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Upcoming Events
July 24 Lunch Colloquium-
Donna Brogan
July 24 WEBCAST - Lunch Colloquium - Donna Brogan
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find out about a travel destination or find other EUEC members who would like to travel with you, send an email to:
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This issue of our newsletter is sent to members and friends of the Emory University Emeritus College (EUEC). I hope the newsletter will help keep you informed about our activities and help you feel connected with our members throughout the U.S. On the left are links to our website and links to contact either me or the EUEC office.
With best wishes,
Gray
Gray F. Crouse Director, EUEC
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 Message from the Director
Our last Lunch Colloquium until September will be next week, and thanks to EUEC Member Donna Brogan, it will be on a topic of extreme interest to many of us. Read below for details. Even many chemists are unfamiliar with polyoxometalates (POMs). One might have thought that anyone talking about POMs would have a difficult task for one of our Lunch Colloquiums, but Craig Hill did a masterful job not only in explaining his work on POMs but also in convincing us we should care about it. If you missed his talk, you can read Thrivi's article below or see Craig's talk on our Videos page.
It is probably no surprise to any of us that if we were to return to campus after an absence of more than a year or two, there would be visible changes. A summary of some major changes that are either just finishing or just starting is given below. There is also information about this fall's Interdisciplinary Seminar that John Bugge is leading. Some spaces are still available, but let John know soon if you would like to participate.
Finally, we celebrate with EUEC Member Dana Greene a contract with Oxford University Press for publication of her book on Elizabeth Jennings. Completion of the project was aided by a grant from the Bianchi Fund that Dana received last year. You can read her report below.
I am very grateful to John Bugge, Herb Benario, and Gretchen Schulz for help with proofing and editing.
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Lunch Colloquium July 24
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Lunch Colloquium July 10
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Campus Construction
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| Clifton Redesign--N. Decatur Road on left, Haygood Drive on right
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Since I arrived at Emory in the early 1980s, it seems that there has always been some major construction project(s) occurring. Now is no different. Some such projects are nearly finished. Above is the proposed redesign of Clifton Road between N. Decatur and Haygood Drive. This redesign, which includes a new bridge across Clifton Road replacing the old bridge, is nearly done, as is the new Emory Hospital tower--called the J Wing. The latest issue of the newsletter about the new hospital tower, which can be seen by clicking here, indicates that the new tower will start to be occupied at the end of July. As mentioned in the last newsletter, the John Portman-designed Dobbs University Center is now demolished, in order to make room for the new Campus Life Center to open in 2019. Dianne's photo of the demolition, as of July 10, is shown below with the DUC-ling in the distance (the temporary dining facility). It has just been announced that the Old Theology Building, pictured below, will be renovated to be the new home of the University's President and other leaders. A news article about the renovation can be read by clicking here.
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Bianchi Award Report
Dana Greene received a Bianchi Award last year for work that will be published next year by Oxford University Press.
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Fall 2017 Interdisciplinary Seminar
 This fall, starting in mid-September, the Emeritus College will once again sponsor another in its ongoing series of Interdisciplinary Seminars, open to all members. The topic will be, broadly speaking, human behavior, and the base text for the seminar will be the 2017 book by Robert Sapolsky of Stanford University, entitled Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst, from Penguin Press.
Edward O. Wilson wrote of the book: "Behave is like a great historical novel, with excellent prose and encyclopedic detail. It traces the most important story that can ever be told." A TED talk by the author can be seen by clicking here.
As with a past seminar based on a single book, that on Yuval Harari's Sapiens, members of this one will be asked to focus on a single chapter or shorter passage in Behave that speaks to an issue of human behavior that their own disciplines also deal with in some way. Then they will commit to choosing some supporting (or at least related) readings from their own field that will be circulated to the whole group; and to leading our discussion of those readings at one seminar meeting during the term.
A review of this book appeared in the New York Times on July 6 and can be read by clicking here.
