{"id":60492,"date":"2020-08-20T14:55:23","date_gmt":"2020-08-20T21:55:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=60492"},"modified":"2020-08-20T16:56:30","modified_gmt":"2020-08-20T23:56:30","slug":"spotlight-aug-21-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/spotlight-aug-21-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"In the Spotlight: Aug. 21, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the Spotlight: Aug. 21, 2020<\/p>\n<p>Kudos to these faculty, staff and programs<\/p>\n<p>Do you have a spotlight item to share with the NAU community?<\/p>\n<p>E-mail your announcements to\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:Inside@nau.edu\">Inside@nau.edu<\/a>, or use our\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/news-tip\/\">online submission form<\/a>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Northern Arizona University<\/strong> had several of its programs and departments recognized.\n<ul>\n<li>NAU\u2019s online nursing program ranked No. 32 on the list for <a href=\"https:\/\/learn.org\/articles\/best_online_msn_degree_programs.html\">Best Online MSN Degree Programs<\/a> by Learn.org. The <a href=\"https:\/\/nau.edu\/online\/ms-nursing-generalist\/\">NAU School of Nursing<\/a> believes nursing is an art and science based on an ethic of caring where caring is a conscious, intentional discipline that is part of nursing\u2019s unique body of knowledge and is practiced in interdisciplinary contexts.<\/li>\n<li>NAU\u2019s public health programs were ranked No. 7 by College Factual on its list of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.collegefactual.com\/majors\/health-care-professions\/public-health\/rankings\/top-ranked\/southwest\/\">2020 Best Colleges for Public Health in the Southwest Region<\/a>. The ranking looks at more than 20 factors with an emphasis on degree completion statistics, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings.<\/li>\n<li>NAU\u2019s online public health program was ranked No. 10 by Best Colleges on its list for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bestcolleges.com\/features\/top-online-public-health-programs\/\">Best Online Bachelor\u2019s of Public Health Programs of 2020<\/a>. The ranking is based on statistical data guided by academic quality, affordability and online competency.<\/li>\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/nau.edu\/csd\/\">Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD)<\/a> has remained in high standing with the Arizona Department of Education (ADE). CSD provides classroom and clinical practicum experiences to students in the form of degrees, plans for licensure as a speech-language pathology assistant and working in a fully operational clinic. Despite the economic situation, the ADE renewed support of $250,000 for the 2020-21 year, bringing the ADE\u2019s total support to $3 million over the last decade.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>YourPath@NAU<\/strong> program, piloted by Student Affairs and implemented by Information Technology Services, received the Outstanding New Program and Best Incentives awards at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.suitable.co\/pathways-2020\">Pathways To Student Development conference<\/a> hosted by Suitable. <a href=\"https:\/\/nau.edu\/leap\/yourpath\/\">YourPath@NAU<\/a> is a badge or micro-credential system that acts as a guide to engagement opportunities on campus and allows individuals to track and showcase co-curricular experiences in seven competency areas.<\/li>\n<li>Assistant professor of communications <strong>Zhan Xu<\/strong> published the article, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/content\/doi\/10.1108\/OIR-08-2019-0275\/full\/html\">How emergency managers engage Twitter users during disasters<\/a>\u201d in Online Information Review. The study examined emergency official accounts\u2019 social media engagement at each disaster stage based on Fink\u2019s four-stage model of crisis and disaster.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Laura Taylor<\/strong>, assistant dean of Cline Library, was appointed to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ala.org\/acrl\/aboutacrl\/directoryofleadership\/editorialboards\/acr-stats\">Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Academic Library Trends and Statistics Survey Editorial Board<\/a>. The ACRL represents more than 10,000 individuals and libraries and develops programs, products and services to help those working in academic and research libraries. The editorial board manages an annual survey on current trends or issues, encourages participation of libraries in the survey and submits appointments to the ACRL Publications Coordinating Committee for approval.<\/li>\n<li>Assistant research professor of forestry <strong>Anita Antoninka<\/strong> edited a special issue of Restoration Ecology titled, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/toc\/1526100x\/2020\/28\/S2\">Biocrust \u2013 synthesis of emerging research and perspectives: using biological soil crusts for restoration<\/a>.