People, papers and presentations

Joseph Campana, associate professor of English literature, served as the Theodore Morrison Fellow in Poetry at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference Aug. 13-22. The annual conference at Middlebury College is considered one of America’s most valuable literary institutions. As part of the conference, Campana co-taught a seminar with the 19th United States poet laureate, Natasha Trethewey. Campana is currently completing his third collection of poems, “The Book of Life.”

Steve Murdock, the Allyn R. And Gladys M. Cline Professor In Sociology and director of the Hobby Center for the Study of Texas, was a guest speaker on demographic and socioeconomic change in Houston at “The Next America: Foundations of Prosperity,” a town hall meeting hosted Sept. 3 by the National Journal. The event convened local opinion leaders for a discussion about minority financial inclusion, wealth building and business ownership.

Jeffrey Nittrouer, assistant professor of Earth science, co-chaired the “International Deltas Meeting: Genesis, Dynamics, Modeling and Sustainable Development,” or IDM 2014, a multidisciplinary gathering of scientists with a interests including hydrology, ecology, sedimentology and societal interactions in regards to river deltas worldwide. The July 20-24 meeting was held in Istomino, Russia, on the shore of Lake Baikal and the Selenga River Delta and was funded by the National Science Foundation, Chevron, Hess and ExxonMobil. It drew about 70 experts from around the world, including 30 from Russia. Nittrouer said the researchers worked to reach consensus concerning the scientific state of river delta research and sustainability, and they hope to publish a position paper soon.