Research Associate Professor Research Articles

Resilience and Sustainability in the Context of Future Disruption

This literature review is focused on the resilience and sustainability discourse within New Zealand. The aim of the review was to inquire how the Espiner et al (2017) paper had been used in other literature; and also to conduct research to create a library of other relevant articles based on resilience and sustainability specific to New Zealand. As a result of climate change, sustainable futures and understanding resilience has been pushed to the forefront of hazard management. This project therefore aims to condense the research surrounding resilience and sustainability within New Zealand to a singular resource. This has created a comprehensive catalogue of all the research available from a New Zealand context that also highlights the areas that require further research. From a base point COVID and tourism is well researched within New Zealand however the value of relationships and communities doesn’t appear to be as well researched. Overall, this literature review can act as a resource to others researching the ever-pressing realities New Zealand and the world will face due to climate change.
 Espiner, S., Orchiston, C., & Higham, J. (2017). Resilience and sustainability: A complementary relationship? Towards a practical conceptual model for the sustainability–resilience nexus in tourism. Journal of sustainable tourism, 25(10), 1385-1400.
 Supervised by: Research Associate Professor Caroline Orchisten

A Conversation with Shaimaa Lazem

Ubiquity's senior editor Dr. Bushra Anjum chats with Dr. Shaimaa Lazem, an associate research professor at SRTA-City Egypt. They discuss how computer science curricula should aim at increasing students' sensibilities and appreciation of the differences in the worldviews, skills, and abilities of technology users; as well as teach students how to harness and embrace these differences in technology design.

Contributors

Contributors

X‐ray Spectrometry Best Referee awards 2021

X‐ray Spectrometry Best Referee awards 2021

First person – Juan Flores and Peter M. Takvorian

ABSTRACT First Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Journal of Cell Science, helping early-career researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Juan Flores and Peter M. Takvorian are co-first authors on ‘Human microsporidian pathogen Encephalitozoon intestinalis impinges on enterocyte membrane trafficking and signaling’, published in JCS. Juan is a PhD student in the lab of Nan Gao, at Newark, New Jersey, USA, investigating the role of the underappreciated intestinal microbiome and pathogens by profiling their metabolic and transcriptional impacts on host cells. Peter is a Visiting Research Associate Professor (Rutgers) and Visiting Assistant Professor of Pathology (Albert Einstein College of Medicine) in the lab of Ann Cali (Rutgers, Newark, USA) and Louis M. Weiss (Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, USA) investigating ultrastructural studies of the host cell interaction and pathological effects of intracellular parasites and viruses.

Committees

International Web Conference on Advanced Material Science and Nanotechnology(NANOMAT-2020)Organizing Committee• Dr. Alka A. Bhise (Principal)• Dr. Suchita P. Khodke (IQAC Coordinator)• Dr. Anant S. Wadatkar (Organizing Secretary)• Dr. Prashant B. Kharat (Convener)• Mr. Ajay V. Ambhore (Co-convener)Advisory CommitteeProf. K. M. Jadhav, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, India (M.S.) Prof. R. B. Sharma, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of KoreaProf. M. D. Shirsat, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, India (M.S.) Dr. F. C. Raghuwanshi, Sant Gadgebaba Amravati University, Amravati, India (M.S.)• Dr. J. V. Yakhmi, Ex-Associate Director, Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Mumbai, IndiaDr. R. S. Shinde, Outstanding Scientist, RRCAT, Indore, India (M.P.)Dr. N. G. Belsare, Former Principal, Brijlal Biyani Science College, Amravati, India (M.S.)Prof. Mahavir Singh, Former Vice-chancellor IEC University, Himachal Pradesh, IndiaProf. P. M. Koinkar, Associate Professor, Tokushima University, Tokushima, JapanProf. T. S. Wasnik, Professor, Vidyabharti College, Amravati (MS), IndiaProf. R. V. Joat, Professor, Vidyabharti College, Amravati (MS), IndiaProf. H. S. Jadhav, Research Associate Professor, Myongji University, Republic of KoreaProf. Dr. A. Mulchandani, University of California, Riverside, United StatesDr. S M Yusuf, Outstanding Scientist, Physics Group,. Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Mumbai, IndiaDr. P. A. Hassan, Scientist, Chemistry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Mumbai, IndiaDr. R. S. Ningthoujam, Scientist, Chemistry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Mumbai, IndiaDr. S. S. Meena, Scientist, Physics Group, Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Mumbai, IndiaDr. P. P. Phadnis, Scientist, Chemistry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Mumbai, IndiaDr. A. B. Lad, Sant Gadgebaba Amravati University, Amravati, India (M.S.)Dr. S. A. Waghule, Sant Gadgebaba Amravati University, Amravati, India (M.S.)Prof. G. K. Bichile, Department of Physics, Dr. B. A. M. U. Aurangabad (MS), IndiaProf. K. B. Modi, Department Of Physics, Saurashtra University, Rajkot, India.Prof. R. L. Raibagkar, Gulbarga University, Karnataka, India.Prof. D. Ravinder, Professor, Osmania University, Hyderabad (TS), India