\u201d The issue includes 21 articles examining work from five different continents and nine articles feature a combination of NAU faculty and students from the School of Forestry. Antoninka; associate professor <strong>Matthew Bowker<\/strong>; Regents\u2019 professor <strong>Peter Ful<\/strong><strong>\u00e9<\/strong>; graduate students <strong>Kyle Doherty<\/strong>, <strong>Henry Grover<\/strong> and <strong>Kristina Young<\/strong>; and doctoral student <strong>Peter Chuckran<\/strong> all co-authored articles.<\/li>\n<li>Assistant research professor of astronomy and planetary sciences <strong>Allie Rutledge<\/strong> was awarded a three-year grant from NASA\u2019s Solar System Workings program to study eskers (glacial landforms) in Iceland and compare them to similar features on Mars. Rutledge will partner with assistant professor of astronomy and planetary sciences <strong>Christopher Edwards<\/strong> and colleagues at the U.S. Geological Survey Astrogeology Science Center and the NASA Johnson Space Center to do remote sensing, drone mapping, mineralogy, geochemistry and sedimentology.<\/li>\n<li>Associate professor of anthropology <strong>Corina Kellner<\/strong> recently authored two papers in the Journal of Archeological Science. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0305440320300194\">Comparing ritual foods and everyday diet from the Middle Horizon site of Tenahaha, Cotahuasi, Peru using stable isotope and macrobotanical analyses<\/a>\u201d was co-authored with alumna <strong>Kate Compton-Gore<\/strong> and compares plant remains with isotope values from human remains to understand food practices at the site of Tenahaha in the Cotahuasi Valley of highland Peru. The second paper, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0305440320300996\">Urban to the bone: Isotopic and faunal dietary data from Formative-period Cerro Jaz\u00edn, Mixteca Alta, Oaxaca, M\u00e9xico<\/a>\u201d investigates the dietary impact of urbanism on the population of Cerro Jazm\u00ed<\/li>\n<li>Assistant professor of mechanical engineering <strong>Zachary Lerner<\/strong>, bioengineering doctoral student <strong>Greg Orekhov<\/strong>\u00a0and lab manager <strong>Jason Luque<\/strong> co-authored the article, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/ieeexplore.ieee.org\/document\/9146208\">Closing the Loop on Exoskeleton Motor Controllers: Benefits of Regression-Based Open-Loop Control<\/a>\u201d in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters. The goal of the study was to develop and validate an open-loop motor control framework for lower-limb exoskeletons that would result in similar or greater performance compared to skeletons with a closed-loop torque control.<\/li>\n<li>Research associate <strong>Patrick Burns<\/strong>, assistant research professor <strong>Patrick Jantz<\/strong> and professor <strong>Scott Goetz<\/strong> from the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, co-authored the article, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/iopscience.iop.org\/article\/10.1088\/1748-9326\/ab80ee\">Incorporating canopy structure from simulated GEDI lidar into bird species distribution models<\/a>\u201d published in Environmental Research Letters. This two-year study simulated GEDI waveforms to examine the impact that GEDI-derived Canopy Structure variables have on the performance of bird species distribution models in Sonoma County, California.\n<ul>\n<li>Jantz and Goetz published the article, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S2666017220300018?via%3Dihub\">The Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation: High-resolution laser ranging of the Earth\u2019s forests and topography<\/a>\u201d in Science of Remote Sensing. The article provides an overview of the GEDI mission, which was launched to the International Space Station in 2018 to provide high-quality measurements of forest vertical structure in temperate and tropical forests.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Assistant professor of mechanical engineering <strong>Amirhossein Arzani<\/strong> and recent mechanical engineering graduate student <strong>Milad Habibi<\/strong> co-authored the article, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2311-5521\/5\/3\/111\">Data-Driven Pulsatile Blood Flow Physics with Dynamic Mode Decomposition<\/a>\u201d published in Fluids. The study aimed to overcome challenges associated with the application of dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) to patient-specific cardiovascular flow data using a proposed multistage DMD with control (mDMDc) method.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Gerrick Lindberg<\/strong>, associate professor of applied physics and materials science and \u00a1MIRA! affiliate faculty member; <strong>Stephen Tegler<\/strong>, professor of astronomy and planetary science; and Lowell Observatory astronomers Jennifer Hanley and Will Grundy, were awarded a NASA Solar System Workings proposal titled, \u201cInvestigating the Stability of Trace Species in Titan\u2019s Lakes and Seas.\u201d The study will experimentally and theoretically reveal the effects of trace hydrocarbons on the behavior of the lakes on Titan, a moon of Saturn.