SPRING 2016

UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI

into the centennial

A LOOK AT OUR PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE P. 10 DEAN’SMESSAGE

The enthusiasm and excitement emanating from the College’s faculty, students, and staff here at the Coral Gables campus is motivated by the profound energy and clear, invigorating vision of our new president, Dr. Julio Frenk.

On January 29th, the University the generous and transformative of Miami – founded 90 years ago $100 million gift from Dr. Philip – welcomed President Frenk as its and Patricia Frost, a gift we are sixth president. The theme at the genuinely grateful for; this gift is momentous inauguration ceremony, set to enhance the basic and applied ‘Charting The Course To Our New sciences in Arts & Sciences and Century,’ tells us how, together, the in Engineering. LEONIDAS G. BACHAS UM community is on its way to a This issue of the magazine Dean of the UM College of Arts & Sciences bigger and brighter future. It is clear reminds us all that A&S students, that the College of Arts & Sciences faculty, and alumni – like you – is central to achieving our mission continue to be at the core of our of excellence and innovation. great University. From student In his speech, President Frenk entrepreneurs to urbanization noted many overarching goals he experts bringing big-city issues aims to accomplish by our centennial to light, you will be proud of the year. One of them is to develop a A&S ’Canes who are reaching University-wide initiative addressing high academic standards and truly climate change and sea-level rise – making a difference in their fields. a timely topic that already attracts As we look forward to the the scholarly and creative attention next ten years leading up to our of several College researchers. centennial, the College stands President Frenk also announced alongside President Frenk and plans to establish 100 new his proposals “to become a truly MAKE A DIFFERENCE endowed faculty chairs – a move hemispheric, excellent, relevant, Your gift to the College of Arts & Sciences helps that will strengthen the core of and exemplary university.” us support student scholarships and retain leading our gifted faculty. He also unveiled faculty. Visit www.as.miami.edu/donate/ or scan this QR code with your smartphone to find out how your contribution can make a difference. SPRING 2016 VOLUMESEVENTEEN | ISSUETWO

COLLEGE OF ARTS EDITORIAL AND SCIENCES Director of Dean Communications Leonidas G. Bachas Papsy Mileti [email protected] Senior Associate Deans Editor/Writer Douglas Fuller Deseraé E. del Campo Angel Kaifer [email protected] Maria Galli Stampino Editorial Contributors Associate Dean Marie Guma-Diaz Charles Mallery Jessica Castillo Robert C. Jones

ADVANCEMENT Design and Illustration Assistant Dean Christina Ullman of Advancement and Alix Northrup, Jeanne Luis Ullman Design [email protected] Copyeditor Carlos Harrison

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Arts & Sciences is produced in the fall and spring by the College of Arts & Sciences Office of Communications. Through the magazine, we seek to increase awareness of the College’s activities by telling the stories of faculty, staff, students, and alumni. Send comments, requests for permission to reprint material, requests for extra copies, and change-of-address notification to: Arts & Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences, P.O. Box 248004, Coral Gables, FL 33124-4620. Telephone: (305) 284-2485. All CONTENTS contents © 2016, University of Miami. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. FEATURES DEPARTMENTS Visit the College of Art & Sciences on the web: as.miami.edu 7 | Political Science Experts Chime 2 | News Briefs in on the 2016 Presidential Election Past issues of the magazine are available at: 6 | Bookmarks as.miami.edu/news/magazine 8 | Research Roundup 19 | A&S Student Achievement 10 | Into the Centennial: A Look at the College of Arts & Sciences’ Past, Present, and Future 20 | Class Spotlight

16 | Big City, Big Challenges 21 | Philanthropy

18 | A&S Takes on Climate Change 22 | Tracking Hurricanes

24 | A&S Event Calendar ARTS | SCIENCES 1 NEWSBRIEFS IN MEMORIAM: A&S REMEMBERS

EDWARD T. FOOTE II UM’s Fourth President Passes Away at Age 78 ormer University of Miami President Edward Thaddeus “Tad” Foote II passed away on February 15, at the age of 78. In a statement to the UM community, President Julio Frenk said, “Our community has lost a great civic and academic leader who not only led the positive Ftransformation of our University, but also served as a voice of enlightened engagement for South Florida during especially challenging times. President Foote's tenure as president from 1981 to 2001 was marked by a far-reaching and rigorous pursuit of academic excellence that helped to distinguish our students and faculty among the finest in the nation. Together with his late wife, Roberta ‘Bosey’ Fulbright Foote, they made Miami their home, and we are a far better and stronger institution and community thanks to them.” Before joining the U, Foote was the former dean of the law school at Washington University in St. Louis. During his time at the University of Miami, the schools of Architecture, Communication, and what was known as the Graduate School of International Studies were created, and endowment increased from $47.4 million in 1981 to $465.2 million in 2000; research funding also increased, from $58.1 million to $193.9 million in 2000. Foote, born on December 15, 1937, was the school’s fourth president, succeeding Henry The University of Miami’s Fourth President King Stanford in 1981 and stepping down in 2001 when Donna E. Shalala took office. He is Edward T. Foote II survived by his children Julia, William, and Thaddeus, and his eight grandchildren.

RITA DEUTSCH Associate Dean of Students Passes Away at Age 83

ita Deutsch, longtime associate dean of student academic services in the College of Arts & Sciences, left behind a legacy of service, excellence, and women’s rights at the University of Miami. Deutsch was 83 when she passed away August 4. Deutsch’s association with the U began in 1969 when she enrolled to complete an EnglishR major and pursue graduate work in the College’s English Department. In 1980, she began teaching courses for the English Department, the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, Judaic Studies, and the American Studies Program. In 1985, Deutsch joined the Dean’s Office as director of freshman advising in the Office of Student Academic Services, where she served tirelessly as associate dean of students – a vital administrative role in which she helped countless students navigate successful academic careers at the University. Among her career accomplishments was her role on the steering committee of the Foote Rita Deutsch at her retirement get-together with Fellows program at its inception in 2002. Deutsch also earned numerous prestigious awards for UM’s mascot Sebastian the Ibis. her distinguished service and commitment to education, including the inaugural award named in her honor: the Rita Deutsch Spirit of Excellence Award. She also joined the National Organization for Women in the 1970s and was a three-time past president of the UM Women’s Commission. Deutsch is remembered with love by her husband Leonard of 61 years; her children, Phyllis, Jo (Teresa Williams), and Steven; three grandchildren; and countless colleagues, students, and friends whose lives were enriched by her wit, intelligence, and compassion.

2 SPRING 2016 Dr. Massimiliano Galeazzi (far right) and team stand by THE CONFIDENCE TO what remains of the rocket when it landed on Earth. ENJOY AIR TRAVEL A Partnership With Miami International Airport Allows Passengers With Disabilities to Experience the Magic of Flight

A new partnership between Miami International Airport and the University of Miami-Nova Southeastern University Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (UM-NSU CARD) at the College of Arts & Sciences is helping individuals with autism-related disorders and hearing loss gain the confidence to enjoy the adventure of air travel. The MIAair (Airport Instruction and Readiness) program is the first U.S. airport program to partner with a major university and medical institution to offer guided travel rehearsals and materials for individuals with special needs. The Ear Institute at UHealth, the University of Miami Health System, also assisted in the partnership. “CARD decided to partner with Miami International Airport for MIAair because this project provides families of individuals with autism and related disabilities with tools to prepare their loved ones for air travel,” said Dr. Diane Adreon, associate director of the CARD program at the Physics Professor Dr. Massimiliano Galeazzi and his team before the rocket launch in December. College of Arts & Sciences. “CARD provides free services to more than 9,000 families in South Florida. This project will expand our reach and touch the lives of many more individuals with autism around the world.” X-RAY GLOW REVEALS MIAair’s materials, which include travel checklists and tips in both English and Spanish, illustrate the entire MYSTERIES IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM travel experience for the participant. The booklets provide families with step-by-step photos and instructions about Physics Professor Seeks Answers About a airport procedures, from getting a boarding pass to passing 10-million-year-old Supernova Explosion through security and boarding a plane. “We want to ensure that anyone can experience the A group led by Dr. Massimiliano Galeazzi, associate chair and professor of physics, magic and wonder of flight, regardless of their disability,” launched a rocket with an X-ray detector into outer space to study X-ray glow from our said Miami-Dade Aviation Director Emilio T. Gonzalez. “Air solar system and its surroundings. travel allows us to discover new places and cultures, and the MIAair program helps to make this possible for all “When we get light from outer space, it comes in different kinds of wavelengths,” said South Florida residents with special needs.” Dr. Galeazzi, “and some of the light is unseen by the visible eye. X-rays are nothing more than a different wavelength of light that we cannot see.” Even though X-rays are invisible to humans on Earth, studying X-ray glow can reveal many hidden mysteries about our solar system. One such revelation discovered during a first rocket launch in December 2012 was the scientific confirmation that our solar system is inside of a bubble (about 300 light years long) of very hot gas (about a million degrees) caused by multiple supernova explosions that occurred 10 million years ago. The research and scientific findings from the first rocket launch in 2012 were published in the online journal Nature in 2014. This past December, Dr. Galeazzi, with support from NASA, sent a second rocket into outer space – this time to find out the properties or characteristics that make up this bubble, or what astronomers call, “the Local Hot Bubble.” This second launch, once the data are fully analyzed, will also be able to accurately determine the exact direction of motion of the sun in our galaxy. Similar to the first rocket launch in 2012, the second rocket lingered in outer space for only five minutes before falling back to Earth. It was enough time for Dr. Galeazzi, the principal investigator on the launch, and his team to get all the information they needed. Dr. Galeazzi says most of his research centers on understanding the origin and structure of diffused X-ray radiation from our solar system and beyond. In addition to the rocket mission, he is also working on data from X-ray satellites that are currently in orbit and he is part of a larger team led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), along with NASA and other MIAair is the first U.S. airport program to offer guided travel international institutions, that sent an X-ray satellite into outer space in February 2016. rehearsals and materials to those with autism and hearing loss.

