An article co-authored by Dr. Emily Bellis, assistant professor of bioinformatics, has been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). The researchers develop a framework to characterize associations between genome variants in traditional varieties of the staple crop sorghum with the distribution of a devastating parasitic weed. The PNAS article is online.

A chapter by Dr. Gregory Hansen, professor of folklore and English, “Follow the Band: Playing Old-Time Tunes in New Performance Contexts,” is included in the new volume, "Ón gCos go Cluas -- From Dancing to Listening: Voices from the North Atlantic Fiddle Convention." The 2012 conference was held in Northern Ireland. Hansen also has contributed an entry to The Oxford Handbook of American Folklore and Folklife Studies.

Dr. Miguel Ángel García Ariza, instructor in mathematics at A-State Campus Queretaro, has been selected as an invited speaker at the Winter Meeting on Geometry and Physics UASLP this week. In his first year of service on the A-State CQ faculty, his research interests include geometric formulations of thermodynamics and mathematical methods of physics. His teaching specialty is calculus. The meeting explores concepts in mathematics and physics.

Nikki Arnell, associate professor of graphic design, was invited by the American Advertising Federation’s chapter in Lexington, Ky., to judge its district Addy Awards last month. She was one of three judges for the major annual competition for those who pursue creative excellence in the advertising industry. This is the fourth time Arnell has been invited to judge an AAF chapter’s awards.

Congratulations to Dr. Russ Shain, emeritus professor of journalism and dean of communications, who has been selected for induction into the University of Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame. He will be recognized at a March induction event in Louisville. Shain served as dean at A-State from 1990 until his retirement in 2010. The hall was created by the University of Kentucky Journalism Alumni Association in 1980.