Saturday afternoons before football games are filled with excitement and the buzz of activities going on campus. One of these activities is the Faculty Showcase program. This program allows members of the faculty to show some of their many talents and areas of expertise. The showcases are held every football Saturday two hours before kickoff in the University Center Ballroom. They are 45 minutes long. This year’s performances and presentations including the following:
—Sept. 9 (UT vs. Air Force) “A Look Inside the Private Lives of America’s Founding Fathers” with Lorri Glover, associate professor of history. Glover has authored several books and teaches classes including Colonial America, the American Revolution and Family and Sexuality in American History.
In the talk, Glover said she will discuss “the relationships that Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin and Madison had with their sons.” She said the nation’s founding fathers had to deal with the premature death, sicknesses, addictions and other problems of family members while they were fighting the British and achieving their famous political accomplishments.
“It makes them all the more remarkable,” Glover said. Students may be surprised at how well they relate to the sons of the founding fathers.
—Sept. 16 (UT vs. Florida) “Smallville: The Nanotechnology Revolution Comes to Tennessee” by Ward Plummer, distinguished professor in physics and astronomy. Plummer has been elected to the National Academy of Science and said he will speak about the political moves and financing that will advance nanotechnology. Plummer said the advancement being requested by the country from scientists in nanotechnology is as significant as the building of the atomic bomb in WWII or the spacecrafts for the space race. He said nanotechnology is paramount in overcoming the energy crisis.
“This energy crisis is as big as any of those,” Plummer said. “We need a revolution in materials design, not an evolution.”
Plummer will also give examples of nanotechnology, such as magnetic recording, magnetic circuitry and even cancer treatment. Since cancer cells are more porous than healthy cells, a nanoparticle that will circulate through the body and enter only cancer cells could be used to treat the site with radiation, he said.
“You can preferentially kill the cancer without (killing) the human,” Plummer said. It is a unique and opportune time for students who enter such a needed and growing field, he said.
—Sept. 23 (UT vs. Marshall — Homecoming) “When the Well Runs Dry — America’s Water Supply in Crisis” with David Feldman. Feldman previously served as a senior research scientist for the Energy, Environment and Resources Center — now called the Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment. In 2005 he was named the first scholar-in-residence for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. He is also the head of the political science department.
“It’s a discussion of national and global water supply challenges,” Feldman said. He will use two examples, one being the historical example of competition for water from the Colorado River Basin. He will also talk about the conflict between Georgia, Alabama and Florida for water.
“I am going to talk about ways to solve these problems,” Feldman said. He said many of the solutions used in the past had more problems associated with them. He urges more focus on recycling and efficiency.
Later in the semester, the following talks will be held:
—Oct. 21 (UT vs. Georgia) “Bird Flu — World’s Next Influenza Pandemic?” by Mark Sangster, assistant professor of microbiology.
—Nov. 4 (UT vs. LSU) “La Nueva South: Trends in Latino Migration to Tennessee” by Anita Drever, assistant professor in geography.
—Nov. 25 (UT vs. Kentucky) “America’s Rising Tide of White Collar Crime: Maximum Opportunity and Minimal Risk” by Neal Shover, professor of sociology.