ARTS | SCIENCES 3 NEWSBRIEFS

another opportunity to expose students to theater, and this time the focus A SENSE OF COMMUNITY is to empower, enrich, and educate young black women artists living Acclaimed Playwright and Miami Native Returns Home in and around the Liberty City community who may one day be artistic creators themselves. to Teach at the U & Empower Young Black Women “Why is Tarell here?” said Chairman of the Department of Theatre Arts and Associate Professor of Theatre History and Theory Dr. Stephen For Tarell Alvin McCraney, a distinguished playwright who grew up in Di Benedetto. “He had a chance to grow and learn about theatre arts Liberty City and whose award-winning career has taken him from New in Miami, and now he wants to give back to the community that gave to York to London and beyond, Miami is always the place he calls home. him. Many of the programs he participated in as a young man are now no His critically acclaimed works bring to light the African-American longer available, but now he has an opportunity to create a program that experience through the lives of emotionally rich characters. McCraney is will build upon the resources of the local community and enrich the lives a graduate of the New World School of the Arts High School in Miami, the of the students who participate in this leadership training to have a lasting Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago, and the Yale School of effect on generations to come.” Drama. His plays include the acclaimed trilogy The Brother/Sister Plays, The 10-week, three-year Summer Artistic Leadership Program is Head of Passes, Choir Boy, and Wig Out! a partnership with UM, Miami-Dade County Cultural Affairs, Arts For The list of highly impressive awards and recognitions he has received, Learning and the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center. In the first year, including a MacArthur “Genius Grant,” has helped catapult him to under the leadership of McCraney and other top professional working international recognition and reputation. artists, the students will perform a Greek play. In the second year, the McCraney has now entered the realm of higher education after joining students will write a play in response to the Greek production. In the final the College’s Theatre Arts Department as professor of theatre and civic year, the students will perform the play. The pilot program gives students engagement. McCraney’s passion for community service goes hand in who already show promise in the performing arts a platform to train on an hand with his talents on the stage. When in Miami, he pledges his time advanced level. connecting the community – preferably children and young adults – with “The hope and aim, with the help of partners in the community and the his world of theater arts. backing of our great University, is to engage, stimulate, and nurture artists “What has always been at the core of the work is a sense of right here – both on and off the campus, in locales adjacent and not so,” community,” said McCraney, “how to engage it, stimulate it, and nurture said McCraney. “The goal, ultimately, is to reassure artists in Miami that its growth.” the ‘305’ is and can be home, and, by way of this program, continue to In addition to his teaching responsibilities, McCraney finds himself with invigorate the cultural capital of our city.”

“What has always been at the core of the work is a sense of community—how to engage it, stimulate it, and nurture its growth.”

TARELL ALVIN MCCRANEY

4 SPRING 2016 CONNECTING THE DOTS AND FINDING THE PATTERNS IN Interdisciplinary Initiative Elevates Complexity Research

magine you travel in a hot air balloon above the University of said Dr. Johnson. Miami Coral Gables campus. You float above Lake Osceola, the To build and expand the big data collection and complexity Donna E. Shalala Student Center, the Foote Green, the Richter science research already being done at the College by Dr. Johnson Library, the Rock, the Lowe Art Museum, the Newman Alumni and his colleagues, Computer Science Professor Dr. Mitsunori ICenter, the residential halls, and the Bill Cosford Cinema. What kind Ogihara and Biology Professor Akira Chiba, Dean of the College of of activity would you see from above? What type of data can you Arts & Sciences Leonidas Bachas initiated a cluster hire to recruit collect about how the University works from just watching people scholars from different specialties to work together in the field of move around the campus on any given day? Is there a pattern in the complexity science research. data, and how can that “big data” help you understand the everyday As a result, the College welcomed new faculty members Dr. life of the University? Chaoming Song in the Department of Physics, Dr. Stefan Wuchty in Physics Professor Dr. Neil Johnson explained: “If you only decide the Department of Computer Science, and Dr. J. David Van Dyken in to collect the average number of people who were at the University the Department of Biology, along with Dr. Elvira Maria Restrepo, who on a given day, you could certainly get ‘big data’ by collecting it every joined the Department of Geography and Regional Studies and studies day for 20 years. But the trouble is, you would be nowhere nearer to complexity science as it relates to conflicts. understanding what really makes life at UM tick.” As planned, the cluster hire allowed the team to collaborate with “However,” he continued, “if you start to have information on various departments and schools at the University on diverse research the individual movement of objects, for example, and you notice 30 projects – from Dr. Van Dyken’s lab using yeast to study the genetic, people suddenly aggregating around one classroom – they go in and cellular, and evolutionary causes of disease to the Psychology and come out – you begin to build a picture of what is going on inside that Physics departments collecting data on the movements of children in system, and that higher resolution information can lead to all sorts of free play, and then gathering additional neurological data about them new understandings.” using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner. The term “big data” refers to enormously large amounts of data “In the age of big data collection and complexity science, it is that can be collected and analyzed to reveal potential patterns important that the College of Arts & Sciences is at the forefront of or trends in social, biological, medical, chemical, and even collaborative research that bridges several departments, connecting psychological systems. “If you collect information about individual scholars from diverse backgrounds,” said Dean Bachas. “Our team of proteins or cells in our bodies, you are going to get a big batch of researchers is recognized among the best complexity scientists in the data. This data is big in volume and also big in resolution. The key is United States, and their expertise sets an example for our students that not the collection of data on an average scale, but gathering data interdisciplinary work creates strong connections across many fields.” in real-time – looking at cell function, the brain, or even individual Other interesting and notable research projects include finding investment behavior in real-time rather than averaged over a month,” complex patterns related to sudden cardiac arrest and the growth of cancer tumors, and the collection of conflict data on wars and insurgencies to find how these incidents happened on a day-by-day, event-by-event scale. The term “big data” refers to enormously large amounts of “The idea of complexity [research] is all about understanding data that can be collected and analyzed to reveal potential the underlying patterns so that you can create a model that would allow you to create predictions,” said Wuchty. “It’s a framework patterns or trends in social, biological, medical, chemical, on how to think about a problem outside the box, and always and even psychological systems. expecting the unexpected.”

ARTS | SCIENCES 5 BOOKMARKS

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY: THE POLITICS OF STAR TREK: THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT (2015) JUSTICE, WAR, AND THE FUTURE (2015) Peter Muller George Gonzalez Geography and Regional Studies Political Science A comprehensive, conceptually based Argues that the Star Trek franchise offers survey of the Earth’s five spheres: the an indispensable, intellectual, and analytical atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, contribution to the understanding of politics biosphere, and lithosphere. in the modern era.

A NEW ATLANTIC COMMUNITY: TRANSFORMATIVE VISIONS: THE EUROPEAN UNION, THE US WORKS BY HAITIAN ARTISTS FROM AND LATIN AMERICA (2015) THE PERMANENT COLLECTION (2015) Joaquin Roy, Editor Kate Ramsey and Louis Herns Marcelin, International Studies co-editors A look at a series of events in 2015 that dealt Anthropology and History directly with the background, the current A scholarly catalogue of works by major state, and the future state of what is called and up-and-coming Haitian and Haitian- the New Atlantic Community. American artists.

A GOOD LIFE: PHILOSOPHY FROM THE DISTANT MARVELS (2015) CRADLE TO GRAVE (2015) Chantel Acevedo Mark Rowlands English Philosophy An epic adventure tale, a family saga, A philosophical handbook for living; a stunning historical account of armed a page-turning narrative of a man's struggle against oppressors, and a long, reckoning with the life he has led and tender plea for forgiveness. the choices he made.

CHOIR BOY (2015) CATALAN NUMBERS (2015) Tarell Alvin McCraney Richard Stanley Theatre Arts Mathematics A play set at the Charles R. Drew Prep Considered the most ubiquitous School for Boys where one young, gay sequence of numbers in mathematics, man seeks his dream to lead the gospel this book summarizes many of their choir while finding the courage to tell properties. the truth.

6 SPRING 2016 POLITICAL SCIENCE EXPERTS CHIME IN ON THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION he 2016 U.S. presidential election is coming down to the wire. From the fiery television debates to the mixed messages coming from the election polls, voters are paying close attention to this year’s presidential election and will very soon cast their ballots in Tdeciding who will be the next commander in chief. To help keep you informed, we asked two of our politically experienced professors – Dr. Joseph Uscinski (JU) and Dr. Casey Klofstad (CK) – a few impartial questions about the election, from which media news sources offer the most objective coverage of the election to whether or not those Political science professors Dr. Casey Klofstad and Dr. Joseph Uscinski polling numbers really matter.