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Walking the Campus with Dianne
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Lunch Colloquium July 24
Why the 2016 U.S. Presidential Polls Were 'Wrong': Implications for Future Polling
Donna Brogan, Professor of Biostatistics Emerita, Rollins School of Public HealthAfter the election's surprising outcome there has been much discussion in the media about why the polls were "wrong." In this presentation, Donna Brogan, Professor of Biostatistics Emerita, will focus on post-mortems among professionals who work in sample survey methodology, the area of her own particular expertise. She will share the results of a report the AAPOR (American Association for Public Opinion Research) published last May on their review and assessment of the polls. Other organizations and individuals such as Nate Silver have offered explanations based on data analyses since the election or their own opinion. The polling "errors" seem to fall into two categories denoted by Nate Silver as "technical" and "journalistic." Among the many possible "technical" errors, the primary culprits are likely to be those generated by the dual frame RDD (random digit dialing) sampling method used in both public opinion and election polling. The methodological problems of this approach have multiplied in recent decades, and those related to statewide polls as opposed to national polls are especially acute. This makes the data that emerges from such polling somewhat questionable, or at least more uncertain than is typically reported. "Journalistic" errors can and do often compound that problem. Examples of less than adequate reporting among media authors presenting poll results for public consumption are easy to identify, in hindsight, at least, among them the reporting of estimated percentages and estimated Clinton lead over Trump with no indication of their uncertainty. Perhaps the suggestions of survey methodology professionals for better sampling, analysis, and modeling methods, as well as better interpretation of the poll results, will lead to better polling the next time around--and fewer people stunned on election night.
About Donna Brogan
EUEC Member Donna Brogan, received a BA in Mathematics in 1960 from Gettysburg College, an MS in Statistics in 1962 from Purdue University, and a PhD in Statistics in 1967 from Iowa State University. Donna has had a long career in academia as a biostatistics faculty member, first at UNC School of Public Health in Chapel Hill and then at Emory University in both the School of Medicine and the Rollins School of Public Health. She taught graduate courses in biostatistics and in her specialty, sample survey design and analysis. She conducted methodological and collaborative research, reflected in her many publications, and was active in several professional organizations. She is a fellow of the American Statistical Association and received distinguished alumni awards from Gettysburg College, Purdue University, and Iowa State University. She also received the Thomas Jefferson Award from Emory University. Since her retirement from Emory in 2004 she continues to be professionally active; she teaches continuing education courses throughout the country on analysis of data from complex sample surveys and also serves as a consultant to government agencies on design and analysis of complex sample surveys. She received an EUEC Distinguished Faculty Award in 2012 and last year completed a term on the EUEC Executive Committee.
Donna has been a trailblazer at Emory in many ways. In 1971, she joined the Department of Biometry at the Emory School of Medicine and became only the fourth woman to be promoted to full professor in that school. When the department moved to the RSPH in 1990, Brogan was the only female full professor for several years and served as the school's first female department chair during the early 1990s. A much more complete story of her career can be read in her article in Chance, "Challenging Sex Discrimination: Reflections over Seven Decades."
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Lunch Colloquium July 10
Artificial Photosynthesis: Tackling Both Global Energy Needs and Climate Change
Craig Hill, Goodrich C. White Professor, Department of Chemistry
Professor Craig L. Hill, PhD, Department of Chemistry, Emory University, in the Emeritus College Lunch Colloquium, discussed how solar energy is transduced to chemical energy in the production of green fuels. Reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by the use of sustainable fuel sources (alternate energy) is among the most critical issues of today's society. With dwindling fossil fuel stores, solar power has become one of the alternate fuel sources. It is a free, clean, and most reliable form of renewable energy, and it is already used in several forms to help power homes or businesses. Solar-powered photovoltaic panels convert photons of sunlight into electricity by exciting electrons in silicon cells. Solar fuel can be produced and stored for later usage, when sunlight is not available. However, energy density derived from solar devices is insufficient where energy demands are high, e.g. to fly a plane or sail a ship. Dr. Hill discussed contributions from his laboratory in the effort to find a better alternative energy source through the production of carbon-neutral hydrocarbons by using sunlight, water (H2O), and CO2. Because the process is akin to photosynthesis, it is termed artificial photosynthesis. A comparison of these two processes helps in understanding the nomenclature.
