AtLAS | The Voice of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences - Summer 2012

Celebrating LAS: Events Past and Future

by Micki Leventhal

Alumni in the Law Panel

On March 6 aspiring lawyers from across the university met with practicing attorneys to learn how to prepare for—and pursue—a career in the law. The annual event was sponsored by the LAS Alumni Association, the UIC Honors College and the LAS Pre-Law Office. LAS alumni Martin Greene (criminology, law and justice ‘74), Nicholas Gowen (political science 2000), Gretchen Winter (teaching of English ‘79), Johner “J.T.” Wilson III (political science ‘99), Victor Erbring (political science ‘97), David Hanson (political science ‘74), Ana Petrovic (English 2005), Anthony Peraica (political science ‘80) and David Szostak (political science 2007) were on hand to mentor and advise future attorneys. The LAS attorneys were joined by professional colleagues and alumni Carshae Davis Dahl (UIC), Christina Martini (UIC) and David Susler (UIUC) for a panel discussion and small group networking with UIC students.

LAS Distinguished Professor Henri Gillet

On March 28 Henri Gillet of the Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science was named an LAS Distinguished Professor. Gillet presented a lecture entitled, "Can We Count How Many Solutions an Equation Has?"

“The problem of counting how many of the solutions of an equation are whole numbers has been studied for more than 2,000 years, in particular by the ancient Greeks,” noted Gillet, who discussed developments in the last 30-40 years, which use methods from geometry, to shed light on this classical problem.

Henri Gillet is a pure mathematician whose research is primarily in algebraic and arithmetic geometry and algebraic K-theory. An internationally-recognized scholar, he has authored over 60 publications and has given talks and seminars at universities and conferences around the world including an invited address at the quadrennial International Congress of Mathematicians in Kyoto in 1990. Professor Gillet is best known for the development, with Christophe Soulé of the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques in France, of higher dimensional Arakelov theory and the proof of the arithmetic Riemann-Roch theorem, which have been valuable tools in understanding Diophantine equations. Professor Gillet has been an editor of the American Journal of Mathematics, the International Mathematics Research Notices and the Illinois Journal of Mathematics. He has served on the Council of the American Mathematical Society as well as the Society’s Committee on the Profession. From 2000-05 he was the Principal Investigator on an NSF grant that brought over $1.5 million to UIC to support graduate students and post-doctoral assistant professors. He holds his PhD from Harvard University.

The Liberal Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor Award was established in 2006 to commend exceptional faculty for their contributions to the LAS and UIC communities, as well as their significant and sustained intellectual scholarship in their chosen fields. Each year, the Executive Committee of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences considers superlative candidates in the humanities, social sciences, the natural sciences or interdisciplinary fields.

Evenings with LAS

From coast to coast, LAS alumni are reconnecting with the College. This spring alumni in Los Angeles and New York gathered for receptions with Dean Astrida Orle Tantillo to hear about plans and priorities for the College and mix and mingle with their fellow LAS graduates. On February 16, an Evening with LAS was hosted in Los Angeles by Board of Visitors member Patricia D. Hausknost (BA ‘74) and her husband Michael. March 8 marked the New York Evening with LAS, hosted by BOV member Richard Massey (BS ‘68, MS ‘75, PhD ’75).

2012 LAS Commencement Ceremony

More than 6,000 family members and friends filled the UIC Pavilion on the morning of May 6 to celebrate the achievements of LAS graduates as they transitioned from “students” to “alumni.” 1,475 undergraduates and 113 graduate students walked across the stage this spring out of a total of 2,275 undergraduate and 354 graduate LAS students who were granted degrees for the 2011-12 academic year.

Professor George W. Crabtree of the Department of Physics gave the commencement address. He is a distinguished professor of physics and electrical and mechanical engineering and a senior scientist and distinguished fellow in the Materials Science Division at Argonne National Laboratory. Crabtree, who is the second person to have received a PhD in physics from UIC (1974), has taken the lead in establishing programs in sustainable energy at the university. He spoke on the topic of “Inspiring the Future,” in which he addressed global culture, competition and cooperation. “Genetics does not respect income levels or geography. The percentage of talented people is the same across the world, putting many more talented people outside our borders than inside. As information, education and resources become universally available through the Internet and digital communication, the U.S. and other developed countries have to compete harder and run faster just to stay even,” he explained. Crabtree shared his vision of the future and emphasized the importance of innovation and interdisciplinary effort. “Tomorrow’s world belongs to the generalist who can integrate knowledge across boundaries and create from many pieces the disruptive new approaches that will take society to a new level,” he said. “The challenge is not to passively adapt, we will all do that whether we like it or not. Rather the challenge is to actively innovate, understand change that is coming, integrate across boundaries, and reach for disruptive opportunities that will improve your lives and the lives of others.”

Crabtree has received numerous awards for his research, including the Kammerlingh Onnes Prize for his work on the physics of vortices in high-temperature super conductors. He twice won the University of Chicago Award for Distinguished Performance at Argonne and he won the U.S. Department of Energy’s Award for Outstanding Scientific Accomplishment in Solid State Physics four times. He is a member of the American Physical Society and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. Crabtree has published more than 400 papers in leading scientific journals, has had his work cited over 15,000 times and has given approximately 100 invited talks at national and international scientific conferences. He co-chaired the undersecretary of energy’s assessment of DOE’s Applied Energy Programs and has testified before the U.S. Congress on the hydrogen economy and on meeting sustainable energy challenges.