<\/li>\n<li>Associate professor of anthropology\u00a0<strong>Lisa Hardy<\/strong>, librarian\u00a0<strong>Amy Hughes<\/strong>, professor of health sciences\u00a0<strong>Priscilla Sanderson<\/strong>, retired assistant professor of health sciences\u00a0<strong>Cruz Begay<\/strong>,\u00a0staff member with the Center for Health Equity Research\u00a0<strong>Travis Pinn, <\/strong>doctoral student in international affairs <strong>Candi Corrales<\/strong>\u00a0and alumnus <strong>Kevin Shaw<\/strong>\u00a0co-authored the article, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/1524839920947419\">Capacity Building Together: Shifting Roles for Research and Implementation in Health Resilience Among American Indians in Arizona<\/a>\u201d published in Health Promotion Practice. The study brought new and seasoned researchers together to collect and analyze data on healthcare provider knowledge and American Indian resilience where a post project self-assessment to investigate lasting impacts of project participation was developed using an Iterative Poly-knowledge Evaluation Cycle approach.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lori Poloni-Staudinger<\/strong>, associate dean in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and professor of political science, was quoted in The New York Times article, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/08\/19\/us\/politics\/second-gentleman-doug-emhoff.html?action=click&amp;auth=login-email&amp;login=email&amp;module=Spotlight&amp;pgtype=Homepage\">What Kind of Second Gentleman Would Doug Emhoff Be?<\/a>\u201d The article discusses the role and expectations of Emhoff as Kamala Harris\u2019 husband as Harris steps into her newly appointed political role. Poloni-Staudinger was also interviewed on EuroNews.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Frederick DeMicco<\/strong>, executive director of the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management, co-authored the article, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hotel-online.com\/press_releases\/release\/hotels-to-dorms-converting-hotels-to-college-housing-during-the-covid19-pandemic\/?utm_source=Hotel+Online+Subscribers&amp;utm_campaign=0c41a1f0b5-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_08_19_07_32&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_6443205a94-0c41a1f0b5-144918697\">Hotels to Dorms: Converting Hotels to College Housing During the COVID19 Pandemic<\/a>\u201d published on Hotel Online. The article discusses the history of hotel use and how some colleges are looking to convert hotels to dorms during the pandemic to accomdate social distancing.<\/li>\n<li>Senior research associate <strong>Xanthe Walker<\/strong> and professor <strong>Michelle Mack<\/strong> of the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society co-authored the paper, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/ffgc.2020.00087\/full\">Patterns of Ecosystem Structure and Wildfire Carbon Combustion Across Six Ecoregions of the North American Boreal Forest<\/a>&#8221; published in Frontiers for Global Change. The study compiles a spatially extensive inventory of pre-fire characteristics that relate to carbon storage and combustion, offering a dataset that will aid future research on fire and carbon pools in these boreal regions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bruce Hungate<\/strong>, Regents\u2019 professor of biological sciences and director of the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, co-authored the article, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s11104-020-04617-x\">New soil carbon sequestration with nitrogen enrichment: a meta-analysis<\/a>\u201d published in Plant and Soil. The study finds that adding nitrogen boosts soil&#8217;s\u00a0ability to store carbon.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Wally Covington<\/strong>, professor emeritus of forestry, was selected as a fellow of the <a href=\"https:\/\/eforester.org\/\">Society of American Foresters (SAF)<\/a>. An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eforester.org\/Main\/Community\/Awards%20Folder\/SAF_Fellows.aspx#:~:text=Awards%2FFellows,for%20the%20advancement%20of%20forestry.\">SAF Fellow<\/a> recognizes an SAF member who has committed long standing service to forestry at the local, state and national level and serves as an ambassador for the advancement of forestry.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"search-results-excerpt-link\" href=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/spotlight-aug-21-2020\/\">In the Spotlight: Aug. 21, 2020 Kudos to these faculty, staff and programs Do you have a spotlight item to share with the NAU community? E-mail your announcements to\u00a0Inside@nau.edu, or use our\u00a0online submission form. Northern Arizona University had several of its programs and departments recognized. NAU\u2019s online nursing program ranked No. 32 on the list&hellip;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spotlight"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60492\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}