Excellence in Teaching
Keith Ratcliff and Harold Story
By Carol Olechowski
In 1969, the first manned space mission landed on the moon. That was also the year Keith Ratcliff landed at the University as a Department of Physics faculty member and met Harold Story, with whom he would eventually develop and teach two of Albany�s most popular General Education courses: "Contemporary Astronomy" and "Exploration of Space."
Story, a professor emeritus of physics, began teaching at Albany � his alma mater � in 1949. He teamed with Ratcliff in 1979 to create the astronomy and space exploration courses, which are oriented toward non-science majors. The lecture style, Story says, was a departure for the teaching team: "Serving large numbers of students in a big hall is different, but rewarding. The astronomy course immediately attracted hundreds of students each semester, even before the Gen. Ed. program was invented." The creative process also allowed the teaching partners to "learn a new discipline along with the students."
To date, more than 16,000 students have taken the course offerings. Like Story, Ratcliff is gratified. "Science courses for non-scientists can be very difficult because so much of science is done at an atomic and molecular level � a level not directly seen or experienced. One of the reasons we chose to do �Exploration of Space� was that it brought the subject down to a human level. It�s the most exciting teaching we�ve ever done. We also find it a lot of fun!"
Department Chair Hassaram Bakhru is enthusiastic about the duo. "Students love their style of teaching, in which they have developed and created computer animations. This course is a sellout of close to 500 undergraduate students every semester. Even though he is retired, I see Professor Story working in his office full time; he is a devoted teacher and is in charge of all Web creations for the department. And Professor Ratcliff is on many department committees and is committed to excellence in teaching and research."
In addition to fulfilling their teaching and research duties, Story and Ratcliff have written Exploration of Space, a textbook. "Giving the students material they can access outside of class will free us up to use more multimedia tools in the classroom," he explains. The textbook, adds Story, "has been through six revisions."
Another of their achievements was designing and building the University�s first campus lecture hall multimedia facility in 1991. Using a grant from the Dudley Observatory, they furnished LC 25 with IBM and Macintosh computer platforms, CD roms, laser disk players, and other video and audio equipment. The facility, which "gives students more of a feeling for what the space program is all about and for the way we acquire new knowledge," said Ratcliff, is now utilized by faculty in at least a dozen other departments.
"The Story Story," as the professor emeritus refers to his career, includes "research in magnetic resonance on lunar samples, ferroelectric compounds and solid ionic conductors, teaching physics at various levels, and supervising master�s and doctoral students." A Catskill native, he earned his B.A. in mathematics and M.A. in physics at Albany, then went on to the University of Maine (M.S) and Case Western Reserve (Ph.D.). He spent three years as a technical staffer at Bell Laboratories in the 1950s before returning to Albany, eventually earning President�s, Chancellor�s, and Alumni Association awards for excellence in teaching.
While his professional experience also includes collaboration with the GE R&D Center and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Story most enjoys teaching. A Collins Fellow, he retired in 1992 but returned to work on a part-time basis, because he had relished "the exciting one-on-one contact with doctoral, master�s, and undergraduate students in my research laboratory. I often learned more from my students than they did from me! Undergraduate students taught me computer programming because they had taken the then-new computer courses at the University."
Ratcliff has been a scientist at the University of Florida�s Space Astronomy Laboratory and a visiting scientist at Goddard Space Flight Center (1978-80), where he did experiments related to his Albany research. Asked if he ever thought about pursuing a career at NASA, Ratcliff acknowledges: "I would like to have been an astronaut. But I would undoubtedly have ended up being a scientist back in Mission Control!"
He found his true vocation at Albany, where he and Story try to interest students in "news stories about space, or in watching �Nova� instead of MTV. If we can stir their imaginations, we�ve done our job." For Ratcliff, a Chancellor�s Award for Excellence recipient, the most rewarding aspect of teaching is "when students come and tell me years later how much of an impact a course made upon them, or when current students go home for Thanksgiving and talk about what they�ve been learning about space."
Story says "the opportunity to become well acquainted with students and watch their careers develop" has been his reward. He looks forward to 1999 � which will mark his 40th anniversary with the University and his 20th of working with Ratcliff � and to an-other year of teaching. "The majority of the students are good, and some are superb," Story observes. "They make it all worthwhile!"
New Faces
Cheryl Frye
by April Sherman
Behavioral neuroendocrinologist Cheryl Frye, new to the Department of Psychology this fall, is an award-winning researcher and an educator who strives to cultivate student-researchers at all levels.
