Dialog, UA Faculty and Staff News

February 9, 2004

Findlay Selected for Biology Professorship
Virtual Physics Course has Real Time Benefits at UA, UAB
UA Piano Tuner's Article Reaches Across the World

Findlay Selected for Biology Professorship

Dr. Robert J. Findlay

An ecologist whose research results have been published in peer-reviewed scholarly journals on more than 40 occasions recently joined UA as the J. Nicholene Bishop Professor of Biology. Dr. Robert H. Findlay joined UA from Miami University where he had been a faculty member since 1993.

"Dr. Findlay's ability to bridge microbial diversity with ecosystem dynamics is notable and the range of techniques he applies is also particularly broad," said Dr. Martha Powell, professor and chair of biological sciences.

"He will build our emerging strength in aquatic microbial ecology, and his experience in freshwater, estuarine and marine systems well exemplifies the research capabilities of our aquatic program," Powell said. "He will be working along with aquatic scientists in the department and in the Center for Freshwater Studies in investigations of the dynamics between ecosystem processing and biodiversity. He also shows a strong commitment to education, an important facet of the Bishop Professorship."

Findlay's research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, the Environmental Protection Agency and others. Prior to joining Miami University, Findlay was on the faculty of the University of Maine. He earned his master's and doctorate at Florida State University and his bachelor's degree from the University of Connecticut.

Virtual Physics Course has Real Time Benefits at UA, UAB

by Ryan Davis

Through the technological power of the Internet, the physics departments at UA and UAB are offering physics students the opportunity to study in ways those before them never had.

Seven students from UA and three students from UAB experienced a new way to teach and learn through Internet-ready video cameras and live streaming video last fall.

Dr. Stanley Jones, professor and chair of UA's physics and astronomy department in the College of Arts and Sciences, began collaboration over a year ago with Dr. David Shealy, UAB physics professor and department chair.

"We were fortunate that UA had a $10,000 grant to purchase the equipment," Jones said. "We needed to do things like this in order to offer courses to our students that we would not ordinarily be able to do, both due to a shortage of faculty and a shortage of students in undergraduate physics."

Funding for the equipment both universities needed was provided by the Alabama Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, or EPSCoR. Dr. David Cordes, UA computer science department head and principal investigator with the 'Internet 2' project, which effectively links campuses across the state through broadband technology, helped make the course feasible.

Both departments found it relatively easy to set up for the interactive course. Jones is convinced that courses taught in this fashion will become more common in the next few years, especially in upper-level classes that would benefit both universities.

The fall collaborative upper level course, "General Relativity," dealt with the large scale effects of gravity and the theories surrounding gravitation. Dr. Benjamin Harms, UA physics professor, taught the course.

"The UA students were in the classroom and the UAB students were in the UAB physics department conference room where they saw the lecture simultaneously on a large-screen video monitor," Harms said.

Student response has been extremely positive and has opened the door for a more personalized approach to learning. Mike Wofsey, a UA student from Denver, enjoyed getting a glimpse of what the future of higher education may look like. "It's a great setup," he said. "It's the future of higher education, especially in specialized classes like this one, where it can be difficult to find the requisite number of students."

Students who took the online physics course said they would take another course offered in this fashion.

"All in all, the 'electronic' aspect of the course is transparent," a UAB student said. "Nothing is lost. I've learned every bit as much as I would have, had I been physically present in the classroom with the instructor, but now he can't hear us when we make jokes."

UA Piano Tuner's Article Reaches Across the World

UA piano tuner and technician Willem Blees works on an instrument.

by Amy Downing

Willem Blees, piano tuner/technician in UA's School of Music recently had an article on pianos published in China. The editor of the magazine Musical Instruments of China asked Blees permission to translate his article "Low End Pianos, Dilemma or Opportunity" into Chinese and publish it in their magazine.

"To have an article of such a nature to be published in a huge country such as China is quite an honor," Blees said.

Blees is a member of the Piano Technicians Guild, a professional organization for piano tuners. As a member, he writes technical articles for the organization's magazine, the Piano Technicians Journal, which is distributed to piano tuners around the world. "From what I am told, this is the first time an article from our magazine is going to be translated into Chinese," Blees said.

The Guild currently has 3,822 members who subscribe to the journal in the United States and 187 subscribers who are not members. They also offer their journal on cassette tape for those who are visually impaired. In addition, the Guild publishes its journal in 19 countries including: China, Canada, Australia, Bermuda, Brazil, Cyprus, Czech Republic, England, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, South Africa, Sweden and Switzerland.

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