Using modeling to understand how COVID-19 preventive measures work: Washing hands, wearing masks: Does it help? - [Spectral Lines

Wearing face coverings, practicing social distancing, washing hands, and shuttering schools and stores. These are some of the measures that have been implemented to protect people from catching the virus responsible for COVID-19. But just how effective have these interventions been? • Engineers at Carnegie Mellon and Princeton believe they have developed a mathematical modeling approach that could tell us. Their project, called “Modeling and Control of COVID-19 Propagation for Assessing and Optimizing Intervention Policies,” looks at various factors that can impact the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, including virus mutations as well as preventive measures such as wearing masks. • H. Vincent Poor, an IEEE Life Fellow, is the principal investigator of the team. Also on the team are IEEE Senior Member Osman Yağan, an associate research professor of electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon, and mathematical biologists from Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania who study viral spread. • The model recently received a grant from the C3.ai Digital Transformation Institute, a new research consortium funding projects that could reduce the effects of pandemics. Related projects on viral spread by Osman and Poor are also being funded by the U.S. Army Research Office and the United States' National Science Foundation. • The template for the new model was adapted from a mathematical theory the researchers developed in 2019 that investigated the process by which viruses and their mutations spread. In their paper, published in March in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they compared how a virus spreads and mutates to how information changes as it's circulated by networks of people.

Kenneth Clark Butler (1939–2018)

Kenneth Clark Butler (1939–2018)

Mono-crystalline Perovskite Photovoltaics toward Ultrahigh Efficiency?

Dr. Kai Wang joined CEHMS, Virginia Tech as a Postdoctoral Associate in 2017 after his graduation from The University of Akron. In the fall of 2018, Kai joined Pennsylvania State University as a Research Assistant Professor in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Department of Materials Science and Engineering. His research interests include halide perovskite photovoltaics, two-dimensional multiple quantum well physics, and bioelectronics. Dr. Shashank Priya currently serves as the Associate Vice President for Research and Director, Strategic Initiatives at Pennsylvania State University. He is a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Pennsylvania State University and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech. Priya's research focuses on the intersection of multifunctional materials, bio-inspired systems and technologies, and energy harvesting and storage. As the principal investigator, he leads multiple programs targeting the development of thermoelectrics, photovoltaics, piezoelectrics, and other emerging energy-conversion and storage devices. Dr. Dong Yang worked with Professor Shengzhong (Frank) Liu in Shaanxi Normal University, China since 2014 and became a full professor in 2017. Dong joined Virginia Tech in 2017 and moved to Pennsylvania State University in the fall of 2018 as Research Assistant Professor. His research interests include solar cells, semiconductor materials, materials science, and engineering of graphene carbon materials. Dr. Congcong Wu has led the solar cell team in CEHMS, Virginia Tech since 2014. In the fall of 2018, Congcong joined Pennsylvania State University as Research Associate Professor. His research mainly focuses on developing next-generation photovoltaic systems for clean and efficient energy conversion. Dr. Joe Shapter received his PhD in Reaction Dynamics from the University of Toronto in 1990. He subsequently held an NSERC Fellowship at The University of Western Ontario before moving to Australia in 1996 to take up a position at Flinders University. Joe served as Dean of the School of Chemical and Physical Sciences for 6.5 years and headed the Flinders involvement in both the Australian Microscopy and Microanalysis Research Facility (AMMRF) and the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF), and was SA Director for AMMRF. His major interests are in the area of novel nanomaterial production, nanometer-scale characterization of these materials, and their applications in, for example, sensors or solar cells.

