Boone - This summer the College of Arts and Sciences will provide six $5,000 grants to faculty to work on scholarly research, creative projects and external funding proposals that will enhance the transformational experience of Appalachian students.
The reason for these grants, according to College of Arts and Science's Dean, Tony Calamai, is two-fold: "The creation of new knowledge and student engagement beyond the traditional classroom and laboratory experiences is a critical part of our mission as a university faculty. So it's a no-brainer to invest in our faculty to enhance their scholarly activities and subsequently the experiences of our students. I hope the college will have the resources to continue this program every summer for a very long time."
The following professors have been awarded grants for their work:
Dr. Brooke E. Christian - A graduate of Appalachian State University in 2005, Dr. Brooke Christian went on to get her Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry in 2010 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and did her postdoctoral work at Yale University as an NIH postdoctoral fellow. Dr. Christian joined the department of chemistry at Appalachian State University in 2015 and teaches biochemistry and biochemistry lab. Her work at Appalachian State focuses on mitochondrial reactive oxygen species and the roles they play in assembly of oxidative phosphorylation complexes and in adipocyte differentiation.
Dr. Elizabeth Shay - Dr. Shay joined the Department of Geography and Planning at Appalachian in 2015. Her specialized areas of teaching and research include town and regional planning, community development, and transportation and land use, with a focus on the built environment, travel behavior, active living and active travel, and health. Her current research initiatives relate to elder-friendly built environment, transportation equity, and resilient mountain communities. Dr. Shay earned her Ph.D. from UNC-Chapel Hill's Development of City and Regional Planning
Dr. Alice Wright - Dr. Wright joined the Department of Anthropology at Appalachian State in 2014, after receiving her PhD from the University of Michigan. She teaches courses on North American, Mesoamerican, and Southeastern archaeology, archaeological theory, and archaeological approaches to landscapes and human-environment interactions. Today, with colleagues from Bryn Mawr College and Sewanee University of the South, she is developing the Pinson Environment and Archaeology Regional Landscapes (PEARL) Project, a collaborative, interdisciplinary effort tackling the Middle Woodland archaeological record of west Tennessee. She also leads an archaeological field school affiliated with the PEARL Project.
Dr. Chuong Mai - Dr. Mai joined the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Appalachian State in 2015. His teaching and research focus on the religions of Asia, particularly the history of Chinese and Vietnamese Buddhism. Dr. Mai's project looks at the intersection of women's religious practices, spirit mediumship, folk opera, and popular Buddhism in the worship of the Buddhist deity, Quan Am (Guanyin, Avalokiteshvara), also known as the "Goddess of Mercy". The project will shed light on how gender, embodiment, and ritual produce experiences of sacred presence and power, particularly for women devotees.
Dr. Andrew R. Smith - Dr. Smith joined the Department of Psychology in 2011 after receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. Dr. Smith is a social psychologist whose research investigates people's judgments and decisions. Recently, Dr. Smith has investigated factors that influence people's willingness to take risks in a variety of domains including financial (e.g., investing in the stock market), social (e.g., asking someone out on a date), and health risks (e.g., smoking).
Dr. Gabriele Casale - Dr. Casale joined the Department of Geology in 2011, and began his tenure track position shortly after completing his Ph.D. at the University of Washington in 2012. His research interests are in the complex interplay between contemporaneous shortening and extension in mountain belts from a field structural geology perspective. His research is centered upon the formation of domal structures in the deeply exhumed continental crust in the Blue Ridge. He is currently constructing 2D kinematic interpretations across the Valley and Ridge.