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September 2022

Research @ Pace
A newsletter highlighting faculty research & scholarship

Faculty Spotlight


Shobana Musti, PhD is a Full Professor and School of Education Chair in Pleasantville. With a background and training in Special Education and Applied Behavior Analysis, Professor Musti has been involved in intervention research in the classrooms. She has worked closely with teachers and students in Portchester, Briarcliff Manor, and Ossining schools to find academic solutions to improve student outcomes. Her work has included investigating the use of mobile technology to increase the academic performance of students in the elementary classroom in the areas of reading and mathematics.


During the COVID-19 pandemic, she worked closely with the HELPS Education Fund and the Ossining Union Free School District to implement a virtual tutoring program called HELPS. Her recent “how-to” article,” A Virtual Tutoring Program to Increase Students’ Text Reading Fluency,” was accepted for publication to the practitioner-friendly special education journal, Intervention in School and Clinic.


Professor Musti is the co-PI along with Tanya Wiggins, PhD, on My Brother’s Keeper Teacher Opportunity Corps (TOC) grant funded by New York State Department of Education for 1.2M for five years. SOE’s Teachers of Color – Empowerment Network (TOC-EN) aims to recruit students from historically underrepresented backgrounds and support them throughout their programs with academic mentorship and financial support.

JaimeLee Iolani Rizzo, PhD is a Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Chemistry and Physical Sciences (Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, NYC). Professor Rizzo’s research focuses on the development of antimicrobial surfaces. She has 13 patents, 27 peer reviewed publications, and has presented her work at international, national, and local meetings. Professor Rizzo has worked with companies and government entities including Johnson & Johnson, the U.S. EPA, QuatCare, and the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Systems.

 

Professor Rizzo is an active member of the National and Local Section of the American Chemical Society. She was named a Distinguished Fellow of the American Chemical Society and had served as Chair of the NY Section of the ACS. For her years of service and dedication to her profession and to the community, Professor Rizzo has received a number of awards from the ACS including the “Lifetime Achievement Award,” “Outstanding Service Award,” “E. Ann Nalley Middle Atlantic Region Award,” and “Outreach Volunteer of the Year.”

 

She was honored with a number of awards from Pace including the “Homer and Charles Pace Faculty Award,” and the “Student Advisor Award”. Professor Rizzo has served as Faculty Advisor to the Chemistry Club for the past 9 and is also the Coordinator for the “Professions in Health Advisory Team.” She has also published an Organic Chemistry textbook  with her collaborators.

Center Spotlight

Small Business Development Center (SBDC) –

free 1:1 business advisement


Pace University's Small Business Development Center provides in-depth and confidential 1:1 business advisement to help small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs grow or launch their business venture, all at no cost. From helping to access financing to identifying contract opportunities, from marketing and sales strategies to business planning, our experienced and NYS-certified business advisors have the expertise to help your business reach its full potential. Contact the Pace SBDC to learn more and arrange a meeting (in-person or virtual) with a Business Advisor.

Faculty News

Kam Chan, PhD, Distinguished Professor (Accounting, Lubin School of Business, PLV) received an award for Outstanding Reviewer in the 2022 Emerald Literari Award, selected by the Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance editorial team. This is the second award Professor Chan received as a journal reviewer.

Melvin L. Williams, PhD (Communication and Media Studies, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, NYC) was quoted on September 12, 2022 in a USA Today article entitled, "The Complexity of Mourning Queen Elizabeth II and Questioning Her Legacy” and in August 30, 2022 in a USA Today article entitled, "Harry Styles 'accused of queerbaiting:' What is that - and why does it matter?"

Elmer-Rico Mojica, PhD (Chemistry and physical Sciences, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, NYC) co-authored with his undergraduate students two papers published in the Journal of Undergraduate Chemistry Research 21.2 (2022). A paper “Interaction of Catalase with Nanoceramics” was published together with Kaitlyn Chhe, Daniel Kim and Kristina Bekiyants. It looked on the behavior of the enzyme catalase as mixed with different nanoceramics and monitored with different spectroscopic methods. In addition, a paper entitled “Optimization of Temperature Condition in Pressure Liquid Extraction of Propolis Samples’" was published with Jennifer Hutnik and Lawrence Phillips. This study examines the optimized temperature condition in the extraction of a propolis sample using pressure liquid extraction. Professor Mojica also co-authored a review paper entitled “New Raman Spectroscopic Methods’ Application in Forensic Science” with Zhaohua Dai, PhD (Chemistry and Physical Sciences, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, NYC) in Talanta Open ( Dec. 2022). The paper discusses the latest applications of different Raman spectroscopic methods in the field of forensic science. 

Martha W. Driver, PhD, FSA, Distinguished Professor of English (Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, NYC) was an invited lecturer, speaking on "Iconoclasm and Reform," at Printing and the Book During the Reformation, 1450-1650, a seminar sponsored by the National Endowment for Humanities at Ohio State University in July, 2022.

Melanie La Rosa, MFA (Media, Communications, and Visual Arts, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, PLV) was quoted in the Brazilian press. Professor La Rosa presented at a Climate Week NYC event last week about a plan called Renewable Rikers, as part of a panel at CUNY Law School. The panel (and the Ren Rikers plan) made it into Globo, one of Brazil's largest publications.


Millie Hepburn-Smith, PhD, (Undergraduate Nursing, College of Health Professions, PLV) presented her study “Nursing Perspectives on Care of the Patient with Externalized Ventricular Drains” at the International Nursing Research Symposium. The study will be published later this year in the Journal of Neuroscience Nursing.

