University Times

BOOKS ARTS and SCIENCES Acts of Reading: Exploring Connections in Pedagogy of Japanese by Hiroshi Nara, East Asian languages and literatures, and Mari Noda, Ohio State University. University of Hawaii Press. This book brings together various research in foreign language reading and promotes an effective pedagogical approach to teaching reading in Japanese. Advances in Japanese […]

A big gift is helping Pitt’s School of Engineering to investigate small things. Through a $1.4 million gift from John A. Swanson, the school will create the John A. Swanson Center for Micro and Nano Systems. Swanson, who earned a Ph.D. in applied mechanics from Pitt in 1966, is the founder of ANSYS Inc. The […]

Novelist and literary essayist Nicholson Baker provoked a bibliographical brouhaha two years ago when he accused American libraries of shortsightedly destroying books and newspapers — precious, irreplaceable pieces of our printed heritage — after reformatting (microfilming or digitizing) them. Baker’s allegations, published in his book “Double Fold” and in The New Yorker, were eloquent, caustic and […]

Copies of a book that helps pharmacy departments devise an emergency preparedness plan to deal with potential chemical or biological attacks were distributed to 6,500 U.S. pharmacies. “Biological and Chemical Terrorism: A Pharmacy Preparedness Guide” was written by Edward P. Krenzelok, professor in Pitt’s School of Pharmacy and director of the Pittsburgh Poison Center at […]

In his 30-plus years of teaching introductory psychology, Donald H. McBurney found that many of his students had misconceptions about science, and psychology in particular, that impeded their learning. To help remove these stumbling blocks and encourage undergraduates to think critically, the Pitt professor would spend part of each class fielding students’ questions. For example, […]

Robert William Avery, a retired Pitt professor of sociology who studied how organizations functioned and who mentored generations of foreign students, died March 25, 2003, of kidney and heart failure. He was 78. Avery taught at Pitt for 34 years. Upon his retirement 11 years ago, the sociology department created the Robert W. Avery Award […]

The seeds of David C. Barker’s book on conservative talk radio were planted in 1993, when he took a sales job that required a lot of driving in the Houston, Tex., area. “And you get tired of pop music all the time. The only real alternative there was conservative talk radio, especially Rush Limbaugh. I […]

The founding director of Pitt’s Center for Philosophy of Science will be honored April 12 with an afternoon of lectures in celebration of his 80th birthday. Adolf Grünbaum, chair of the center and a member of the Pitt faculty since 1960 when he was appointed Andrew Mellon Professor of Philosophy, will be recognized by friends […]

With Americans living longer and older Americans accumulating more wealth than previous generations, an increasing number of legal questions have emerged, including health care decision-making, protection of assets and public benefits entitlements. To address these issues, a new discipline has emerged since the 1980s: elder law. According to Pitt law professor Lawrence A. Frolik, an […]

With the return of more pleasant weather, Deborah Aaron, Pitt assistant professor of health, physical and recreation education and epidemiology, is getting the “Walking Health Bus” back on the streets of Oakland. Aaron’s “walking bus” uses foot power to propel walkers on a route around campus and through Schenley Park. The “bus” leaves Trees Hall […]