Artificial Photosynthesis: Figure above modified from Craig Hill's slide. In principle, the process is the same as that of photosynthesis. However, all the reactions take place in succession without delay. In addition, the end product is hydrogen gas and hydrocarbon (methanol).
The WOC constitutes the bottleneck for the development of energy-conversion schemes based on sunlight. The WOC employed in the artificial photosynthetic process is known as a polyoxometalate (abbreviated POM) composed of cations and polyanion clusters, and consists of three or more transition metal oxyanions linked together by shared oxygen atoms to form closed 3-dimensional frameworks. Craig Hill's group has investigated many transition-metal-substituted (Chromium, Cobalt, Copper, Ruthenium) POMs as inorganic catalysts in the light-driven water oxidation process. These POMs, especially Ruthenium-based, are water soluble and stable catalysts for oxidizing water. In addition, they can function at low, high, or neutral pH values. The methanol produced can be transported via existing infrastructure. It is carbon neutral, because when burnt, it does not add any more CO2 than that used in the production process. Dr. Hill talked also about Bill Gates' "Breakthrough Energy Ventures" and the details can be found at http://www.b-t.energy/.
-- K V Thrivikraman (Thrivi) A recording of this Lunch Colloquium can be found on our videos page.
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Dana Greene Bianchi Award Report
Last year, Dana Greene was awarded a Bianchi Award to aid with the preparation of her book on Elizabeth Jennings. Below is her report. I am grateful for the financial support from the Bianchi Award distributed in the 2016-17 academic year. The Award was made to assist in the completion of a biography of the English poet Elizabeth Jennings. This is a first biography of this prolific poet whose archives are principally in the United States, even though she is most well-known in England.
During the fall, I gave a keynote address at a symposium at Jennings' alma mater, St. Anne's College, Oxford University, and I attended a biography conference held at Wolfson College, Oxford. Additionally, while in Oxford I interviewed several informants. During the winter, I travelled to New York to finish research in the Berg Collection at the New York Public Library and in the spring I presented a paper on biography and imagination at Fordham University in New York.
I finished the manuscript in January and developed a book prospectus which was sent to some twenty-five academic presses. I am happy to report that after a wait of six months I have been awarded a contract from Oxford University Press for 'The Inward War': A Life of Elizabeth Jennings. I am elated both because Oxford was Jennings' home and because this particular press offers the felicitous opportunity for sales on both sides of the Atlantic. I imagine the book will not be released for another year given the need to obtain various permissions and for the editing process.
The award has been spent on a research trip to New York and proof-reading costs for a manuscript of 85,000 words as well as to help pay for indexing and photograph permissions.
Acknowledgment of the Emeritus College Bianchi Award will be made. Please know of my gratitude for this psychological and financial support. --Dana Greene The Prologue of Dana's book begins:
On October 29th 1992 Elizabeth Jennings presented herself at Buckingham Palace to be honored for her national contribution to poetry. Dressed in an oversized duffel coat, a red wool cap, flowered skirt and sweater, tights, and lace-up shoes, this ramshackle woman was invested as Commander of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth.
Who was she?
Next year when the book is published, you will be able to find out!
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Walking the campus with Dianne
Some of our members recognized the staircase located near the back entrance of the Emory Hospital from our last photo. And as Dr. Herb Benario pointed out . . . it's near the pastry shop, yum yum! I've provided a photo of the back entrance of the hospital just in case you need a visual reference to get to that pastry shop!
For our next walk, let's go to a place where we can sit and relax and forget (at least for a few minutes) about how hot and humid it's been lately.
Where will you find this on the Emory campus?
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Emory University Emeritus College The Luce Center
825 Houston Mill Road NE #206 Atlanta, GA 30329 |
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