Do Low-Wage Employers Discriminate against Applicants with Long Commutes?

David C. Phillips David C. Phillips is an associate research professor at the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities and the Department of Economics at the University of Notre Dame (David.Phillips.184{at}nd.edu)

Guest Editorial

Guest Editorial

Summer Bridge with the WiSE Walker: Program provides a head start to incoming freshmen [Pipelining: Attractive Programs for Women

It's not too often that young women get to engage in an engineering research and development project at a major university before even starting their freshman year, but pre-engineering students April Opsvig and Zoe Nelson had the chance to do just that. Working with Electrical Engineering Research Associate Professor Linda Bushnell and Ph.D. student Sang Sagong at the University of Washington, the two young women spent a few days investigating a smart walker that uses sensors to help provide greater safety and mobility to those who must rely on the assistive device.

Editorial

We note with sadness the death of two highly respected colleagues, Fabian Dorsch and Peter Kivy. Fabian Dorsch, who was Associate Research Professor of Philosophy at the University of Fribourg, died unexpectedly on 21 February at the tragically early age of 42. Fabian was the driving force behind the European Society for Aesthetics, when it was founded in 2008, and was editor of Estetika: the Central European Journal of Aesthetics. An obituary notice can be found here: <http://philosophyofbrains.com/2017/02/25/in-memoriam-fabian-dorsch.aspx> Peter Kivy, who was Professor Emeritus of Musicology and Philosophy at Rutgers University, and the pre-eminent philosopher of music in his generation, died on 6 May at the age of 82. The American Society of Aesthetics has published an obituary notice by Larry Temkin: <https://aesthetics-online.site-ym.com/news/344130/Peter-Kivy-1934–2017.htm> An article by Jerrold Levinson in appreciation of Peter Kivy’s work in philosophy of music will appear in the next issue of the BJA.

Life course research: new opportunities for establishing social and biological plausibility

Life course research on health and disease has reached a new stage in exploring the social-to-biological transition. Large longitudinal datasets containing sociodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics, self-reported health assessments, psychological and biological data are coming into maturation and being made available to researchers. Some examples are the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), the UK Household longitudinal study (Understanding Society), The Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA), and linked registry data sets (particularly in Scandinavia). Consequently, questions around how environmental factors (in the broadest sense including social, psychosocial, behavioural, physical, etc.) lead to biological alterations over time can now be investigated on a wider scale, and in a variety of contexts and disciplines. Such work might also lead to a better understanding of the social structure of such social-to-biological mechanisms across the life course. The field of life course research is interdisciplinary by construction, stemming from different traditions. Since the 1990s, life course research on health topics developed in parallel within the fields of demography, such as in Wunch et al.’s (1996) work on unfavourable life course states and mortality; in epidemiology, where the importance of childhood circumstances for future health was highlighted by Mann et al. (1992); and in sociology via pivotal research on intergenerational social mobility and transmission (Erikson and Goldthorpe 1992, 2002). An interdisciplinary field of life course research has emerged from collaborations between these disciplines and others (Richter and Blane 2013). Given these strong traditions, life course research is well placed to establish both social and biological plausibility in hypothesis testing (Mayer 2009). While the literature has now established the associations between measures of the socioeconomic environment and subsequent morbidity and mortality, the specific pathways along which these associations are likely to operate need to be disentangled. A growing body of research hypotheses on the specific pathways that may operate between different environmental factors and biological embodiment can be identified and tested, informing deductive methods and the rejection of hypotheses or formulation of new ones (Blane et al. 2013). Recent examples of this type of research can be found in a previous issue of this journal. Hypotheses were put forward on central-nervous-system-mediated (or psychosocial) mechanisms around the development of cancers from early Michelle Kelly-Irving is a social epidemiologist working for the French institute for health and medical research (INSERM). She is based at a research unit in Toulouse, in the South West of France and her main research focus is on the social determinants of health inequalities from early life onwards. Silke Tophoven is a sociologist and research associate at the Institute for Employment Research in Nuremberg, Germany. She is interested in research on the relationship between work and health, with a special focus on women and ageing societies. David Blane has a background in medicine and sociology. He is professor emeritus of Imperial College London and professorial research associate of University College London. His research interests include social class differences in mortality, life course studies and social gerontology.

Iris recognition of driver 40 feet away through side view mirror

Electrical and Computer Engineering and CyLab Associate Research Professor Marios Savvides has demonstrated a long-range iris recognition system developed in his lab in a Youtube video.