Which news sources offer the best and most objective The Political Science Department coverage of the upcoming 2016 presidential election? is offering an election course this JU: There are many great news sources out there – and many terrible ones, too. I recommend fall. Can you give us details about The Monkey Cage and Wonkblog at The Washington Post, as well as Mischiefs of Faction on Vox.com. the course? I also recommend Nate Silver’s fivethirtyeight.com. If you are interested in poll numbers, then the website JU: Every election year, the Political Real Clear Politics offers great averaged polling data. Science Department, in cooperation CK: It is hard to say which news source is objective. There are so many sources out there, and each one with the College’s Dean’s office, offers seems to have their own particular ideological bias. I think the best approach is to look at multiple news outlets a large course on the election. Each to get a more balanced view of the election. I would also suggest reading foreign news from time to time; an week one or several guests speak to outsider's view can sometimes be very illuminating. the students. The substance of the course focuses on campaigns, media, Should our readers pay much attention to the What do you think the hot topics will be once the and politics. Some of the highlights from polling numbers? Can these polls truly predict Republican and Democratic parties choose their previous election years include talks who the next president will be or is there nominees and prepare for the debates? from Bernie Goldberg (HBO and Fox normally a margin of error? JU: The main issue almost always seems to be the News), Sasha Issenberg (Bloomberg), JU: The best way to read polls is to look at economy. But truth be told, the issues do not matter Former U.N. Ambassador Mark Wallace averages of several polls together. Real Clear Politics that much. Voter’s partisan affiliation predicts very (UM alumnus), and former presidential offers some great data with averaged numbers. well whom they will cast a ballot for – Republicans candidate Herman Cain. Sometimes, individual polls can be wrong; this is why vote Republican and Democrats vote Democrat. What CK: The Political Science Department taking the average of several can provide a more drives elections is the economy; if the economy is started this tradition during the 2004 accurate depiction of the race. Always keep in mind, good, then the incumbent party will retain power. If the election. The course, open to all UM unless a candidate moves up or down by more than economy founders in the run-up to the election, then the students, features prominent outside five points, there really has been no change since challenging party will win. speakers each week, including most polls have this margin of error. CK: This will depend on what is going on here in the candidates, pollsters, journalists, CK: Pay attention to polls, but take them with U.S. and abroad as the election unfolds, but the two and other political players who are a grain of salt. There is a long campaign ahead, biggest issues that I would expect the campaigns to involved with the election. We are and the media like to cover shifts in polls ("the battle over are national security and the economy. These very pleased that the Dean's office horserace"), but oftentimes these shifts are continue to be the major issues voters consider when continues to support this tradition by meaningless, random statistical "noise" within they cast their ballots, and the two parties have different providing us with a teaching assistant the margin of error. Be mindful of whether a poll approaches to addressing these issues. Immigration and financial support to defray the included respondents with cell phones. Since many might also emerge as an issue, particularly in U.S. border costs of our outside speakers. of us do not have landlines anymore, if the poll was states in the West and non-border states like Florida, conducted over the phone but did not include cell with its large Latino/Hispanic populations. phones I would question its validity.

ARTS | SCIENCES 7 IMPACTFUL AND INTERESTING RESEARCH FROM THE COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES

A&S FACULTYRESEARCH ROUNDUP

Study Predicts Quantum now see managed to evolve out of nothing. its underlying neural mechanisms. The new There is a widespread belief within the scientific model may be instrumental in understanding Goldilocks Effect community that the birth of structure in the behavioral and neurological disorders, such as Just as in the well-known children’s story universe lies in the crossing of a quantum phase autism spectrum disorder. Goldilocks and the Three Bears, something transition and that the faster the transition is “Our goal was to summarize and provide good happens when things are done in crossed, the more structure it generates. The directions for future research on a topic moderation, rather than in extremes. Now a current findings contradict that belief. that is relevant for understanding several new study has translated “not too hot or too The study sheds new light on how to prevalent developmental disorders,” said cold, just right” to the quantum world and the generate, control, and manipulate quantum Lucina Q. Uddin, assistant professor of generation of quantum entanglement – the entanglement, since the defects contain psychology, principal investigator of this binding within and between matter and light – clusters of quantum entanglement of all sizes. study, and co-author of the paper. “We and suggests that the universe started “neither The findings hold the key to a new generation believe that a better understanding of the too fast nor too slow.” of futuristic technologies – in particular, neural systems mediating this critical ability By studying a system that couples matter ultrafast quantum computing, ultrasafe will help clinicians design more effective and light together, like the universe itself, quantum cryptography, high-precision quantum treatments to help individuals who have researchers have now found that crossing metrology, and even the quantum teleportation difficulty with flexible behaviors in daily life, a quantum phase transition at intermediate of information. particularly those with autism.” speeds generates the richest, most complex In the paper, the researchers analyzed the structure. Such structure resembles “defects” New Cognitive Flexibility Model existing literature and neuroimaging studies on in an otherwise smooth and empty space. The cognitive flexibility and put forth a hypothesis findings are published in Physical Review, the Gives Insight Into Autism regarding the fundamental neural mechanisms American Physical Society’s main journal. Cognitive flexibility is the ability to shift of this important faculty. The researchers “Our findings suggest that the universe was our thoughts and adapt our behavior to the suggest four components that work together ‘cooked’ at just the right speeds,” said Neil changing environment. In other words, it’s to implement cognitive flexibility: salience Johnson, professor of physics and one of the one’s ability to disengage from a previous detection/attention (both achieve similar goals authors of the study. “Our paper provides a task and respond effectively to a new one. to direct attention to behaviorally relevant simple model that can be realized in a lab on It’s a faculty that most of us take for granted, events), working memory, inhibition, and a chip, to explore how such defect structure yet an essential skill to navigate life. switching. develops as the speed of cooking changes.” In a new paper published in the journal If their model is validated, it will provide a The big mystery concerning the origin of the Trends in Neurosciences, UM researchers strong foundation for researchers to use as universe is how the star clusters, planetary clarify many of the concepts surrounding a basis in determining what may be wrong in systems, galaxies, and other objects that we cognitive flexibility and propose a model of individuals with impaired cognitive flexibility.

Why Do Babies Smile? interaction, even before four months of age.” The study is part of an effort funded by the Why do babies smile at their parents? Are National Science Foundation to use robots to they trying to achieve something or is it a random better understand human development. It gives act? In the September 23 issue of PLOS ONE, developmental psychologists a tool for studying a team of computer scientists, roboticists, and non-verbal children and adults, such as those developmental psychologists confirm what most with autism, researchers said. parents already suspect: when babies smile, they To verify their findings, researchers do so with a purpose – to make the person they programmed a toddler-like robot to behave interact with smile in return. like the babies they studied and had the robot Researchers detail their findings in an interact with undergraduate students. They innovative study that combines developmental obtained the same results: the robot elicited psychology, computer science, and robotics – an many smiles from the undergraduates, while approach that has never been tried before, to the smiling as little as possible. best of the researchers’ knowledge. To find out what babies are really up to, “What makes our study unique is that previous researchers turned to optimal control theory, a approaches to studying infant-parent interaction tool often used in robotics. The method allows essentially describe patterns, but we couldn’t researchers to design and program robots to say what the mother or infant is trying to obtain perform a specific behavior based on specific in the interaction,” said Daniel Messinger, study goals. In this study, the researchers used the co-author and psychology professor. “Here method to reverse engineer what the babies’ we find that infants have their own goals in the goals were based on their behavior.

