InnovationThe Research Magazine of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas SUSTAINABILITY RESEARCH Exploring the Future of Our Region ON A MISSION Engineering Team Seeks to Save Soldiers’ Lives INVESTING IN DISCOVERY President’s Research Award Fuels Innovation A New Home for the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs Graduate Education and Research at UNLV How This Vital Partnership Geoscience Benefi ts Students Doctoral Student Benefi ts Students Robyn Howley and the Community Innovation Research, Identity, and the Future of UNLV As many of you know, UNLV celebrated its 50th anniversary this year with a variety of activities designed to honor the university’s past and present. While we have embraced this celebration with enthusiasm, we have also initiated an activity that is very much focused on our future. A strategic planning process, titled “Focus: 50-100,” is a manifestation of our desire to address the challenges we will face in the second half-century of our existence—and to identify the abundant opportunities we expect to encounter during this time. Central to this planning process has been a dedicated effort to better defi ne our identity and values with special emphasis on two of our primary missions—education Dr. David B. Ashley UNLV President and research. While education is probably the most visible and time-honored of our missions—and is perhaps the best understood—it is important to note that research is equally signifi cant in shaping our identity. Research enhances the national reputation of the university, aids in recruiting the best and brightest students, and enriches the community and state in many ways. It is an activity that seeks to create new knowledge, and thus informs and improves teaching and generally expands the boundaries of education. For these reasons, the advancement of research is an extremely high priority for UNLV, and we will continue to seek ways to engender even greater achievement in this area. As our strategic planning process progresses, we will have the opportunity to guide the enhancement of research to benefi t our students and the university, Dr. Neal J. Smatresk as well as the community, state, region, and beyond. We hope you share our Executive Vice President commitment to this effort and join us in promoting the value of UNLV research. and Provost Dr. David B. Ashley, UNLV President Dr. Neal J. Smatresk, Executive Vice President and Provost Learning More About Our Innovative Research We are pleased to bring you another issue of UNLV Innovation, the university’s annual research magazine. This issue contains a wonderful selection of stories representing the outstanding scholarly and creative activity being pursued at UNLV. You will fi nd an abundance of interesting material here, including overviews of faculty-authored books on wide-ranging topics, an article on new initiatives aimed at advancing sustainability, and updates on UNLV’s success in building research and Dr. Ron Smith graduate education. Vice President for We believe in the value of sharing these and other stories about the fi ne work Research and Dean being performed by UNLV faculty and students. We also seek to provide context for of the Graduate College our institutional commitment to research and creative activity. Hence, we present the following articles in an effort to enhance understanding of these critically important endeavors. Please enjoy this publication, and thank you for your interest in UNLV. Dr. Ron Smith, Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate College Contents I n nBVS@SaSO`QV;OUOhW\S]TbVSC\WdS`aWbg]T<SdORO:OaDSUOa o v a t i o n AC AB/7</07:7BG @ 3 A3 / @1 6 3f^Z]`W\UbVS4cbc`S ]T=c`@SUW]\ 6 =</ ; 7 AA 7=< 3\UW\SS`W\UBSO[ ASSYab]AOdS A]ZRWS`a¸:WdSa 7 < D3AB 7 < 5 7 < 27A1= D 3@G >`SaWRS\b¸a@SaSO`QV /eO`R4cSZa7\\]dObW]\ /<Se6][ST]` bVS5`SS\a^c\ 1]ZZSUS]T C`PO\/TTOW`a 5`ORcObS 3RcQObW]\ O\R@SaSO`QV ObC<:D 6]eBVWaDWbOZ>O`b\S`aVW^ 5S]aQWS\QS 0S\S¿baAbcRS\ba 2]Qb]`OZAbcRS\b 0S\S¿baAbcRS\ba @]Pg\6]eZSg O\RbVS1][[c\Wbg ON THE COVER: UNLV doctoral student Robyn Howley. Story on page 10. Photographed by Geri Kodey UNLV Innovation Spring 2008 Vol. 2, No. 1 26 Executive Editor Ron Smith Editor Suzan M. DiBella Contributing Writers Tony Allen Polly Bates Barbara Cloud 22 Laurie Fruth Gian Galassi Photographers Geri Kodey Aaron Mayes Features Departments R. Marsh Starks 18 | A VERY GOOD YEAR 2 | ON CAMPUS Designer UNLV life sciences faculty had great success A successful public-private partnership has led Scott Lien last year in acquiring competitive grant to the creation of the soon-to-be-completed funding to conduct their research. Greenspun Hall. Contributing Illustrator 22 | FOCUS ON SUSTAINABILITY 6 | BOOKS Dave Melton UNLV is supporting research and outreach UNLV faculty authors shed light on a number Mailing List activities designed to enhance environmental, of topics. UNLV Foundation economic, and social/cultural sustainability. 