Dialog, UA Faculty and Staff News

March 7, 2005

UA Engineering Names New Barfield Chair
UA Professor Elected President of Association
UA Scientist to Help Develop New Environmental Organization
UA Professor Elected to Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research

UA Engineering Names New Barfield Chair

Dr. Ajay K. Agrawal

UA's College of Engineering recently named Dr. Ajay K. Agrawal as the Robert F. Barfield Endowed Chair in Mechanical Engineering.

As the Robert F. Barfield Endowed Chair, Agrawal will work to advance his research in areas such as combustion and fluid flow in power generation, propulsion and space systems, and work in environmentally benign energy utilization.

"The Barfield Chair offers the outstanding opportunity to pursue excellence in mechanical engineering," said Dr. Keith McDowell, interim dean of the College of Engineering. "The advances made by Dr. Agrawal will help maintain the University's ability to meet growing demands in combustion research."

The donors who contributed to the endowment are Thomas L. and Carolyn L. Patterson of Birmingham. Their contribution is in honor of Dean Emeritus Robert F. Barfield to support excellence in teaching, research and service, especially in the manufacturing field in the College of Engineering.

Agrawal received his doctorate from the University of Miami in 1988. He has done fundamental and applied research on combustion and fluid flows for NASA, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy. He has published nearly 100 papers in technical journals and conferences, and he is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Thomas L. Patterson received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the UA's College of Engineering in 1964 and 1966, respectively. The Pattersons have been ardent supporters of the University, and in the 1990s they established the Robert F. Barfield Endowed Chair and the William Jordan Endowed Chair.

Barfield served the College of Engineering for 27 years. He joined the faculty in 1967 as associate professor of mechanical engineering and served as dean from 1983 until his retirement in 1994. During Barfield's time as dean, the College's instructional programs were improved through upgrades in classroom technology, and research programs grew to unprecedented levels.

UA Professor Elected President of Association

Dr. Elaine Martin

Dr. Elaine Martin, associate professor in the department of modern languages and classics, was recently elected president of the Southern Comparative Literature Association for a two-year term. Founded in 1974, SCLA is the only regional comparative literature organization in the United States . SCLA's journal, The Comparatist, has been published annually since 1977 and won the Phoenix Award of the Council of Editors of Learned Journals in 1996. UA hosted the SCLA's annual conference, entitled "What is Literature?," in October 2002. Martin has been affiliated with SCLA since 1982, and served as a board member, chair of the nominating committee, member of the editor search committee, conference co-organizer, book review editor of the journal, session organizer and chair, and most recently for two years as vice-president.

Martin currently teaches German language, literature, and culture. She also directs the Program in Comparative and World Literature (www.bama.ua.edu/~wlp) and has taught a variety of comparative and interdisciplinary courses. She has published on diverse topics such as women's autobiographical writings about the Nazi era, food and eating in literature and film, comparative literature and cultural studies, Romanticism and film, and gender and fascism. She is currently working on literary adaptation theory and the Carmen myth. For information about the association see the SCLA website: www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/complit/scla/conferences.

UA Scientist to Help Develop New Environmental Organization

Dr. Amy Ward (photo: Chip Cooper)

Dr. Amy Ward, professor of biological sciences, founder and director of UA's Center for Freshwater Studies, and ecologist, was selected to serve as part of the planning and design committee for the National Ecological Observatory Network, known as NEON. Ward is among a select group of scientists chosen to help develop guidelines for this newly formed national organization focusing on environmental science issues.

NEON, proposed by the National Science Foundation, is a national, interdisciplinary undertaking designed to answer scientific questions and to achieve credible ecological forecasting. Social scientists and educators are teaming with ecologists and physical scientists to focus on matters such as biodiversity, climate change, infectious disease, invasive species and land use. Under Ward's direction, the interdisciplinary Center for Freshwater Studies is dedicated to understanding and preserving water, the environment in and around it, and the plants and animals, including people, that depend on it.

Dr. Lou Burgio

UA Professor Elected to Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research

Dr. Lou Burgio, distinguished research professor and director, UA Center for Mental Health and Aging, was recently elected to the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research for his "significant contributions to the field of behavioral medicine." Established scientists in behavioral medicine become members of the Academy only by invitation. The scientific society of approximately 260 members was founded in 1978 to promote the science of behavioral medicine, from basic science to policy implications.

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