8 SPRING 2016 Finding Iconicity in Spoken Languages Have you ever wondered why we call a dog a dog and not a cat? Is this an arbitrary decision, or is it based on iconicity – the resemblance between word structure and meaning? New research shows that for Indo-European languages, such as English and Spanish, iconicity is more common than previously believed. The results are important for understanding the nature of human language, explained Lynn Perry, assistant professor of Prehistoric Humans specifically prehistoric human occupation. psychology and co-lead author of the study. “This research provides an example of “Many linguists are trained to believe that in the Everglades how humans were involved in the way tree languages are arbitrary,” Perry said. “But Dotting the landscape of Everglades islands were formed, so if we want to have sometimes what we as scientists accept as fact National Park are teardrop-shaped elevations the best models we can for Everglades leads us to miss the rich details of experiences. of hardwood trees (or hammocks) named, "tree restoration, we need first to understand the We treat learning as this impossibly difficult islands." The significance of tree islands as the original formation of tree islands,” she said. process because we assume languages are only dry ground has long been acknowledged, Dr. Ardren’s research entitled “Prehistoric completely arbitrary, but it turns out there’s a but their significance also lies beneath the human impact on tree island lifecycles in lot of structure and information in the language earth. Archeological findings from a dig in 2010 the Florida Everglades” was published in itself that could be making learning easier.” present data that prehistoric humans played a the journal The Holocene and illustrates the The findings show that in spoken languages, significant role in the formation of tree islands, archeological discoveries from a tree island iconicity appears in different levels throughout and in turn, the archeological discoveries known as the Booth site. the vocabulary. In addition, words learned in should be considered in current Everglades Dr. Ardren says the main point of her childhood are the most iconic, suggesting that restoration models. research is to contribute quantifiable iconicity plays an important role in helping “Tree islands are the nucleus of the data on the human influence in tree island children to grasp the concept of a word. Everglades,” said Dr. Traci Ardren, formation, which is a major factor ignored The study provides new information for anthropology professor and department in most Everglades restoration research professionals in the field of language pathology. chair. “They are rich habitats for plants, and models. She hopes her research will “Once we better understand why there’s a birds, and other animals and provide higher generate discussion among scientists relationship between a word’s iconicity and the ground and stability for the Everglades working on Everglades restoration, age at which it’s acquired, our results could also drainage system.” and lead them to collaborate and take have implications for interventions for children Dr. Ardren says Everglades restoration into account the human impact on the with language delays,” Perry said. models used by scientists and government landscape, not just in the 21st-century entities do not take human factors into account, but thousands of years into the past. Is Nature Mostly a Tinkerer or an Inventor? is known to regulate the maintenance of stem a sentence and domains to the words the Krüppel-like factor and specificity protein cells. Their study shows that, while the origin sentence contains. (KLF/SP) genes are found across many species, of the KLF/SP gene family predates the origins The analysis reveals that the primary ranging from single cell organisms to humans. of animals well over 600 million years ago, the mechanisms for the expansion and This gene family has been conserved during expansion of the gene family and increasing diversification of the KLF/SP gene family evolution because it plays a vital role in regulating cell type diversity in animals happened during evolution of animals occurred as a the expression of other genes. concurrently. complex intersection of domain shuffling Understanding the evolutionary history of “Our study paints a picture of nature (where segments of a gene that code for the KLF/SP gene family may shed light on major innovating largely through sharing the specific domains are shuffled between events in animal evolution and perhaps help functional bits of genes – tinkering with genes during evolution), gene duplication discern some of the molecular mechanisms molecular genetic material that already exists,” (the process by which an entire gene is associated with certain human diseases, said William E. Browne, assistant professor of duplicated), and de novo domain evolution including many cancers. biology and principal investigator of the study. (the emergence of gene sequences with By closely examining the genomes of 48 The KLF/SP genes, like other protein coding novel functional protein domains). species, biologists from the College of Arts genes, contain codes for specific combinations The study titled “KLF/SP transcription factor & Sciences have revealed the timing and of protein segments called domains. To explain family evolution: expansion, diversification, and mechanisms underlying the expansion and the relationship between genes and domains innovation in eukaryotes” is published in the diversification of the KLF/SP gene family, which that they encode, Browne likens a gene to journal Genome Biology and Evolution. ARTS | SCIENCES 9 cover story

INTO THE

A Look at the College’s Past, Present, and Future as We Chart a Path to a New Century with UM’s Sixth President, Julio Frenk.

entennialith great fanfare, the University of Miami welcomed its sixth “If we all work together – students, president, Julio Frenk. Prior to his inauguration ceremony in faculty, staff,C trustees, alumni, January, President Frenk conveyed his enthusiasm to learn more about UM through a town hall meeting and numerous listening and benefactors – we will build Wexercises he hosted around the Coral Gables campus. bridges, new and necessary bridges, to Looking into our past and peering intently into our future, President Frenk’s vision for the U was evident in his inaugural speech, where he said, “If we all work become a truly hemispheric, excellent, together – students, faculty, staff, trustees, alumni, and benefactors – we will build bridges, new and necessary bridges, to become a truly hemispheric, excellent, relevant, and exemplary university.” relevant, and exemplary university.” As UM heads toward its second century, the College of Arts & Sciences is also on President Julio Frenk this path to greatness. The College was one of the first schools created at UM and its transformation is marked with great accomplishments and fundamental changes led by esteemed faculty, talented students, and loyal alumni. The College’s historic past reveals its growth; the present illustrates its common goals and achievements; and its future, although truly unknown, is vibrant as the University paves its way to a new century.

10 SPRING 2016 OUR PAST A Look Back at the Making In the 1990s and 2000s, the College created new academic centers, including the Center for the Humanities, the European Union Center, of the College of Arts & Sciences the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities, the Wynwood Gallery, n the 1900s there was a rapid rise in America’s prominence on and the Center for Latin American Studies (renamed Miami Institute for the world stage. At the same time, Miami was becoming a key the Americas). connection to the rest of the hemisphere. Today, the College teaches half of the University’s undergraduate George E. Merrick, the founder and developer of the city of credit hours and is spread across 24 buildings on the Coral Gables CoralI Gables, hired perennial presidential candidate William Jennings campus and off campus. It includes 20 academic departments and Bryan to deliver a lecture at his city’s new Venetian Pool on the 18 programs in the humanities, fine arts, social, natural, and physical wisdom of instituting a “Pan-American” university in Miami that would sciences, of which 10 are interdisciplinary. unite the intellects of the Americas. Faculty at the College consists of award-winning teachers and In 1926, the School of Liberal Arts, renamed the College of Arts & research scholars, editors of prominent journals, fellows of numerous Sciences in 1951, was one of the first schools created at the University professional societies, prize-winning creative writers, and members of Miami. Many UM programs, including Nursing, Communications, of important government research review and advisory boards – and Marine and Atmospheric Science originated from within the nationally and globally. A&S students have consistently gone on to College of Arts & Sciences. Although UM’s schools of Education, win numerous prestigious national awards, such as Goldwater and Law, Architecture, Medicine, and Business Administration are now Fulbright Scholarships. n independent, their earliest courses were all taught under the purview of the College of Arts & Sciences, setting a precedent for the College as the most expansive and diverse of UM’s scholastic divisions. The end of World War II and the influx of new students under the GI Bill was a boon for the University of Miami. No longer the cash-strapped “cardboard institution” of the past, UM would become a modern university for a post-war America. Central to the “new” University was the creation of innovative centers and programs in the College of Arts & Sciences: In 1952, the opening of the Lowe Art Museum and the Ring Theatre (1953) on the Coral Gables campus reinforced the University’s status as a cultural center within South Florida; in 1953 the College offered its first doctoral programs and its marine science program experienced a big boost when the University established a new location on Virginia Key. The 1960s would continue to see progress for the College, with the opening of the Ungar Computer Center and the Cox Science Building. AERIAL VIEW OF To maintain UM’s continued rise into the upper echelon of private THE UM CAMPUS (1950-1959) research universities, President Edward T. Foote II established “Strategies for Excellence,” which recognized the College of Arts & Sciences as a “highly diverse microcosm of the opportunities and challenges to the University.” Courtesy of UM Archives

ARTS | SCIENCES 11 Notable 1930 2004 The College of Arts & Sciences The College’s Lowe Art Museum enrolls the University’s first student, hosts their Change and OUR PRESENT Frank Haughtaling, in Firsts1926. He Continuity exhibit, the first of its graduates with a B.S. kind in the nation to provide an The Inauguration of UM’s First awareness and understanding of Hispanic President, Julio Frenk 1937 the unique aesthetics of Indian n an inspiring inaugural address, UM’s first Hispanic president The Hispanic-American Studies tribal and folk cultures. program is founded. It is the U’s first charted a new course for the institution’s next century. interdisciplinary program. 2008 Julio Frenk, the former Harvard dean who became the The College’s Center for Autism and University of Miami’s sixth president last August, used his inauguralI address this past January to chart a new course for the 1942 Related Disabilities launched the institution, challenging it to achieve greatness in four defining areas and The College of Arts & Sciences, Mobile Autism Family Clinic, a first in conjunction with the Graduate of its kind therapy and evaluation announcing a landmark gift – one of the largest in UM’s history – that will School, offers the U’s first graduate room on wheels. be key to the success of one of its ambitious goals. programs in English, history, Noting that a 100-day exercise of observation and listening during botany, and zoology. 2008 the first few months of his presidency taught him that the University is The PRISM program is one of “driven by a deep commitment to reach new heights,” Frenk said UM must aspire to be a hemispheric, excellent, relevant, and exemplary 1952 the first of its kind in the nation to The College’s Lowe Art Museum provide an advanced integrated institution to fulfill its potential by the time it reaches its 100th birthday a opens as the first art museum in mathematics and science decade from now. South Florida. curriculum for first- and second- “Miami has long served as a bridge between North and South year students in the sciences. America, and we can take even greater advantage of our strategic location,” the former minister of health of Mexico said during his 1970 Distinguished Professor of History 2009 investiture ceremony, witnessed by nearly 4,000 people inside the Whittington B. Johnson becomes A UM College of Arts & Sciences- BankUnited Center, among them his predecessor, Donna E. Shalala, and the first black UM faculty member. led team creates the first of its kind his former boss, Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust. climate-based model of dengue “Our bridges must extend from the Old World embedded within the fever epidemics. New World and beyond.” 1984 Professor of History Steve Stein To achieve its potential, explained Frenk, UM will implement a strategy founds the UM Study Abroad 2015 based on broad partnerships and institutional consortia, using research program and serves as its The Center for Autism and Related collaborations, new approaches for sharing knowledge, and student first director. Disabilities at the College of Arts exchange programs as the “raw materials” to build bridges between the & Sciences partnered with Miami institution and the Americas. International Airport to launch the 2002 “We often call the latter ‘study abroad,’ ” said Frenk in his 25-minute first air travel program in Miami for The College’s Linda Ray address, “but we might better call it ‘study within,’ the opportunity to live people with autism, named MIAair. Intervention Center founds the inside another culture in ways that both enrich and transform.” Miami Safe Start Initiative, the first Wearing black academic regalia with an orange, green, and white of its kind in the nation to provide hood, and with the President’s Medallion draped around his neck, a early intervention for 1- to 2-year- confident Frenk stood at the podium and spoke of the diverse strengths old victims of violence. of the University’s 11 schools and colleges, but noted that despite their differences, UM’s potential stems from the fact that “we are one U.” He unveiled a “100 New Talents for 100 Years” initiative, which will fund 100 new endowed faculty chairs between now and the school’s To see the full list, visit centennial. He also announced an extraordinary $100 million gift from AS.MIAMI.EDU/ABOUT/MISSION-AND-HISTORY longtime UM benefactors Phillip and Patricia Frost. The gift will support basic and applied science and engineering – fields in which “any university striving for excellence must have depth,” said Frenk.