10 | ENHANCING RESEARCH UNLV Innovation is published by 26 | ON A MISSION Why is graduate education so critical to the Division of Engineering researchers are developing new UNLV’s research enterprise? Research and vehicle technologies to help save soldiers’ lives. Graduate Studies, 4505 Maryland 14 | PROGRESS REPORT Pkwy., Las Vegas, 30 | SILVER STATE SCHOLARS UNLV’s graduate-level creative writing NV 89154-1087. e Harry Reid Silver State Research Award programs are named among the best in the www.unlv.edu/ honors the university’s most respected faculty country. Research scholars and highlights the best in Nevada research. 38 | PERSPECTIVE UNLV is an AA/EEO Unexpected praise arrives from the National institution. 34 | INVESTING IN RESEARCH Science Foundation. e President’s Research Award has spawned fascinating research projects, encouraged 40 | RESEARCH REPORT acquisition of grant funding, and promoted Learn about the status of research at UNLV. collaboration. On Campus Building the Future Greenspun Hall will centralize departments in the College of Urban Affairs and pave the way for high-tech collaborative research. By Laurie Fruth rive down Maryland Parkway and you’ll be hard pressed to miss the massive construction site on the corner of University Road. Although the building is still a few months away from a grand opening, students and faculty in the Greenspun DCollege of Urban Affairs are already making plans for the day when they can set foot in Greenspun Hall, their long-awaited new home on the UNLV campus. When it opens this fall, the new building will be the fifth largest academic facility on campus. It will provide office, laboratory, and classroom space for the departments of criminal justice, environmental studies, communication studies, and public administration, as well as the School of Social Work and Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies. Centralizing college faculty and staff in one location on campus is expected to enhance networking and re- search collaboration. “This will be the first time most of our schools and departments have lived under the same roof,” explains Martha Watson, dean of the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs. “Having everyone together will lead to conversations among faculty, and these conversations may stimulate new ideas for collaborative research and innovative teaching.” Criminal justice chair Joel Lieberman agrees, adding that Greenspun Hall will enable faculty Artist’s rendering of Greenspun Hall members to work more closely with graduate and 2 INNOVATION SPRING 2008 www.unlv.edu INNOVATION 3 On Campus One important design goal for Greenspun Hall was to obtain a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Greenspun Hall certifi cation. Fast Facts undergraduate students involved in faculty research projects. of Journalism to honor my father’s legacy. But we knew at the “Our department has several research laboratories spread time that the school would be just the fi rst step,” Greenspun PROJECT COST: out across the campus,” he says. “In Greenspun Hall, all of our says. Th e late Hank Greenspun was the founder and publisher $90 million labs will be in one place, including our Center for the Analysis of the Las Vegas Sun newspaper. of Crime Statistics. Our new facilities will be far more suitable A few years later, the family presented UNLV with a SIZE: 122,000 square feet for conducting research and working with students.” second gift to establish the Greenspun College of Urban ARCHITECTURE FIRM: Space and facilities to conduct research are also important to Aff airs; it was then that talks began in earnest about the HKS Architects, Inc. in Lee Bernick, chair of the department of public administration. possibility of creating a building for the college. Th ese association with Robert “Greenspun Hall will give us the space we need for discussions eventually led to the donation of a third gift from A.M. Stern Architects students to work in groups,” Bernick says. “We also plan to the Greenspun Family Foundation to build Greenspun Hall. take advantage of the auditorium to host national scholars in In June 2005, legislators approved the use of additional CONTRACTOR: public forums.” dollars from the state to help fund the building, establishing a Clark Construction Group, In addition to offi ces for faculty, staff , and graduate successful public-private partnership that university LLC, Las Vegas students, Greenspun Hall will house the college’s advising administrators hope to establish with future donors. COMPLETION DATE: center, a debate squad room, high-tech laboratories, conference At the groundbreaking ceremony for Greenspun Hall in Construction, June 2008; rooms, smart classrooms, a technologically sophisticated early 2007, Brian Greenspun described the gift to UNLV as the Media Facility, April 2009 auditorium, and media facilities for KUNV radio and UNLV TV.