College of Arts and Sciences Newsletter - Georgia College & State ...

Department of Chemisty,
Physics and Astronomy
By: Kelsey Lee, Public Relations student
The Department of Physics,
Chemistry, and Astronomy
at Georgia College is
making several advancements
thanks to its outstanding faculty.
Department Chair Dr. Kenneth McGill
is thrilled by his engaging faculty and
staff who create an environment of higher
learning for both faculty and students.
“We are truly blessed to have a faculty
that absolutely enjoys what they
do,” Dr. McGill said. “In Chemistry and
Physics the majority of scientists graduating
with PhDs go into industry because
the financial rewards are so much
higher. Those of us that enter academia
generally do it because we enjoy the
freedom of being life-long learners. We
learn and make discoveries right alongside
our students. I am very thankful
to work with a great group of faculty
that feels this way; it makes me look
forward to coming to work every day.”
Dr. Agnes Kim, assistant professor
in the Department of Chemistry,
Physics and Astronomy, has been
at Georgia College since 2008 and
has greatly contributed to the university.
Dr. Kim was asked by astronomers
in Belgium to analyze data from
space and made an important discovery.
“I analyzed data from a pulsating white
dwarf found in the field of view of the
NASA planet finding space telescope Kepler
and found that it was hotter than what
we thought,” Kim said. “The discovery of
a pulsating white dwarf of that kind in the
Kepler field of view was a big surprise,
as it is a rare kind of star to begin with.”
The discovery made by Kim
not only helps the department,
but the university as well.
“This is research that has been published
in a top professional journal and
that has drawn attention from abroad.
It puts Georgia College and the Department
of Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy
on the map as an institution
where exciting science is going on.”
Dr. Catrena Lisse, associate professor
of Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy,
is another faculty member improving
the department. Dr. Lisse has been at
Georgia College for 10 years and is also
the Chemistry Club advisor. This year,
the Chemistry Club received its fourth
Outstanding Chapter National Award
“The Chemistry Club has been around
for over 15 years,” Dr. Lisse said. “When
I became the adviser back in 2002, the
Chemistry Club only had 2 members and
was not very active. We currently have
47 members and stay busy year round.”
The Chemistry Club focuses on community
service, such as volunteering as
science fair judges at local schools, coordinating
National Chemistry Week
and Earth Day, visiting the Georgia War
Veterans Home, and
several other activities,
which create a
fun and educational
environment for students.
This helps
students develop
professional and
personal skills that
will serve the club
members throughout
their future careers.
“I am very proud
of the club for this
achievement,” Dr.
Lisse said. “Winning
national awards has
become part of our
legacy. The students
are proud of their
accomplishments
and are passionate
about keeping
the tradition going
from one graduating
class to another.”
The faculty in
the Department of
Chemistry, Physics, and Astronomy not
only contributes to the department with
their knowledge, but financially as well.
Dr. Douglas Pohl, professor of Chemistry,
Physics, and Astronomy, donated a
24-inch research class telescope to the
observatory located in Herty Hall. The
telescope will allow students to have a
detailed view of planets, comets, and
stars. Although Pohl is officially retired,
he continues to share his knowledge
with students at Georgia College
by teaching part-time and is also chair
of the local American Chemical Society.
“We are very much looking forward to
the new telescope coming to the new observatory,”
Dr. McGill said. “Dr Pohl’s
gracious donation will inspire many
young scientists for many years to come.”
In 18th century London, coffeehouses became known as
Penny Universities—for the price of a penny, one could
gain access not only to the coffee served at the house,
but the conversations that percolated within. Newsboys
called “runners” announced all the latest news for discussion
in the coffeehouses, and men from all social levels, including
many students from the local universities, spent long hours
conversing about trade, society, and the latest hot topics. Coffee
houses were the intellectual and informational hubs of the city.
In Milledgeville, this longstanding partnership of coffee, community
and intellect still exists. At Blackbird Coffee, people from
the community mingle with students and professors from the university—studying,
chatting, attending events and having meetings.
The Georgia College Department of English and Rhetoric has
developed a particularly strong relationship with the shop. Countless
connections exist between the department and Blackbird, including
the fact that an owner, Jimmy Holder, teaches composition
at Georgia College. Members of the English and Rhetoric Department
populate the shop daily.
Junior Rhetoric major David Hamby can be found in the coffee
shop almost any day of the week.
“One morning I was really stressed out about a speech I had to
deliver that afternoon,” Hamby said. “I sat down in Blackbird and
after forty minutes I had finished what turned out to be my best
speech ever. The atmosphere just tends to stimulate creativity.”
Dr. Bruce Gentry, Professor of English and editor of the Flannery
O’Connor Review, visits Blackbird at least once a day to get
coffee and mingle with students and/or people in the community.
He thinks the close relationship between the shop and the English
and rhetoric department is a natural one. It is not uncommon to find
him, or any other professor in the department, holding meetings
with students in the shop.
“Meeting a student at Blackbird softens the professional barrier,”
Dr. Gentry said. “It’s relaxed and friendly—a good way to say ‘I’m
not playing professor with a capital P’.”
Similarly, many teachers, professors, and faculty members in the
English and rhetoric Department hold meetings with colleagues at
Blackbird.
Department Chair Elaine Whitaker saw Blackbird for the first time
at her 2006 job interview, as it is customary for students to interview
departmental candidates there.
“Coffee at Blackbird lets me connect with the community as well
as with colleagues and students,” Dr. Whitaker said, “It’s a public
space that encourages a meaningful exchange of ideas.”
On a special night of each month, Blackbird hosts an event specific
to the celebration of literature, creative writing, and rhetoric.
The event is called the Red Earth Readings and features public readings
of poems, essays, and short stories. Many have been published
in The Peacock’s Feet, a yearly journal published by Georgia College
that showcases the literary and artistic talents of people from Georgia
College and beyond. Senior English major Peggy Des Jardines is
this year’s editor of The Peacock’s Feet and heads up the Red Earth
Readings. She said Blackbird was the obvious choice of venue for the
readings.
“It’s such a comfy place,” Des Jardines said, “And since so many
English and rhetoric people hang out here anyway, it didn’t make
sense to have it anywhere else.”
Des Jardines, who was recently honored as the 2nd winner of the
Margaret Harvin Wilson Writing Award for her poem “Moratorium”,
confesses to producing some of her best work at the small black tables
lined up against the walls of the coffee shop.
The connection between coffee, literature, writing and rhetoric is
undeniably a tight one. Flannery O’Connor herself began each morning
with a cup of black coffee her mother brewed the night before.
Blackbird provides an office-away-from-office and a forum for shared
ideas, while the Department of English and Rhetoric brings a passionate
community of writers and public speakers that enhances the
mentally and creatively stimulating atmosphere of the coffee shop.
Anyone who has applied for a job at Blackbird Coffee is fully aware
of this coffee/creativity connection—the last requirement on Blackbird’s
job application is to write a poem.
Department of English and
Rhetoric
By: Ala Bishop, Public Relations student
6 College of Arts and Sciences Newsletter 2012 2012 College of Arts and Sciences Newsletter 7