, paintings and greeting cards and built simple motor-powered robots, among other activities.
“The camp went very well,” said Professor of Education George Meadows, who led the camp. “I think the kids really enjoyed working with the variety of technology we were able to introduce them to.”
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- Students test the drawbots they built from motors, markers and recyclable materials. Photos by George Meadows.
“Go Set a Watchman” Book Discussion, Aug. 5
Join Gary Richards at the University Bookstore for a group discussion of “Go Set a Watchman” by Harper Lee on Aug. 5 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in Lee Hall. RSVP by Friday, July 31 to (540) 654-1631 or books@umw.edu.
Students Present Research at Annual Symposium
Have you ever gotten exasperated while waiting to be seated at a restaurant? It’s a universal problem that has frustrated customers and owners around the globe.
Senior Evan Mays is working to help restaurants figure out what causes long wait times. The computer science major spent the spring and summer semesters collecting data at Seacobeck Dining Hall. He used information from customers’ wireless devices to estimate the number of people visiting the restaurant and the amount of time they stayed.
The research project, “Predicting Wait Times with Wi-Fi Network Traffic,” was a win for Mays, who received first place for his presentation at the annual Summer Science Institute Research Symposium on Wednesday, July 22. His mentor was Jennifer Polack, professor of computer science.
As for Seacobeck Hall, Mays has a suggestion on how the dining hall can minimize its wait times: Open a second register during peak hours.
Mays was one of 18 presenters whose research projects ranged from examining soil pollution at a mining site to analyzing the Japanese yen/U.S. dollar exchange rate.
Other winners included:
Second Place Oral Presentation: Samuel Clark, “Optimization of SELEX Parameters for RNA Aptamer Selection, Advisor: Randall Reif, assistant professor of chemistry
First Place Poster Presentation: Kristina Krumpos, “Genetically Engineering a Plasmid Expression Vector for Nuclear Localization Studies,” Advisor: Stephen Gallik, professor of biology
Second Place Poster Presentation: Taylor McConnell, “Analysis of Potential Bioaccumulation of Heavy Metals in Native Plants at an Acid Mine Drainage Site along Contrary Creek, Virginia,” Advisor: Melanie Szulczewski, associate professor of earth and environmental sciences
Davies and Brown Publish Racial Diversity Simulation Paper
Stephen Davies, associate professor in computer science and UMW alumna Morgan Brown (computer science, mathematics) have had their research paper “Toward an agent-based simulation of the factors impacting diversity within a college student body” accepted to the 47th Winter Simulation Conference, the premier academic forum for simulation research in the world.
The paper describes an agent-based computational simulation that models college students and their social interactions, with particular focus on interracial friendships and the factors that contribute to racial segregation. The ultimate goals of the project are to better understand the dynamics of campus segregation, and to determine the efficacy of possible institutional policies that a university might implement that would encourage racial integration. Such policies, if successful, could decrease the well-documented effect of social alienation that minority students often perceive, and which can impact their academic success.
This paper is a milestone in a project that originated with a 2013-14 UMW faculty research grant and which has involved contributions from three computer science honors students, Leah Cox and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and several other UMW staff members who contributed domain knowledge about various aspects of campus life.
Doug Gately Performs with the National Symphony
Doug Gately, senior lecturer in the Department of Music, performed with the The National Symphony Orchestra Pops, conducted by Steven Reineke at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Fantasia was the featured guest. The soulful songstress and American Idol winner performed timeless standards and favorites from her Broadway turns in The Color Purple and After Midnight. Doug also recently performed with the Piedmont Symphony presenting Respighi’s The Pines of Rome.
Henderson Receives Outstanding Paper Award
Assistant Professor of Accounting Dave Henderson’s paper “E-business internal audit: The elephant is still in the room!” has been named as the Outstanding Paper of 2014 by the Journal of Applied Accounting Research, where it was also published. Henderson co-authored the paper with Amr Kotb, Accounting, Finance and Information Management Department at Lord Ashcroft Business School, and Alan Sangster, Accounting, Finance and Economics, Griffith Business School, Griffith University, Nathan, Australia.
New Campaign Gifts
University Advancement announces Mary Washington First Campaign gifts and pledges:
- An alumna from the Class of 1965 pledged $25,000 to endow a new study abroad scholarship.
- A former UMW staff member and her husband have committed $60,000 in their estate to fund an endowment for specialized training and professional development.
- A member of the Class of 1970 gave $10,000 to the Fund for Mary Washington in honor of her 45th class reunion.
- An alumni couple from the Class of 1950 pledged $25,000 to support Arts for the Community and the Fund for Mary Washington.
The $50-million Mary Washington First Campaign began July 1, 2011, and went public April 26, 2014. As of June 15, 2015, Mary Washington alumni, parents, friends, faculty, staff, and businesses have committed more than $40 million in gifts and pledges. The Campaign is scheduled to conclude June 30, 2016. Visit http://umw.edu/marywashingtonfirst or call 540/654-1024 for more information.
Hyatt Place Receives TripAdvisor Award
Hyatt Place Fredericksburg at Mary Washington was recently awarded a 2015 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for being recognized as a top performing hotel. Check out the full release on PRWeb.
Big Events Pull O’Brien Out of His Cave
Bruce O’Brien, chair and professor of history, is the academic lead and chair of the literary board for Early English Laws and was recently featured in the Washington Times as the author of an op-ed on the the 800th Anniversary of Magna Carta.
O’Brien was also panelist at the National Archives discussing the Magna Carta’s origins and continuing legacy and impact on American law and politics.
Last, but certainly not least, his new book was published by Brepols. A description of Textus Roffensis: Law, Language, and Libraries in Early Medieval England is below:
Twenty experts in law, linguistics, literature, history, and religion analyze one of the most important books produced in medieval England.
Textus Roffensis, a Rochester Cathedral book of the early 12 century, holds some of the most significant texts issued in early medieval England, ranging from the oldest English-language law code of King Æthelberht of Kent (c. 600) to a copy of Henry I’s Coronation Charter (5 August 1100). Textus Roffensis also holds abundant charters (including some forgeries), narratives concerning disputed property, and one of the earliest library catalogues compiled in medieval England. While it is a familiar and important manuscript to scholars, however, up to now it has never been the object of a monograph or collection of wide-ranging studies. The 17 contributors to this book have subjected Textus Roffensis to close scrutiny and offer new conclusions on the process of its creation, its purposes and uses, and the interpretation of its laws and property records, as well as exploring significant events in which Rochester played a role and some of the more important people associated with the See. The work of the contributors takes readers into the mind of the scribes and compiler (or patron) behind the Textus Roffensis, as well as into the origins and meaning of the texts that the monks of early 12-century Rochester chose to preserve. The essays contained here not only set the study of the manuscript on a firm foundation, but also point to new directions for future work.