The university environment is a catalyst for creativity and social interaction beyond the scope of the doctoral program. This page chronicles some of my extracurricular activities. Although these activities are not official portfolio projects, they were undertaken in the true spirit of residency because they represent full emersion into university life.
I served as a columnist for the Parthenon student newspaper during the spring semester of 2011. The title of my column was "Lexicon of Reason." The following link will guide you to the column and a plethora of editorials:
I had the opportunity to collaborate with Marshall University faculty and staff members on the GigaPan Project. This project uses new technology to take high resolution panoramic photographs of geographic locations, special events, and nature. The imagery is posted on a webpage where students are encouraged to explore the world through the imagery. I attended professional meetings, offered input, visited a GigaPan showcase, and published an editorial about the project in the Charleston Gazette. The following links will guide you to a Herald Dispatch news story in which I was interviewed and the Charleston Gazette editorial:
http://wvgazette.com/Opinion/Letters/201106060974
I collaborated with Brandon Nida, a doctoral student of Archaeology at U.C. Berkeley, to write and publish a book chapter. The project encompassed approximately 2 years of intense research. We examined existing publications, visited historical sites, and participated in an archaeological survey of Blair Mountain, WV. Our original manuscript titled "The social and environmental upheaval of Blair Mountain: a working class struggle for unionization and historic preservation" is available in Pdf form at the bottom of this page. The book version is available from Routledge by following this link:
http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415618113/
I also participated in the 7th Annual Marshall University Half-Marathon as a member of a relay team. Our team consisted of Dr. Philippe Georgell (a Marshall University Science Professor), Elizabeth Fet (a Marshall University Graduate Student), and myself. We placed 35th among our competitive group by running about 13 miles in 2 hours. The results are posted on this website:
http://www.tristateracer.com/Results/2010/November/MUMarathon/HalfMarathon-Relay.php