Bonnie Cone Fellowships Awarded

Six UNC Charlotte women faculty in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics disciplines will receive 2010-2011 Bonnie Cone Fellowships from UNC Charlotte ADVANCE to support their scholarship and leadership.

“The Bonnie Cone Fellowships are an important element in UNC Charlotte’s efforts to recruit, retain and advance women faculty, particularly those in STEM areas,” said Dr. Yvette Huet, Faculty Director of the ADVANCE Faculty Affairs Office. “These grants help faculty grow their leadership and advance their research. This is essential for the continued growth of the university and its faculty.”

The 2010-2011 recipients are:

• Anita N. Blowers, associate professor, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology,
• Cheryl L. Brown, associate professor, Department of Political Science,
• Julie Goodliffe, assistant professor, Department of Biology,
• Jamie Payton, assistant professor, Department of Computer Science
• Adalira Sáenz-Ludlow, associate professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, and
• Lisa Slattery Walker, professor and chair, Department of Sociology.

Blowers’ grant will consider how differences in language, cultural expectations and familiarity with the justice system may impact Latinos and their interactions with the system. The research will include people who have not necessarily been involved with the system, because previous research suggests that Latino residents may be reluctant to report crimes or serve as witnesses. Findings will be presented to the Latin American Coalition and to local criminal justice agencies.

Brown’s grant will allow her to merge her Chinese political economy background with technology policy studies to examine the impact of political culture on technology policies of global significance. She will study four technology policy areas specifically: health information technology, counterfeit drugs technology, personal data protection and privacy and tissue transplantation biovigilance.

Goodliffe’s grant will assist her research focused on the biology of an important gene called Myc, which is at the center of growth in animals and of carcinogenesis – the transformation of normal cells into cancerous cells. The genetic screen with Drosophila, a genus of small flies, is expected to generate data useful to the understanding of mutations in the Myc gene.

With her grant, Payton will investigate the potential for developing computer software infrastructure that would support rapid, dependable and principled development of participatory sensing applications. Participatory sensing is when the general public collects and shares information about the environment around them by using handheld mobile devices, such as “smart” phones, to share information, such as through social media like Facebook.

Sáenz-Ludlow will use her grant to complete the writing of a book and two papers. The book will document children’s learning of arithmetical concepts, and the papers will detail two case studies with student teachers using dynamic software to teach geometry.

Walker’s grant will help pay her attendance at the Women’s Leadership Program offered by the Center for Creative Leadership. This leadership curriculum brings together assessment tools with research-based content centered on women in mid- to senior-level positions.