12 SPRING 2016 To view President Julio Frenk’s speech or for a recap of events, visit AS.MIAMI.EDU/INAUGURATION

“If education is to fulfill its crucial function of expanding opportunities, we must build a bridge between excellence and access.” President Julio Frenk

The gift is also evidence of the Frosts’ exceptional generosity. Thirteen years ago, when UM embarked upon its first billion-dollar fundraising campaign, the couple (Phillip Frost is a member and former chair of the UM Board of Trustees) made a $33 million gift that named the music school in their honor. Calling students the “most enduring legacy” and “energizing force” on UM’s campuses, Frenk said the University will develop a platform to exploit the current revolution in teaching and learning, and he addressed the issue that is often of utmost concern to them—the debt they incur from attending college. “If education is to fulfill its crucial function of expanding opportunities, we must build a bridge between excellence and access,” he said, But while embracing diversity in whatever form it takes can be an committing himself to increasing financial aid at UM to meet 100 percent effective way of achieving exemplary status, Frenk cautioned that of student need. “diversity by numbers is not enough.” Creating a sense of belonging and With his wife, health economist Dr. Felicia Knaul, son, two daughters, promoting empathy are both crucial, he said. two sisters, and a brother-in-law looking on, Frenk committed UM to “We need not only virtual connectivity but also real connectedness,” advancing its relevance. said Frenk, adding that UM will implement policies and practices to foster “From its very origins, this University has been driven by the dual inclusiveness across its campuses. commitment to excellence and relevance, pursuing the highest academic He called the subject of diversity deeply personal, noting that his standards while also serving the local and global communities to which 92-year-old father, a physician in Mexico who still practices medicine, it belongs,” said Frenk. “Today, more than ever before, we must build a and his family were forced to leave Germany in the 1930s. “I would not sturdy bridge that connects scholarship to solutions.” be here today if they had not found a welcoming refuge in Mexico, a As part of its mission of fostering solutions, Frenk said, UM will soon country that was poor economically but rich in the ways that matter launch an institution-wide effort to expand its expertise in sea level most – tolerance, kindness to strangers, solidarity with those who rise, lead the way in the new era of value-based, integrated health suffer persecution.” care, and help drive the development of an innovation hub that draws He said UM could be a beacon of resilience and a model of renewal. on the school’s strengths in the life sciences, nanotechnology, and “With resilience and renewal, we can weather the winds of change computational science. buffeting higher education and the world at large, and emerge smarter Frenk lauded the University’s storied athletics program, saying and stronger,” said Frenk. academics and success on the playing field “can go hand in hand,” and Delegates from 99 universities and learned societies; elected officials he noted the adoption of recommendations from the Task Force on Black and civic and business leaders from across Miami-Dade County and Students’ Concerns and a plan to develop gender-inclusive housing as Florida; and diplomatic representatives from 28 countries witnessed the examples of UM’s commitment to diversity. historic occasion.

ARTS | SCIENCES 13 “As we look forward to the next ten years leading up to our centennial, the Student musicians from UM’s acclaimed Frost School of Music College stands alongside President performed, and the presidential stage party included Board of Trustees Chair Stuart A. Miller, academic deans, and UM officers and trustees. Frenk and his proposals to become a Faust, the Harvard president, praised her former colleague, saying truly hemispheric, excellent, relevant, Frenk excelled as the dean of faculty of Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “He brought vision, eloquence, a thirst for excellence, and and exemplary university.” a passion for education,” she said. Faust said Frenk comes to UM at an “immensely consequential Dean Leonidas G. Bachas moment for universities.” “Never before has education been more vital to the prospects of individuals,” Faust said, adding that institutions of higher education now face a “dizzying array of challenges,” such as how they should teach and create fully inclusive environments. Frenk, she said, always knew “deep in his soul why universities matter.” The inauguration created a buzz across campus, akin to the kind of excitement that envelopes our nation’s capital during a U.S. presidential investiture, and the University basked in the moment, celebrating the installation of its sixth president with a weeklong slate of events – from a ceremony honoring women’s athletics, to a discussion of historic “firsts” in the institution’s history, to a TED Talks-style series of lectures called ’Cane Talks. And Greater Miami – the multiethnic, multiracial community Frenk has grown to embrace – shared in the exhilaration of his inauguration, as buildings, billboards, and transportation hubs heralded his investiture in one form or another. From the iconic Freedom Tower in downtown Miami to the historic Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, some of the area’s most recognizable structures were illuminated in orange and green, the signature colors of the U. PortMiami and Miami International Airport both rolled out signage congratulating UM’s first Hispanic president, the former illuminating its cruise terminals in UM colors. n

14 SPRING 2016 (Right) A&S student and da Vinci scholar Mateus Lima talks about living in Brazil and moving to America, where he excelled in his studies and soccer. (Far right) Neuroscientist Dr. Amishi Jha shares the key to handling stress in our everyday lives: mindfulness training. (Below) Professor Tarell McCraney gives a moving speech about Miami and its relationship with the arts.

OUR FUTURE Three A&S Visionaries Inspire at ’Cane Talks rom the inspiring to the enlightening, 10 UM talents who each represent diverse disciplines at the University of Miami – neuroscience, the arts, ecology, science and medicine, technology – shared their work and research in engaging 10-minuteF talks while conveying one common theme: they each share a “Attention is very powerful,” said Dr. Jha, “and by exercising and vision for a brighter future. strengthening attention with something called mindfulness training, it can Three of the 10 presenters emanated from the College of Arts & be extremely beneficial to improving our performance and success, as Sciences: Dr. Amishi Jha, a neuroscientist and associate professor in well as our ability to be psychologically fit.” the Department of Psychology; Tarell Alvin McCraney, a Miami native, Moving from the sciences to the arts, McCraney’s talk centered on the playwright, and professor of theatre and civic engagement at the city of Miami’s relationship with the arts. Department of Theatre Arts; and A&S student Mateus Lima, class of 2017, While other cities invest in the arts and their artists, McCraney says a da Vinci scholar who is majoring in economics and biology, minoring Miami’s relationship with the arts has a distinctive history. “Miami’s story in chemistry and health care management and policy, and fulfilling the is a little different. We’re a little younger, cuter, and we were founded requirements for admission into medical school. initially as a vacation home for Anderson Cooper,” McCraney joked. Dr. Jha, who studies how the brain pays attention during times of Miamians live in the “new world,” McCraney said, and the main stress and how mindfulness training can assist us during these times, reason it’s difficult to get locals inside the theater is due to South Florida’s explained how she conducts training sessions in her lab with subjects spectacular weather. But there’s hope. The homegrown artists are who have high-stress careers, from military personnel to athletes and here – their work can be seen on the walls of Wynwood and in engaging firefighters, and how they engage in mindfulness training by exercising it community performances – and Miami’s artists are ready to tell their on a daily basis. story and be a part of a new cultural awakening. “And the University of Miami is at the forefront of this awakening,” he said. A&S student Mateus Lima’s talk, “Choosing Not to Choose: In Praise of Life at the Intersections in Culture, Science, and Policy,” touched on his childhood in Brazil and his journey to America. While in high school, Lima balanced his time between academics and soccer – one of his greatest loves. “I didn’t realize it then, but choosing to be a part of a different community would end up shaping not only my academic career but also the person I was starting to become,” he said. While at UM, Lima heard about the College’s da Vinci program, and although acceptance into the program is by invite only, Lima approached Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Maria Stampino and “argued” his way into the program because he felt it was “made for him.” “The da Vinci program was definitely a catalyst in helping me choose what I wanted to study at UM,” said Lima, who is not only a da Vinci scholar but also the president and captain of the UM men’s club soccer team. His career path is focused on improving how health care is delivered. n

UM hopes to present 100 ’Cane Talks on a variety of global issues during the next decade leading up to UM’s centennial. For more information about the presenters and their topics, as well as links to the ‘Cane Talks, visit as.miami.edu/canetalks.

