Scholarship and Academic Life

JuliAnna Ávila, assistant professor of English, is the co-recipient of the prestigious Edward Fry Book Award for “Critical Digital Literacies as Social Praxis: Intersections and Challenges.”

Erik Saule, assistant professor of computer science in the College of Computing and Informatics, has been named a National Consortium for Data Science Fellow for 2015.

The National Consortium for Data Science (NCDS) is a public-private partnership to advance data science and address the challenges and opportunities of big data; Saule was one of three NCDS Data Fellows for 2015.

Akin Ogundiran, chair of the Africana Studies Department, is the co-editor of the recent work “Materialities of Ritual in the Black Atlantic,” published by Indiana University Press.

Mark West, chair of the English Department, is co-editor and a contributor to the recently released “Walt Disney, from Reader to Storyteller: Essays on the Literary Inspirations.”

David Goldfield, the Robert Lee Bailey Professor of History, recently spent 10 days in Germany conducting seminars on American environmental policy as part of the U.S. Embassy’s support of the “Going Green” program, a German-American learning project.

As part of the visit, Goldfield spoke to students at the Bavarian Academy of Public Policy and the North Rhineland-Westphalia Ministry of Education. He also participated in reviewing the top Going Green projects by German high school students, along with U.S. Ambassador to Germany John Emerson.

The North Carolina economy grew at a rate much stronger than expected during the second half of 2014 signaling significant potential growth in 2015, UNC Charlotte economist John Connaughton reported Tuesday, Dec. 9, in his quarterly forecast for the state.

Three projects by students from the Lee College of Engineering were judged to be the best at the recent Industrial Senior Design Expo. During the event, project teams presented their completed projects and mid-project design posters.

Commencement ceremonies celebrate the completion of one’s educational journey – no matter how long it may take. This is especially true for one UNC Charlotte graduate at fall commencement Saturday, Dec. 13.

Barbara Coberly, 81, will be among the roughly 3,320 students who will gather with family, friends and others in Halton Arena to receive their undergraduate, master’s or doctoral degrees.

The UNC Charlotte College of Arts + Architecture will receive a $10,000 National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) Challenge America grant to support programming by the Projective Eye Gallery for the “KEEPING WATCH on WATER: City of Creeks” project. The NEA received 347 eligible Challenge America applications and will award 163 grants for a total of $1.63 million.

Associate professor Spencer Salas will spend most of December in Oman to continue professional development efforts with that country’s K-12 teachers.