From 1995 to 1998, Frye was an assistant professor of psychology at Connecticut College, as well as an adjunct assistant professor of zoology and the director of the neuroscience program. In that time she supervised 16 students who conducted more than 20 separate research studies. She is now overseeing the work of five researchers in training at Albany.
Prior to her faculty appointment in Connecticut, Frye was from 1993-95 a National Institutes of Health post-doctoral fellow in Boston University�s Behavior Neuroscience Laboratory. During that time, she served visiting assistant professorships at Wheaton and Lesley colleges.
She has authored more than 50 published research articles for such leading journals in the field of neuroscience as Brain Research, Journal of Neuroscience, Behavioral Neuroscience, the Journal of Neuroendocrinology, and Neuroendocrinology.
Frye won an award from the Epilepsy Foundation of America in 1996, received a 1996-2000 Whitehall Foundation fellowship grant to support work in neuroscience, and a $500,000 National Science Foundation "Career Grant" for 1996-2001. She has also obtained approximately $30,000 in grants over the past two years to support her undergraduate and graduate research initiatives.
The new faculty member said she chose Albany because, "The SUNY education system is very well regarded and the University at Albany in particular is the jewel in the crown. There are many excellent colleagues whom I will have the opportunity to work with. This was all very appealing."
Frye�s initial teaching responsibilities at Albany focus on classes in behavioral neuroscience, all concentrating, she said, "on how the brain mediates behavior. In the future, I look forward to being more involved in teaching introductory psychology and research methods courses for undergraduates."
Supported by the NSF Career Grant, Frye is now investigating how steroid hormones work - relevant for the treatment of many clinical syndromes such as perimenstrual syndromes, post-partum depression, and catamenial epilepsy.
Her separate studies on steroid action on cognition and affect, and steroids in epilepsy, are currently supported by generous grants from the Whitehall and Donaghue foundations (the latter a "Young Investigator Award" through year 2000), respectively. She aims in the future to extend work on steroid action to other neurogenerative disease models, such as Alzheimer�s and Parkinson�s.
"I am looking forward to the continued growth of this research program through the involvement of undergraduate and graduate students at the University," she added. Her NSF grant also promotes teaching initiatives to enhance neuroscience training.
Frye holds a Ph.D. in biopsychology from Tufts University (1992), as well as an M.S. from Tufts and an A.B. from Wheaton College. She is a member of Sigma Xi (the national research honor society), the Society for Neuroscience, the Society for Behavioral Neuroscience, International Behavioral Neuroscience Society, the American Psychological Society and several other professional organizations, and is affiliated with several publications in her field.
Laurence Joel Kranich
by Tim Heinz
Laurence Joel Kranich, a sought after scholar who has received several teaching awards, recently joined the faculty of Albany�s Department of Economics.
"We were obviously thrilled about Joel Kranich working at Albany," said Terrence Kinal, chair of the Department of Economics. "People began talking about him as soon as they first heard we were interviewing him."
Throughout his career, Kranich has received several awards in teaching and research, as-well-as receiving numerous grants and fellowships. While he was at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, he was rated among the "5 Best Teachers" and received an additional award for distinguished teaching.
In addition, his scholarship in the fields of microeconomic theory and public economics earned him the Premio de Investigacion research award three years in a row from 1995 through 1997. Kranich had also previously received University Fellowship and Summer Research Fellowships at the University of Rochester and in 1994 he got a junior research fellow at the Institute for Policy Reform in Washington D.C.
Kranich received his B.A. in mathematics and graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University in 1979. Later he received his M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Rochester where he became an instructor in the school�s department of economics. Kranich continued his teaching career by working at Pennsylvania State University as an instructor and later became an assistant professor. In 1994, he joined the faculty of the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain, and was a visiting professor there until coming to Albany.
"Kranich was recruited for his strengths in the fields of economics and microeconomic theory," said Kinal. "He has a good publication record, is good at applying his ideas, and is an excellent teacher. He is a very good economist and has fine theoretical skills."
Kranich has taught both graduate and undergraduate courses in mathematical economics, public economics and intermediate economics, as well as several courses on microeconomic theory. His fields of concentration are public economics, welfare economics, microeconomic theory, and game theory. "He brings additional strength to an already strong department," added Kinal.