LAS Upcoming Events

All events are free and open to the public; some may require reservations. Please note contact information in listings below.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Crisis: Oil and Water

Toby C. Jones of Rutgers University examines the question: How have crises in key resources like oil and water shaped local, national and international policies?

Institute for the Humanities

Stevenson Hall, Lower Level; UIC Campus, 701 S. Morgan

Information: lvavra@uic.edu; 312-996-6352

Thursday-Saturday, October 4-6, 2012

Slavery and its Aftermath in the Atlantic World: An International Symposium

This symposium is inspired by the UIC Library’s unique collections on Sierra Leone, the transatlantic slave trade, abolition and Caribbean literature. Panels will focus on current scholarship in the areas of Abolition, Freetown and Empire; the Black Atlantic in the Age of Revolution; Caribbean and Black Atlantic Thought; and The Colonial Legacy and Future of Sierra Leone. Read more about it.

Institute for the Humanities

Stevenson Hall, Lower Level; UIC Campus, 701 S. Morgan

Information: lvavra@uic.edu; 312-996-6352

October 5, 2012 – May, 2013

Commerce in Human Souls: The Legacy of the Atlantic Slave Trade

The UIC Library Special Collections Department holds three related collections focused on the Atlantic Slave Trade: the Sierra Leone Collection, the Atlantic Slave Trade Collection and the H.D. Carberry Collection of Caribbean Studies. This groundbreaking exhibit, curated by Professor Emerita Nancy Cirillo and co-curated by Tim Soriano, narrates the political, economic and social effects of the Atlantic slave trade over 300 years of history and into the present. Opening reception, October 5, 5:15-6:30 p.m. Read more about it.

UIC Library

Special Collections Department; 801 S. Morgan, 3^rd Floor

Information: peggyg@uic.edu; 312-996-2742

Wednesday – Friday, October 17-19, 2012

Inequality and Exclusion: The Theory and Practice of Human Rights

2012 marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of Swiss writer and philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the 250th anniversary of his Social Contract, one of the cornerstones of modern political thought.

To celebrate this event, UIC’s Department of French and Francophone Studies and Institute for the Humanities will join with the Cultural Service at the Consulate General of France in Chicago to present an international, interdisciplinary conference bringing together academics and social justice activists who will examine human rights theory and practice across centuries and geographies. Discussions will include the relevance of Rousseau in the development of human rights theory, theories of poverty and immigration, and the fight against poverty at the local, national and European levels.

Events, which are free and open to the public, will take place on the UIC campus and the Alliance Française de Chicago. Additional support provided by the UIC School of Literatures, Cultural Studies and Linguistics and the Book Department of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, Institut Français.

Additional program details forthcoming; for more information contact the Institute for the Humanities: lvavra@uic.edu; 312-996-6352.

Friday, November 2, 2012, 7:00 p.m.

A Visual Riddle on Chicago Streets: Jane Addams Repudiates Lewis Hine's Urban Camera

Professor of History Emeritus Burton J. Bledstein presents a free History Mysteries program. Reception following.

Institute for the Humanities

Stevenson Hall, Lower Level

UIC Campus, 701 S. Morgan

Space is limited, RSVP required: Lindavp@uic.edu

Thursday and Friday, November 15 and 16, 2012

The Holy War Conference

How do religious traditions link God and war? How have these linkages been misconstrued or exploited? Is religious violence distinct or do appeals to religious justification for violence serve as an excuse or smokescreen? The UIC Holy War Conference will examine iterations of religious violence across temporalities and space. Conference presenters will speak to the internal categorizations of war and violence and their relations to imperial, national and religious political forms. While individual papers will address specific religious traditions, the panels and conference as a whole is comparative and will bring out specificities and similarities among conceptions of holy war.

Scheduled immediately prior to the American Academy of Religion/Society of Biblical Literature conference in Chicago and sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and the Institute for the Humanities, the Holy War Conference will feature a keynote address by Michael Sells, John Henry Barrows Professor of Islamic History and Literature, University of Chicago. The Thursday afternoon panel addresses “Scriptural Precedent.”Panelists are: William S. Morrow of Queen’s University; Reuven Firestone of Hebrew Union College, Jewish Institute of Religion; and James Turner Johnson, Rutgers University. On Friday morning the panel discussion will examine “Modern Instantiations.” Panelists are: Janaki Bakhle, Columbia University; David Harrington Watt, Temple University; and Mahinda Deegalle, Bath Spa University.

Institute for the Humanities

Stevenson Hall, Lower Level; UIC Campus, 701 S. Morgan

Information: lvavra@uic.edu; 312-996-6352

Friday, March 8, 2013, 7:00 p.m.

How Did Chicago Become the Queer Crossroads of America?

Associate Professor of History and Gender and Women’s Studies Jennifer Brier presents a free History Mysteries program. Reception following.

Institute for the Humanities

Stevenson Hall, Lower Level

UIC Campus, 701 S. Morgan

Space is limited, RSVP required: Lindavp@uic.edu

April 4-6, 2013

Food Justice: Interdisciplinary Perspectives

An interdisciplinary group of scholars explores issues of food justice in historical context as well as in terms of contemporary policy debates. Conference sessions address themes of food and war, food aid and humanitarianism, moral and ethical issues in defining hunger and famine, the tensions between local and global food systems, and alternative urban food movements (specifically in Chicago). Vananda Shiva of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology & Ecology presents the keynote on “Food Democracy as the Foundation of Food Justice.”

Institute for the Humanities

Locations to be announced.

Information: lvavra@uic.edu; 312-996-6352