Opportunities for Faculty

 

Book and Performance Completion Award


We invite proposals from faculty who are working on creative projects they are developing into publishable book manuscripts or performances. Funds will be awarded on a competitive basis to full-time faculty at any Pace University school to develop or complete a project. This program welcomes applications for projects that in the developmental stage as well as for projects that are nearing completion.


Application deadline: November 11, 2022


BPCA guidelines and template


Please upload your application to our online submission site.

Upcoming Events

Classroom Based Research Experiences Workshop


Monday, October 17, 12 p.m. - 3 p.m.


Pace University is holding a workshop on October 17, via zoom, for faculty winners of the CBRE award  to talk about their experiences with embedding their research into a classroom setting. The event is for all faculty across disciplines. 


Preliminary Program


12:00pm -1:00pm

Keynote Presentation

Professor Sara Brownell, PhD - Arizona State University

 

1:00pm – 2:00pm

Short Talks concurrent sessions


Emily Bent, PhDNo Girl Left Behind: Tracing Girls’ Rights Mobilization at the United Nations

 

Sarah Blackwood, PhD - ’You cannot put a fire out:’ Emily Dickinson, Audre Lorde, and Organizing to Empower Marginalized Voices

 

Meaghan Brewer, PhD Recasting Reading in College: From How Much to What Kind

 

Sarah Cunningham, MFA - Sanitation Celebration: An exhibition research partnership with the New York City Department of Sanitation

 

Bill Eaton, PhD - Using Research Experiences in Bio 301 and 307

 

Sethu Karthikeyan, PhD - How do children learn to speak? A study on public opinion

 

Melanie LaRosa, MFAVirtual Film Festival Inventory: Adapting to New Realities

 

Elmer Mojica, PhD - Analyzing Consumer Products in CHE 221 for Research Experience

 

Lisa Raymond - Tolan, OTD - Creating Podcasts as an Innovative Learning Tool in Occupational Therapy Graduate Education

 

Anne Toomey, PhD - Synergies and Tradeoffs between Waterfront Design and Ecosystem Services in the Hudson River Estuary



2:00pm – 3:00pm

Panel Discussion

Maria Iacullo-Bird, PhD, Emily Bent, PhD, Sarah Blackwood, PhD, Sethu Karthikeyan, PhD and Elmer Mojica, PhD


Register for this event


After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

A Book Talk with Author and Alum Maya K. van Rossum

in conversation with Professor Nicholas Robinson


Thursday,October 27,2022

6:00 p.m.– 7:00 p.m.

Pace University-Student Center East

One Pace Plaza, New York, NY


Join the Elisabeth Haub School of Law for a book launch event with the Law School Alumna Maya K. van Rossum ‘92, author of The Green Amendment: The People's Fight for a Clean, Safe, and Healthy Environment (forthcoming November 2022). Haub Law Professor Nick Robinson, JD will lead an insightful discussion with the author focusing on her roadmap to a healthier world—one that uses the law to empower activists and support environmental social justice for all communities. 


Register for this event

Center for Undergraduate Research Experiences (CURE)

Fall 2022 Undergraduate Research Presentations (Virtual)


Common hour – 12:10 p.m.- 1:10 p.m.

 

The university community is invited to attend the inaugural fall series of virtual research presentations by Summer 2022 Provost and Dyson Undergraduate Research Awardees.


The program for each session can be accessed at https://undergraduateresearch.pace.edu/events/

 

Please join us and support our student scholars!   

 

  • Friday, September 30, 2022
  • Monday, October 3, 2022
  • Monday, October 10, 2022
  • Monday, October 31, 2022


Register in advance for these meetings

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the meeting.

Fall 2022 Student Undergraduate Research Webinar Series


Wednesday common hour – 12:10 p.m.- 1:10 p.m.

Thursday common hour – 3:25 p.m. - 4:25 p.m.


  • How to Get Started in Research across Majors and Schools, 09/29/22
  • Social Justice and the Institutional Review Board (IRB), 10/05/22 and 10/06/22
  • Learn about CUR and the World Congress on Undergraduate Research – Apply to Present!, 10/12/22 and 10/13/22
  • Preparing a Research Poster, 11/16/22 and 11/17/22
  • How to apply for a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF REUs), 12/14/22 and 12/15/22



Register in advance for Wednesday’s meeting

Register in advance for Thursday’s meeting

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the meeting.

Fall 2022 Faculty Undergraduate Research Webinar Series


Common-hour meetings – 12:10 p.m.-1:10 p.m.


  • Learn about CUR and the World Congress on Undergraduate Research

10/12/22 -- Register in advance for this meeting


  • How to Get Started in Grant Writing and Include Undergraduate Research

11/14/22 -- Register in advance for this meeting


  • How to apply for National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF REUs)

12/12/22 -- Register in advance for this meeting


After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the meeting.



If you have questions about Undergraduate Research contact Maria Iacullo-Bird, PhD, Assistant Provost for Research at miacullobird@pace.edu

Opportunities for Students


C-STEP: The Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program


The Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (C-STEP) at Pace University is funded by the New York State Department of Education. The goal of the program is to increase the number of students from historically under-represented groups who are pursuing professional licensure and careers in mathematics, science, technology and health-related fields. There are over 50 institutions of higher education in New York that participate in C-STEP.


The Pace University C-STEP will accept 30 students annually into the program. C-STEP students will receive academic, research and professional preparation enrichment experiences to foster their success and readiness for careers in STEM.


See additional details and eligibility requirements


Application deadline: November 1, 2022


Questions? Contact Elmer-Rico Mojica, PhD, C-STEP Project Director, at emojica@pace.edu.

Share your research news here.

Questions? email Elina Bloch at ebloch@pace.edu


Stay connected: visit us at www.pace.edu/office-of-research