While Kranich was at Pennsylvania State University, he was an associate member of the graduate faculty, a faculty associate in the Center for Research in Conflict and Negotiation, and a microeconomics workshop coordinator. He also participated in other professional activities, such as coordinating the Fall 1988 Midwest Mathematical Economics and International Economics Conferences and serving on many different university and departmental committees, as well as doctoral dissertation committees. He is also a member of the American Economic Association, the Economic Society, and the Society for the Promotion of Economic Theory.
Over the years, Kranich has published a number of his writings and participated in many recent conference presentations and seminars. In 1997, he was an invited lecturer at the 8th Summer School of the European Economic Association. Currently, he is busy working on several research papers, and has two publications forthcoming.
"Kranich has been really good at fitting in with the department, " said Kinal. "He works well advising students about research, and regularly interacts with students and faculty members."
Full Assessment of Renaissance Composer
Mary Beth Winn of the French Studies Program in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures has collaborated with professors Laura Youens of George Washington University and Barton Hudson of West Virginia University to produce the critical edition of Thomas Crecquillon: Collected Works, vol. XIV: "Chansons for Four Voices," American Institute of Musicology (Neuhausen: Hanssler-Verlag, 1998).
Crecquillon was one of the leading Franco-Flemish composers of the Renaissance. This first edition of his complete works is part of a renowned series produced by the American Institute of Musicology. Seven other volumes of chansons are projected.
Named a Fellow in Physics
Gottlieb Oehrlein of the Department of Physics has been elected to a fellowship in the American Vacuum Society of the American Institute of Physics.
This status was established to recognize members who have made sustained and outstanding scientific and technical contributions in areas of interest to the Society. Oehrlein was elected over several other outstanding candidates, said the Society, for his "innovative integration of surface characterization methods with real plasma-assisted etching processes to produce important mechanistic insights and resulting technological guidance for silicon-based manufacturing processes."
Football Coach a Super Senior
The Senior Services of Albany Foundation announced on Nov. 14 that the University�s head football coach and interim director of athletics, Robert Ford, is one of the winners of its annual "Third Age Awards."
The award recognizes senior residents in the Capital Region who are active in the community and are making contributions in the fields of arts and culture, athletics, business, education, government, health and human services, medicine, and philanthropy.
Ford, 61, is the winner of the "Third Age Award" in athletics. Currently in his 26th varsity season, he has a 155-100 record as the Great Danes mentor, including directing Albany to a 9-0 record in 1974, an ECAC title in 1985, and Div. II Eastern Football Conference titles in 1997 and �98. The Great Danes, who set their all-time consecutive win streak this year at 14, defended their EFC title on Nov. 21 with a 25-24 win over American International.
A bachelor�s graduate of Springfield College who earned a master�s degree at St. Lawrence University, Ford has watched more than 90 of his former assistant coaches move to coaching positions in the professional, college, and high school ranks.
Weighs in On Animal Empathy
Gordon Gallup Jr. of the Department of Psychology has contributed to Scientific American�s special Nov. 23 issue on the subject of intelligence, being one of two experts to deal with "Animal Self-Awareness: A Debate � Can Animals Empathize?"
Gallup takes the viewpoint that, yes, animals that pass a mirror test prove that they are self-aware and therefore can infer the states of mind of another individual. Daniel J. Povinelli of the University of Southwestern Louisiana and director of its New Iberia Research Center�s division of behavioral biology, is a friend and colleague of Gallup, and even considers the Albany professor a mentor, but he disagrees on this point. "Maybe not," he says of Gallup�s conclusions with chimpanzees.
Gallup writes that "most animals react to their images as if confronted by another animal. But chimpanzees, orangutans and, of course, humans learn that the reflections are representations of themselves � these creatures are objects of their own attention and are aware of their own existence.
"I conclude that not only are some animals aware of themselves but that such self-awareness enables these animals to infer the mental states of others."
Gallup began using preadolescent chimpanzees to explore self-awareness through mirrors in 1969 at Tulane University�s Delta Regional Primate Research Center. Over the years he has employed numerous inventive approaches which, said Scientific American, "adds to our understanding of the evolutionary forces that underlie behavior, both animal and human."
An Outstanding Parliamentarian
The Science Teachers Association of New York State (STANYS) recognized Robert Gibson, director of the University�s Advisement Services Center, at its 1998 Annual Awards presentation in November with the STANYS "Executive Committee Award" for his volunteer service as parliamentarian for the organization since 1994. Gibson also serves as parliamentarian for the University Senate.
Gibson (Class of �64) also is a presenter of workshops on parliamentary procedure for the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA), annually giving workshops at the NYSSBA convention and new school board members� seminars.