Got six minutes and forty seconds? That’s all you need to learn about some of the intriguing research happening at UT.
Faculty and staff are invited to Mic/Nite on Thursday, October 10, to hear eleven of their peers talk about their work, which ranges from urban forestry to ancient Roman forts. It takes place at the Relix Variety Theatre, 1208 North Central Avenue.
The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a social hour, including a cash bar and free pizza. Presentations will begin at 6:30 p.m. and conclude around 8:30 p.m. Door prizes will be awarded at intermission and the close of the evening.
The free event is open only to UT faculty, staff, and their spouses or partners. Those going are encouraged to RSVP with the Office of the Provost.
Mic/Nite is described as a “Pecha-Kucha–powered social gathering to enhance the intellectual, interdisciplinary, and cultural life of the faculty and staff at UT.”
Originating in Tokyo, Pecha-Kucha (pronounced peh-CHAKH-cha) is a simple lecture format where presenters show and discuss twenty images for twenty seconds each, for a total of only six minutes and forty seconds.
“Mic/Nite shines a brief, but bright, spotlight on some of important and important research our UT faculty are doing. It allows the audience to gain appreciation for the many aspects of our large, comprehensive university,” said Beauvais Lyons, Mic/Nite coordinator and Chancellor’s Professor in the School of Art. All speakers are selected by the academic deans, and the presentations reflect the intellectual diversity of the campus.
Presentation topics for the fall 2013 Mic/Nite include:
- “Exploring the Urban Forest” by Sharon Jean-Philippe, assistant professor of urban forestry. Jean-Philippe will explain the challenges and purposes of trees in urban environments from economic, environmental, and management perspectives.
- “The Origins and Biology of Play” by Gordon Burghardt, professor of psychology. Burghardt will explore playfulness from an evolutionary standpoint, citing videos of play in turtles, lizards, frogs, fishes, and invertebrates.
- “‘Well, at least it’s a dry heat…’ Roman Soldiers at ‘Ayn Gharandal on the Arabian Frontier” by Erin Darby, assistant professor of religious studies, and Robert Darby, lecturer in art history and classics. The Darbys will discuss the significant archaeological findings from their dig in desolate ‘Ayn Gharandal, Jordan.
- “Leaving Orbit: Notes from the Last Days of American Spaceflight” by Margaret Dean, assistant professor of English. Dean will explore what the fifty-year era of American space flight means to people in the years after the final space shuttle launch.
- “Let’s Break Down Some Walls: Using Business Process Modeling and Integrated Software as a Platform for Integrating Business Education” by Anita Hollander, distinguished lecturer in information management. Hollander will explain how the information management faculty is fostering multifunctional, innovative thinking in College of Business Administration students by combining business analysis techniques with technology platforms that integrate business process data.
- “The Science of Data” by Suzie Allard, associate professor and associate director of the school of information sciences. Allard will explore the difficulties and possible solutions interdisciplinary researchers have when merging diverse streams of data.
- “Listening Between the Lines: The Micro-Analysis of Everyday Talk” by Trena Paulus, associate professor of instructional technology. Paulus will highlight findings from a micro-analysis about how language is used to accomplish tasks in both online and offline conversations.
- “Smarter Electrolytes May Prevent a Dimmer Future” by Alex Papandrew, research assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering. Papandrew will explain how materials scientists, electrochemists, and chemical engineers can work together to develop new energy systems that function with new electrolytes, or substances that allow charge to flow via the motion of ions.
- “Professionalism: The Redheaded Stepchild of Legal Education Reform?” by Paula Schaefer, associate professor of law. Schaefer will explore why many law professors in the United States are skeptical about teaching professionalism.
- “End of Life Needs of Persons Living with HIV/AIDS in Appalachian Tennessee” by Sadie P. Hutson, associate professor of nursing. Hutson will discuss the findings of the first qualitative study to examine the unique end-of-life care needs of people living with HIV/AIDS in Appalachian Tennessee, an area that has been historically underserved with regard to health care services.
- “Public Service, the Not Always So Academic Arm of the College of Social Work” by Elizabeth R. DeGeorge, assistant director of publications and media technology. DeGeorge will discuss how the College of Social Work’s public service office has impacted individuals and agencies throughout the region while allowing the college to maintain a first-hand relationship with cutting-edge best practice in today’s world.
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C O N T A C T :
Beauvais Lyons (865-974-3202, blyons@utk.edu)