Notes on Contributors

Notes on Contributors

Chemical Contaminants in Drinking Water: Where Do We Go from Here?

Given the number of chemicals in the environment and people’s variability in exposure and susceptibility to harm, it’s a daunting challenge to catalog all possible drinking water contaminants and assess their associated health risks. But after reviewing the state of the science and the data gaps surrounding drinking water contaminants, a team of authors presents in this issue of EHP an ambitious roadmap to help future studies identify and elucidate risks presented by specific contaminants.1 Although microbial agents are the largest cause of waterborne diseases worldwide,1 chemical contaminants in drinking water have been associated with a broad array of adverse health effects, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurological disease, and miscarriage.2 Some contaminants enter water through leaching, accidental spills, runoff, and atmospheric deposition. Others, such as disinfection by-products and lead, are introduced during treatment or even at the tap.3 Contaminants may occur naturally, or they may derive from human-related activities, such as industry, agriculture, and mining. Not only have the prevalence and uses of chemicals escalated in the last century, but the analytical techniques to detect them have become exquisitely sensitive.4,5 Consequently, it is possible to define vanishingly small levels of both well-studied and emerging contaminants in drinking water. The presence of a contaminant does not necessarily translate to an adverse impact on human health; the levels may be unimportant, exposure is not a given, and toxicity may depend on individual susceptibility. Assessing the human health effect of any given chemical requires careful epidemiological and toxicological study, which has not been conducted for most drinking water contaminants.1 Longitudinal cohort studies can help address drinking water data gaps by incorporating water consumption in their design. “The amount that we know about chemicals is really very little,” says Herman Gibb, president of research consultancy Tetra Tech Sciences, who was not involved with the review. “We keep hammering on the same chemicals like arsenic, cadmium, and so forth, but there are so many chemicals that we don’t know much about. And even for the chemicals for which we have relatively good information, we still don’t know enough.” To address the knowledge gaps, the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) in Barcelona organized a workshop in 2012 to discuss the state of the science vis-a-vis chemical contaminants in drinking water and make recommendations for future research. “Having the workshop and writing [this review] has led to some ideas for future collaborations,” says lead author Cristina Villanueva, an associate research professor at CREAL. Ultimately, the authors’ recommendations are intended to provide a template for researching any type of chemical contaminant occurring in drinking water.1 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, World Health Organization, and European Union Council together currently regulate more than 120 drinking water contaminants.1 But even regulated chemicals carry some uncertainty because new information requires questioning and possibly revising limits. Emerging chemical contaminants also generate concern because little to nothing is known about their potential health effects, much less the levels at which those would occur. Likewise, contaminant mixtures may pose greater threats than their individual components. The review authors call for specific steps to address the many unknowns. In addition to determining the identity and level of individual contaminants, which will help to prioritize research topics, investigators need information on human exposures, which could be gained through epidemiological study as well as statistical modeling. Ideally, ongoing longitudinal cohort studies would incorporate drinking water consumption in their design, and particular attention would be focused on vulnerable populations, such as children and pregnant women. Information on contaminants’ mechanisms of toxicity and biomarkers of exposure could potentially link exposure with health outcomes.1 Villanueva and her colleagues cite climate change as a major future challenge projected to affect drinking water quality through more frequent extreme weather events and increased growth of toxin-producing cyanobacteria.1 Gibb, who coauthored a 2014 review of data needs related to health effects of chemicals,6 adds that current trends point to increased chemical contamination of the environment, particularly in developing countries. “It’s quite a wish list of things to do,” Gibb says of the Villanueva review. “The focus here is on drinking water, but this really applies to the chemical world in general because there’s so much that we don’t know about how it affects the burden of disease.”

Editorial introductions

Editorial introductions

Notes on Contributors

Notes on Contributors

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING AS A DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY: IMPLICATIONS OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL PRINTING

67 Accepted November 20, 2012. Address correspondence to Thomas A. Campbell, Research Associate Professor, Associate Director for Outreach, Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS), Virginia Tech, 325 Stanger Street, MC 0193, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. Tel: (540) 231-8359; Fax: (540) 231-0970; E-mail: tomca@vt.edu Additive MAnufActuring As A disruptive technology: iMplicAtions of three-diMensionAl printing