ARTS | SCIENCES 15 Increasingly, cities have become bigger and more complex all over the world. According to the United Nations, in 2050, 66 percent of the world’s population will reside in urban areas, adding almost 2.5 billion people to the world’s fastest growing urban populations in Asia and Africa. As a city’s population expands, so do the amounts of natural resources used and the services needed to meet increased demands; BIG CITY inequalities become more evident.

How do we sustain rapid urban development? How do we serve larger populations? How do we predict crises BIG CHALLENGES and pressure points within cities? These are some of the big questions and problems that many cities, including ARTS & SCIENCES RESEARCHERS ARE FINDING SOLUTIONS Miami, are facing today. From studying patterns of criminal behavior to mapping changes in the urban environment, TO URBAN CHALLENGES BOTH LOCALLY AND ABROAD several researchers at the College are tackling these issues in their variety and complexity, and finding solutions to today’s urban challenges.

“To the surprise of many, Miami has become a global city, “My research examines the complexity of cities attracting financial flows, tourists, and migrants, not only from the Americas but from the world over. The subject of my current and networks in Accra, Ghana. I study e-waste research is two-fold: First, to understand how this happened. That dumping concentrated in slums that specialize in is, how a minority-majority city managed to displace others as dismantling, reusing and repurposing, and extracting the focus of economic and social flows between Europe, the U.S., and the Americas; second, to assess how the growing diversity valuable fractions from waste, e.g. copper. Valuable of Greater Miami's population and its relentlessly increasing fractions, in turn, get exported to China and India for economic inequality will bear on its future.” reincorporation into new manufacturing processes.” ALEJANDRO PORTES, PH.D., RESEARCH PROFESSOR, SOCIOLOGY RICHARD GRANT, PH.D., DIRECTOR, URBAN STUDIES, 16 SPRING 2016 PROFESSOR, REGIONAL STUDIES “Geography students receive training in how to map changes in the urban environment. In my remote sensing course, students learn how to transform the satellite images into digital land cover maps that display green space, built-up areas (roads, buildings, construction sites), and water bodies. Using repetitive imagery from high-resolution satellites, such as those in Google Earth, the students can measure the extent of major campus transformations associated with capital projects such as the BankUnited Center (completed in 2002), and the Donna E. Shalala Student Center (2013).”

DOUGLAS O. FULLER, PH.D., SR. ASSOC. DEAN, GEOGRAPHY AND REGIONAL STUDIES

“People in the margins of society, “I completed a study of Miami’s Jewish community in those who use illegal drugs, or live in 2015 for the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. One of substandard housing, often escape the the interesting findings was that the Jewish population of attention of participants in the larger downtown Miami (from Brickell to Midtown) had tripled in society, especially if they live in the nooks the past decade. The increase is comprised mostly of young and crannies of the big city. In the bubble singles and young couples with preschool age children.” of indifference or aversion that surrounds them, marginalized people may engage IRA SHESKIN, PH.D., CHAIR, GEOGRAPHY AND REGIONAL STUDIES in behaviors that affect the larger society, or they may be suspected of having an “My focus is on the ecological infrastructures that megacities need to effect. As a medical anthropologist who improve their resilience to climate change. Usually, decision-makers think focuses on marginalized people, I attempt that technological solutions will fix everything, but that is not correct. Recent to sort out the facts from the myths about water scarcity in several megacities demonstrates that megacities need well-managed natural areas providing the essential ecosystem services marginalized people in the big city.” (e.g., freshwater, protection against natural hazards, etc.).” J. BRYAN PAGE, PH.D., DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, PROFESSOR, ANTHROPOLOGY JOSÉ MARIA CARDOSO DA SILVA, PH.D., PROFESSOR, GEOGRAPHY AND REGIONAL STUDIES

“Professor Elvira Maria Restrepo in Geography and I are collaborating on looking Other Notable A&S Professors at patterns of crime in cities. She is the lead researcher. We look at where events Conducting Research in Urban Development occur, the territory of the gangs, and most importantly their composition and impact Jafari S. Allen, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Anthropology on other city life. We are interested in Miami (Professor Restrepo is a member of Donette Francis, Ph.D, Associate Professor, English the Miami Task Force on gangs with local police), and also comparing the behavior Tarell Alvin McCraney, Professor, Theatre Arts Jonathan West, Ph.D., Professor, Chair, Political Science to the huge sprawling cities in Latin America, e.g. Bogota in Colombia.” Dilip Sarkar, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Computer Science NEIL JOHNSON, PH.D., PROFESSOR, PHYSICS Donald Spivey, Ph.D., Professor, History

“In our Science Made Sensible (SMS) Program, “My research and teaching interests center on the history of 12 advanced undergraduates majoring in science serve as ‘resident scientists’ in Miami middle urban planning and design, as well as their implications for and high school classrooms. Each undergraduate present-day practice. My current projects include MAP: Miami develops hands-on activities with a teacher Affordability Project, an online mapping tool to visualize the partner. SMS is a multi-generational model with six graduate students earning Ph.D.’s in the sciences, affordable housing landscape in Miami, as well as community who in turn, mentor two undergraduates.” development and historic preservation projects in Overtown, Allapattah, and Liberty City.” MICHAEL GAINES, PH.D., PROFESSOR, BIOLOGY ROBIN BACHIN, PH.D., ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, HISTORY ARTS | SCIENCES 17 A&S TAKES ON View UM’s Climate Change Special Report: Climate Change CLIMATE.MIAMI.EDU Dr. George A. Gonzalez, associate professor of political science, studies significant political aspects “The conservation of tropical ecosystems is of climate change in U.S. urban sprawl. The U.S. “Over 93 percent of the heat built up in the essential for reducing the adverse impacts of has the most sprawling and automobile dependent atmosphere from human-induced global warming climate change and enabling global human urban zones in the world. Urban sprawl is energy has transferred to the oceans. This warmed ocean is prosperity. Therefore, universities with global profligate, creating a highly energy-wasteful what is accelerating ice melt and sea level rise – and mandates, such as the University of Miami, transportation system and housing infrastructure. making global warming less and less reversible.” should do whatever they need to support the – Dr. Harold Wanless, Chair, Geological Sciences societies living in the new forest frontiers to build a development model around conservation.” DID YOU KNOW? 18,000 years ago, we were – Dr. José Maria Cardoso da Silva, Professor, in the depths of an ice age and the sea level Geography and Regional Studies was about 420 feet lower than what it is today.

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Associate Professor of Geography and “Industrialized and developed nations Regional Studies Dr. Shouraseni Sen Roy is a are largely responsible for causing global climatologist specializing in long term spatial warming, yet developing nations are the and temporal patterns in the climate processes, most vulnerable. This is especially true including rainfall, temperature, and lightning for island nations, which are threatened activity. Currently, Dr. Roy is examining the Senior Associate Dean and Professor of Geography directly by rising sea levels that will engulf disproportionate impacts of climate change Douglas Fuller is working with graduate students coastal communities. Our long-term on women and girls in the Global South. to study the freshwater marshes and sloughs conservation initiatives throughout the of Everglades National Park. Solomon Islands focus on empowering DID YOU KNOW? Impacts of climate change indigenous communities by supporting – such as drought, floods, extreme weather DID YOU KNOW? Recent efforts to restore water sustainable practices that make them events, reduced food, and water security – flows in the Everglades by building a new bridge on more resilient to climate change.” affect women and men differently, with the U.S. Highway 41 provided an immediate boost to the – Dr. J. Albert Uy, Aresty Chair in poorest being the most vulnerable; 70 percent water flows in the northern Everglades during 2013-14. Tropical Ecology, Biology of the world’s poor are women, most of whom However, their studies indicate that climate plays a are concentrated in the Global South. much larger role in regulating water availability and that the abnormally dry period in summer 2015 largely negated any water gains from recent restoration efforts.

18 SPRING 2016 s t u d en t achievement DREAM BIG A&S Students Achieve Dreams of Research & Entrepreneurship

THE SCIENTIFIC MIND and move on in my career,” said Duncan. Rebecca Duncan is California dreaming. Currently, Duncan studies the symbiosis Duncan, who is working on her Ph.D. in between bacteria and insects. “It’s a biology and expected to graduate in May, partnership between two different species, was awarded a Miller Fellowship at The an I-scratch-your-back-if-you-scratch-mine Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science, relationship,” she adds. “Bacteria and the University of California, Berkeley. insects work together in order to survive in This prestigious fellowship aims to discover this challenging world, and they have been and encourage individuals of outstanding talent co-evolving for hundreds and hundreds of and provides them with the opportunity to years. It’s a very dependable relationship. If pursue their research on the Berkeley campus. you take one away from the other, neither one “I found out I won the fellowship in early will survive.” January and I am very excited,” said Duncan. Duncan specifically studies sap-feeding REBECCA DUNCAN The fellowship allows Duncan to continue her insects and the bacteria that dwell on and Doctoral biology student postdoctoral research in biological sciences for in them. She hopes her research will one three years. She starts the fellowship in the fall. day reveal an understanding of not only how “The fellowship allows me additional training insects interact with their bacteria, but also Duncan was awarded a Miller Fellowship at The Miller Institute as a scientist, and after I am done with the how humans interact with the bacteria that for Basic Research in Science, University of California, Berkeley. postdoctoral work, I can apply for faculty jobs live in and on our bodies.

