New Science Division Members Enthrall During “Lightning Talks”
Grinnellians got a taste of their colleagues’ research during the first in a series of New Faculty/Staff Lightning Talks on Tuesday.
Organized by Rebecca Marcum ’12, the Grinnell College Libraries, and the Office of Corporate, Foundation, and Government Relations, the event series aims to introduce new faculty faces and their scholarship and to inspire collaboration within the campus community. The inaugural Lightning Talk featured ten-minute presentations by four new members of the Science Division:
Idelle Cooper ’01, associate professor of biology, treated attendees to fascinating visuals of the jewelwing damselfly, native to the Midwest. Her research seeks to understand the drivers of variation in nature — both variation amongst species and variation between the sexes of a given species. Cooper studies mating behavior to identify the traits that are under selection pressure when it comes to species recognition and mate choice by damselflies. At Grinnell, she teaches Introduction to Biological Inquiry and Mechanisms of Evolution.
Jenny Kenkel, assistant professor of mathematics, shared an overview of her work with commutative algebra. Kenkel, a specialist in abstract mathematics, discussed local cohomology models — tools used by mathematicians to understand the size, factorization domain, and “weirdness” of rings, or collections of numbers. Kenkel teaches Linear Algebra and Abstract Algebra.
Collin Nolte, associate professor of statistics, presented Ph.D. research exploring patterns of auditory processing and language exposure. With research spanning mathematics, biostatistics, and programming, Nolte is interested in developing statistical methods for modeling measurements taken repeatedly over time, specifically for use with eye-tracking. His research includes the development of the ‘bdots’ package — “bootstrapped differences in time series data” — useful for statistical analysis in the programming software R. Nolte teaches Applied Statistics and Introduction to Data Science.
Gina Schlesselman-Tarango is an associate professor and science librarian. She shared her work studying the labor and information gathering involved in “reproductive failure,” that is, challenges in conceiving and bearing children. She is currently co-editing Information, Power, and Reproductive Health, a book which explores power’s central role in how information is created, controlled, withheld, and shared. Schlesselman-Tarango works with students as both an instructor and reference in the Kistle Science Library.
We are thrilled to have these talented faculty members join our campus community and are grateful for the opportunity to learn about their interests and expertise!
The next round of Faculty/Staff Lightning Talks will take place at 4:15 p.m. on Feb. 6 in the Burling Library Lounge. The event will feature brief research overviews by four new faculty members in the humanities and social sciences.