For the Record provides information about recent professional activities and honors of University of Delaware faculty, staff, students and alumni.

Recent presentations, awards and publications include the following:

Presentations

On May 17, Margaret Stetz, Mae and Robert Carter Professor of Women's Studies and professor of humanities, was an invited participant in an international online research workshop sponsored by the British Association of Decadence Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London. The focus was on a 1907 British Decadent novel, The Hill of Dreams, and the participants discussed new critical approaches to this understudied text.

Awards 

Christopher Nichols, associate professor of clarinet, has been elected president elect of the International Clarinet Association (ICA). The six-year commitment begins Sept. 1, 2024, with a two-year term as president elect, followed by two years as ICA president and then by two years as immediate past president. The ICA a diverse and inclusive community of clarinetists and clarinet enthusiasts that supports projects that will benefit clarinet performance; provides opportunities for the exchange of ideas, materials, and information among its members; fosters the composition, publication, recording, and distribution of music for the clarinet; encourages the research and manufacture of a more definitive clarinet; encourages communication and cooperation among clarinetists and the music industry; and encourages and promotes the performance and teaching of a wide variety of repertoire for the clarinet. The ICA supports workshops, competitions and the annual ClarinetFest conference.

Brandan Henry, post MFA researcher in the Department of Art and Design, received a 2024 Delaware Division of the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship in Visual Arts: Works on Paper. His focus is on understanding how social conditions shape identity and perception. Henry’s work contributes to the celebration of Black culture and highlights aspects of daily life, capturing the richness and dignity of represented Black bodies. As a 2024 fellow, Henry’s work is part of the Award Winners XXIV exhibition, on view through July 28, 2024, at the Biggs Museum of American Art, and he will have a solo exhibition of new work at the Mezzanine Gallery in the Carvel State Office Building. 

Barbara Lu, Arqan Tariq and Daniel Zorrilla, doctoral students in the public policy and administration program at the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration, received fellowships from the Public Administration Theory Network for the 2024 cohort.

Salvesila Tamima, a doctoral student in the disaster science and management program at the Biden School, was recently appointed co-director of the American Association of Geographers specialty group for Hazards, Risks and Disasters.

Cate Morrissey, associate director of the Center for Historic Architecture and Design (CHAD) in the Biden School, was awarded a $348,655 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for the project "Stabilizing and Disseminating the Center for Historic Architecture and Design's Archive of Vanishing Historic Architecture of the Mid-Atlantic." The grant, which was included in a $26.2 million total in NEH awards distributed nationwide earlier this spring, will fund the hire of a digital archivist to assist with the re-accessioning, migration and file conversion of over 1,800 born digital photographs, AutoCAD files and reports, as well as the digitization of 600 field notes and architectural drawings documenting historical vernacular architecture and buildings of the Mid-Atlantic region. Digital files will be included in multiple databases for public access. 

Chandra Reedy, director of the Center for Historic Architecture and Design (CHAD) and professor in the Biden School, was named a national finalist in the 2023 Wiki Science Photo Competition under the Microscopy category and the Image Sets category for Crystals in Song Dynasty Glaze. The winning U.S. images will represent the United States at the international level.

The Prairie Potholes Project, a short film about the ecology, history and beauty of the Prairie Pothole Region, received the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists’ 2024 Environmental Communications Award Grand Prize. Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering Yu-Ping (Yo) Chin and Associate Professor of Art and Design Jon Cox served as principal investigators, and Cox was also the executive producer, working with a team of researchers funded by the National Science Foundation, including William Arnold (University of Minnesota), Brandy Toner (University of Minnesota) and Michael Wilkins (Ohio State University). The film brings awareness to the region, which spans an area of the northern Great Plains and is home to the unique ecosystem composed of millions of small depressional wetlands and lakes that are connected hydrologically through groundwater. More than half of North American waterfowl breed in the region, which faces threats from development, chemical pollution and climate change. 

Aditya Kunjapur, assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, has won the 2024 BioInnovation Institute & Science Prize for Innovation. This award recognizes researchers who have made significant advances using protected or licensed materials, such as proprietary drugs, diagnostics, or other healthcare-related technologies. Kunjapur was named the Grand Prize winner based on the findings presented in his essay “Planting a chemical flag on antigens.” The essay details Kunjapur and his team’s innovative way of making proteins previously unseen to the immune system more visible and memorable. This finding could help with the development of new vaccines, especially for bacterial infections. 

The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) honored three faculty and staff members at its Celebrating Excellence gathering. Sue Barton, who serves as a Cooperative Extension specialist and professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, was honored with the Excellence in Extension Award. Larry Armstrong, manager of Webb Farm, received the 2024 Excellence in Service Award. Finally, the college bestowed Kent Messer, S. Hallock du Pont Professor of Applied Economics, with the Excellence in Research Award. Read the full feature about these awardees on CANR’s website.

Publications

Ravi Ammigan, associate provost for international programs, has co-edited the book Supporting International Students in US Higher Education: A Theory-Based Approach. Published with Palgrave Macmillan, this volume pairs scholars with practitioners to explore various topics of importance and relevance in international student affairs. The chapters are grounded in theory and practice and focus on an integrative approach for developing inclusive, collaborative and culturally responsive support systems for students both inside and outside of the classroom.

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