PROPELLED BY IDEAS Garces is now the CEO and founder of Here are some fun facts about The Launch Emdora, a company creating athletic wear for Pad, developed at the University of Miami as a women, but with a slightly different take. “I novel entrepreneurship initiative to help both really wanted to create something valuable,” students and alumni create new enterprises: she said. “For every purchase of Emdora To date, The Launch Pad has had one-on-one athletic wear, a percentage of the proceeds consultations with 2,344 student and alumni go to helping women in developing countries entrepreneurs, and there are 271 functioning become self-sustainable.” companies started by these individuals. Currently in the prototype phase, Garces “The Launch Pad is a vital service because it hopes her business launches within the next allows any student or alumnus of the University few months. “The Launch Pad is an amazing to explore entrepreneurship as a legitimate way support system that offers resources for to make a living, while also providing them with starting your own business, and the courage, ANDREA GARCES the advice and local networking connections to confidence, and skills to get it off the ground,” Undergraduate art student help them launch their companies, should they she added. “It’s a resource you can use at decide to pursue them,” said William Silverman, whatever stage your business is at. I hope director of The Launch Pad. Silverman adds that students really use The Launch Pad if they have Andrea Garces used The Launch Pad to help start her The Launch Pad is unique because it focuses an idea to create a business.” business, Emdora, an athletic wear company for women. on developing the individual entrepreneur College of Arts & Science alumnus Juan T. who will drive the business, rather then simply O'Naghten, who graduated in 2012, said The the launch pad providing answers to business questions. Launch Pad helped him start his own brewing has helped start Andrea Garces, an undergraduate student company, NightLife Brewing Co. If all goes majoring in art at the College, hopes to add her well, O’Naghten will be signing the building business to that list of companies. “It always lease very soon, and opening his brewing functioning starts with an idea,” said Garces, who went to company in Little Havana, a neighborhood in companies The Launch Pad with her own business plan. “I Miami. “The Launch Pad really shows you knew The Launch Pad was here on campus, so what it takes to go from an idea to a feasible 271 one day I walked in and said, ‘I have an idea,’ and economic plan for your business,” said from there everything changed.” O’Naghten. ARTS | SCIENCES 19 CLASSSPOTLIGHT THIS FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS COURSES THAT ARE CREATING SOME CAMPUS BUZZ New Graduate Programs TO PROPEL YOUR ACADEMIC & The College of Arts & Sciences is offering a variety of new graduate programs to help alumni and current UM students expand their careers and academic horizons. PROFESSIONAL CAREER >>>>> Whether seeking a sense of accomplishment by earning a master’s degree or aiming for greater employment opportunities in the competitive work environment, the College’s new graduate programs provide a robust and challenging curriculum in the fields of anthropology, mathematics, and public administration.

MASTER’S IN PUBLIC MASTER’S IN MASTER’S IN ADMINISTRATION MATHEMATICAL PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE (Fully Online) FINANCE OF ANTHROPOLOGY

The fully online Master’s in Public Taken over the course of three semesters, For students seeking a career as a Administration (MPA) program is designed the College’s new Master of Science in professional anthropologist, the Department to prepare students for a public service Mathematical Finance (MSMF) program equips of Anthropology launched the Master career within the public, non-profit, or private students with the tools needed to analyze and of Arts in the Professional Practice of sectors. It combines innovative instruction, value complex investments through a broad Anthropology program. an engaging curriculum, and research curriculum that includes studies in mathematics, The program, able to be completed in two and service to help students develop statistical analysis, finance, and programming. years with the option to graduate with or and enhance their technical, ethical, and The new program began taking applications in without a thesis, allows students to specialize leadership skills. December 2015 and will enroll its first class in the in three specific areas of concentration: “While several universities offer online fall of 2016. Applied Archaeology, which includes public administration courses, the University Director of the MSMF program Dr. Alexander cultural heritage management and museum of Miami is one of the few to lead by offering Dvorsky says, “A successful quant is one with management for archaeological collections; a full graduate degree program for current or three main weapons: programming fluency, Applied Forensic/Biological Anthropology, aspiring public service professionals,” said ability to understand mathematical models, and a which is the recovery, analysis, and Jonathan West, chair of the Department of feel for the data. One can build a fulfilling career identification of human remains and museum Political Science and MPA program director. just by being strong in one of these areas, and our management of human skeletal/dental He added that the online MPA builds on a program will aim to make you good in all three.” remains; and Applied Cultural Anthropology/ foundation of excellence in the 36-year-old, The MSMF courses will be taught by UM’s Medical Anthropology, focusing on on-campus MPA program. Graduates – expert faculty within the departments of anthropology in public health and allied fields. who study budgeting, personnel and project Mathematics, Computer Science, and Finance; Enrolled students are encouraged to management, strategic planning, and more and the MSMF Advisory Board members are participate in internships and field studies, – have an excellent record of placement leaders in the financial industry who will be and can work alongside anthropologists in the in local, state, and federal government interacting with the faculty and assisting in College, the Miller School of Medicine, the as well as at companies and non-profit keeping the program curriculum relevant and Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric organizations. responsive to the industry’s demands and Science, and the Leonard and Jayne Abess financial trends. Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy.

To apply or for more information, visit To apply or for more information, visit To apply or for more information, visit MIAMI.EDU/ONLINE MSMF.MIAMI.EDU/MSMF-AT-A-GLANCE AS.MIAMI.EDU/ANTHROPOLOGY/GRADUATE

20 SPRING 2016 a pledge of gratitude Alumnus Dr. Jeffry B. Fuqua’s Gift of $250,000 Helps Elevate the Mathematics Department

he Department of Mathematics in the College of Arts & Sciences has received a generous gift of $250,000 from alumnus Dr. Jeffry B. Fuqua, A.B. ’67, M.S. ’70, Ph.D. ’72. T “The University of Miami and the Department of Mathematics were very kind to me while I was here as an undergraduate and graduate student,” said Dr. Fuqua. “The department is a valuable and respected resource, and I only wanted to give back. They allowed me to achieve an education while also helping me throughout my life.” Dr. Fuqua’s gift complements his rich history of philanthropy to the College and will create a postdoctoral position and a graduate fellowship, officially named the Fuqua Research Assistant Professor and Fuqua Enhanced Teaching Assistant. These critical positions in the department will further advance mathematics by attracting talented, world-class faculty and the brightest students to UM. “Our goal to recruit and retain talented faculty while also attracting the top minds in mathematics benefits enormously from Dr. Fuqua’s commitment to the Department,” said Dr. Robert Stephen Cantrell, chair of the Department of Mathematics. “This transformative gift will enhance and strengthen our Department as we focus on expanding the number of graduate students and offering additional positions for professorships. As we near our centennial, I feel the Department of Mathematics is poised for even greater things. I am thrilled about the prospects.” The gift also provides continued support to the McKnight-Zame Distinguished Lecture Series, which invites the world’s top mathematicians to the University of Miami. The lecture series is named in honor of both Professor James McKnight and Professor Alan Zame, who was a close Alumnus Dr. Jeffry B. Fuqua mentor of Dr. Fuqua while he was a student at the U. Dr. Fuqua, who has considerable experience in land development and heavy construction, received his Ph.D. in mathematics from UM in 1972. “This significant gift from Dr. Fuqua enriches the department and provides a lasting legacy of support necessary to attract future mathematicians,” said Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences Leonidas Bachas. “Dr. Fuqua is leaving a positive mark by expanding the department’s educational outreach and its vision for mathematical excellence.”

ARTS | SCIENCES 21 TRACKINGHURRICANES CLASS NOTES | ALUMNI PROFILES YOURNEWS Let your classmates know what is going on in your life. Share news about yourself in a future issue of Arts & Sciences magazine. Submit Follow us on Twitter Scan this QR code with your smartphone to visit your information online using our convenient FOLLOW @UMCAS ON TWITTER our Twitter page online. form: www.as.miami.edu/alumni/classnotes. for the latest updates and news from the College.

Florida and Northern District of Texas. She and her ALEXANDER I. TACHMES, A.B. ’86, has been husband, Keith, a senior vice president with a local appointed to the executive committee of the 50s company, live in Miami Beach. board of directors of the Performing Arts ______Center Trust, the volunteer group that oversees DR. JOSEPH CARRIER, A.B. ’50, finished writing EMILIO ALONSO-MENDOZA, A.B. ’76, J.D. ’79, management of the Adrienne Arsht Center for his autobiography titled: A Life of Adventures is the chief executive officer of the Alexander the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County. with Serendipity: An Autobiography. Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard He also serves on the board's management Notable mentions include his work with the of Hearing (AG Bell). In 2014, he joined AG Bell committee. RAND Corporation in Santa Monica as a at its national headquarters in Washington, D.C. STEFANIE WASCHULL, B.A. ’87, is the counterinsurgency expert in South Vietnam Alonso-Mendoza was born in Cuba and grew associate vice president for academic affairs/ during the Vietnam War for three years up in Venezuela and Miami. He served ten liberal arts and sciences at Santa Fe College. (1965-1968), and with the National Academy years as the president of the National Parkinson of Sciences committee studying the effects Foundation followed by leadership positions of Agent Orange in South Vietnam for two with the Catholic Community Foundation of the years (1972-1973). Carrier studied the sexual Archdiocese of Miami, the Children's Home behaviors between men in Guadalajara, Society, and Take Stock in Children. 90s Mexico, and Columbia University Press ______published his book in 1995: De Los Otros: ROBERT FRYE, A.B. ’93, has been with Vezina, Intimacy and Homosexuality among Mexican Lawrence & Piscitelli, P.A. since 1999 in their Men. Carrier is currently doing field research 80s Fort Lauderdale office and is a shareholder of acculturation of Ede tribal family in the ______in the firm. Frye is rated AV Preeminent by Central Highlands of South Vietnam. LUIS DE LA AGUILERA, A.B. ’81, was recently Martindale-Hubbell and has been named named president and CEO at U.S. Century by the South Florida Legal Guide as a Top Bank. Lawyer in Construction Law. Frye was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale and attended ______60s MARIA E. ABATE, A.B. ’84, is a founding board law school at Nova Southeastern University member of the Women’s Breast & Heart Shepard Broad College of Law. He and his wife, Lillian, have one son. He enjoys spending DR. LEON HOFFMAN, A.B. ’61, continues fulfilling Initiative, a charitable organization dedicated time with his family, playing golf, fishing, and his practice of psychology in Chicago, specializing to providing free mammograms and heart in individual and group psychotherapy and health screenings to underserved women. playing guitar. supervision, consultation, and coaching with ALDO FERNANDEZ, B.S. ’84, has been working GISELA M. MUNOZ, A.B. ’97, was nominated individuals and organizations. He maintains his in the environmental field for the local county and elected a Fellow of the American College lifelong connection as a chamber music cellist government for 24 years. He has been mainly of Mortgage Attorneys (ACMA), based on her and invites classmates to make contact. involved in the regulatory aspects of urban commercial real estate law practice. She is one of only 14 ACMA Fellows in Florida. After SUZY A. REINGOLD, A.B. ’68, began her own real pollution and hazardous waste management graduating from UM, Munoz obtained her law estate consulting business after a successful for local industry. He was also involved in degree (J.D.) at Yale Law School and married career in law and has had tremendous music, film, and the arts during his time at fellow UM Arts & Sciences graduate Daniel B. success working with clients including Colliers UM, obtaining a second major in film studies Baker (B.S. ’95). She is currently a shareholder International and JRT Realty Group. Based in and a minor in music, and currently plays at the law firm of Stearns Weaver Miller New York City, Reingold still donates her time the flute in The Alhambra Orchestra, a local Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson, P.A. in Miami, to the University of Miami as a member of the symphony orchestra. Fernandez was involved Florida. Munoz was inducted into ACMA in mid- College of Arts & Sciences Visiting Committee. in the production of a student film about amateur NASCAR racing during his senior October of 2015, just after closing a mortgage year in college, and is trying to locate anyone loan of over $250 million secured by a resort involved with the project titled, Cast Your Fate hotel undergoing an expansion. Into the Wind. 70s TANIA PAREDES, B.A. ’97, received the ______DR. DAMIAN FERNANDEZ, Ph.D. ’86, was prestigious Council on Social Work Education appointed the chancellor of Penn State Abington, (CSWE) Minority Fellowship. This is a DEBRA CHOLODOFSKY, B.A. ’78, has been a staff effective July 1, 2016. A suburban campus located yearlong fellowship that will supplement her attorney with the Federal District Court for the past close to Philadelphia, Penn State Abington is studies during her dissertation studies for a twenty-seven years in both the Southern District of home to nearly 4,000 students. Ph.D. in social work at Barry University. Her

22 SPRING 2016 DWAYNE JOHNSON, B.G.S. ’95, also known as “The Rock,” was everywhere in 2015. He announced his latest producing venture, a car-centric cop show for Fox called Boost Unit. With his biracial background, bulging biceps and can-do charisma, Johnson may be the perfect star for an increasingly international movie-going audience that often prefers spectacle to subtlety. At the box office, he is Hollywood’s new Rock of Gibraltar – his movies collectively have grossed almost $5.8 billion worldwide.

dissertation focuses on postpartum depression DR. CHRISTOPHER W. SNYDER, B.S. ’01, completed field technique that will deliver a prescribed in Latino men and Latina women. officer training through AFROTC Detachment 155 radiation dose. In this role she has oversight of and was commissioned into the U.S. Air Force at the remote dosimetry business and logistics. graduation. He subsequently completed medical Esford and her husband celebrated the birth school and a residency in general surgery. Snyder's of their third child, Phoenyx Kai Esford, in July home station is currently in Tampa, where he 2015. Phoenyx joins big sisters Shaiya (4) and ______00s works at the 6th Medical Group and Tampa General Ireland (3). Hospital and serves in the Air Force as a general BRIAN YABLON, B.A. ’00, brings more than 15 and trauma surgeon. AMY KENNEDY, B.S. ’06, was appointed a years of network architecture engineering, Presidential Management Fellow (PMF) in security, and project management success ANGELA ESFORD, B.S. ’03, C.M.D. ’08, is the the Division of Cancer Control and Population to DB Technology Partners Inc. He has Director of Dosimetry for Dade Moeller Health Sciences at the National Cancer Institute, extensive experience working with Fortune 100 Group, a leader in radiation medical physics. National Institutes of Health. The PMF program is companies, universities, government agencies, After completing dosimetry training at Roswell a highly selective leadership program designed and SMB's – partnering for their success. He Park Cancer Institute, Esford passed her board to recruit outstanding recent advanced degree holds a bachelor’s degree in criminology and exam in 2008. Esford designs a treatment plan graduates for a two-year developmental English, specializing in network security and by means of computer to determine a treatment fellowship with the federal government. information forensics.

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ARTS | SCIENCES 23 CALENDAR 2016-17 A&S EVENTS MAY intercontinental miami CARD TROPICAL NIGHTS GALA jerry herman ring theatre 2016-2017 SEASON Event: May 7, 2016 It will be a celebratory, tropical-themed The stage is set for the Jerry evening of fine food, music, and dancing Herman Ring Theatre’s 2016-2017 – all for a good cause: to raise awareness season, and it will be a smash, for autism. Join the University of Miami- with something for every audience Nova Southeastern University Center for member. The upcoming season will Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) include a wide variety of musicals, at its Tropical Nights event, an annual comedies, and dramas. fundraising event to help CARD expand The Jerry Herman Ring Theatre is located its valuable services and programs for at 1312 Miller Drive on the University of individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Miami’s Coral Gables campus. Today, CARD serves nearly 9,000 families For more information and to purchase registered in Miami-Dade, Monroe, and tickets, call 305-284-3355 or visit www.as.miami.edu/ringtheatre Broward counties. Last year alone, over 800 new families came to CARD for help.

For more information about Tropical Nights, visit www.cardtropicalnights.org.

NOVEMBER APRIL-JULY college of arts & sciences ALUMNI WEEKEND & lowe art museum HOMECOMING 2016 KAY PACHA: Event: November 3-6, 2016 RECIPROCITY WITH THE NATURAL WORLD Exhibition: February 12, 2016 – July 2, 2016 Make plans now to attend this year's Alumni Weekend & Homecoming This exhibition explores the ancient Andean celebration. It’s the perfect time to concept of ayni, or reciprocity between reconnect with classmates, share humans and nature that fuels life on kay pacha, memories, and see what's new at the U. the surface of the Earth. This show is a unique This year the University will host class attempt to explore how humans used art to reunion celebrations for undergraduate express their gratitude, fear, and indebtedness alumni from the following years: 50th to the harsh natural world of the Andes. Reunion – Class of 1966, 40th Reunion – Class of 1976, and 10th Reunion – Class Admission to the Lowe Art Museum is $10 for adults, and $5 for students and senior citizens. Admission of 2006. Affinity groups, such as student is free for UM students, faculty, and staff. For more organizations and clubs, will also host information, visit www.lowemuseum.org. reunions on Alumni Avenue, the block party that takes place with the annual Homecoming parade, boat burning, and fireworks. For more details, visit www.miami.edu/alumni/alumniweekend. 24 SPRING 2016 Connect with the College of Arts & Sciences on social media!

3 BE A PART OF the Arts & 3 ACCESS TO free Sciences alumni community educational, cultural, and networking events 3 HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY to share your achievements 3 BE IN THE KNOW about with your peers cutting-edge research in your field CONNECT WITH US NOW @UMCAS Non-Profit Organization 1252 Memorial Drive | Ashe Building 227 U.S. Postage Coral Gables, FL 33121-9965 PAID Permit No. 438 Miami, FL

THEN NOW THEN & NOW THEN &

Courtesy of UM Archives Copyright College of Arts & Sciences Photo Database

A&S It’s the 1970s and UM students are photographed in front of the The theater’s name came from the company's first in-the-round Jerry Herman Ring Theatre, which was built in 1953. Hundreds performance, which placed the audience in a "ring" around the stage. With of plays have been presented here over the years, and past UM productions from Guys and Dolls to William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, alumni from the College’s Theatre Department include actors the Ring Theatre continues to showcase world-class theater performances Jerry Herman, Sylvester Stallone, and Ray Liotta. to the UM community, the city of Coral Gables, and the greater Miami area.