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Join us in our commitment to generate and share knowledge and improve our world through research.

Arts and Sciences News

Geography Professor, Student Win Best Article Award

Marie Price, chair and associate professor of geography and international affairs, and former graduate student Catherine Cooper recently won recognition from the National Council of Geographic Education.

Their article, “Competing Visions, Shifting Boundaries: The Construction of Latin America as a World Region,” discusses the origin of the term Latin America, along with how the boundaries of the region have changed over time. Price and Cooper argue that the following four basic principles operate in forming world regions like Latin America: contiguity, continentality, geopolitics, and human relatedness. The piece challenges students to consider what regional boundaries tell the geographer about places, and comes with guided questions for use in high school advanced placement and introductory college courses.

Their article was published in the May/June 2007 issue of Journal of Geography. The National Council of Geographic Education chose the article as the Best Content Article for 2008 – among all the articles published in the Journal of Geography in 2007.

English Dept. Lauded for Reaching Out With Blog

The GW Hatchet praises the English Department for its "GW English News" blog, which links students, alumni, and friends to department new, events, and achievements.

Read the article.
Read the editorial.

Professor Named President of National Association

Dr. Christopher Deering of the GW Department of Political Science was unanimously selected to serve a term as president of the National Capital Area Political Science Association. Deering, an expert in the American Political System and Congress who earned his BA in Political Science at the University of Southern California, followed by his MA and Ph.D. at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has been a prominent face on GW’s campus since his arrival, serving as Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences from 1990 to 1994. Deering was the Chair of the Department of Political Science for six years; his tenure just concluded at the end of the 2007-08 school year.

In his new position for the NCAPSA, Deering will serve a two year term; he will be the President-Elect for one year, and President of the group the following year. He has long been a member of the association, and recently served as an elected member of the NCAPSA’s Council. The association “aims to create a dialogue between scholars and practitioners in and around Washington, DC”, Deering explains. He plans to be a very active president. Other highlights on his Curriculum Vitae include co-authoring Committees in Congress, editing Congressional Politics, and writing countless articles and textbook chapters on congressional leadership, committees, and careers, and on Congress’s role in foreign and national security policymaking. “I am thrilled that he is doing this,” said Forrest Maltzman, a colleague of Deering’s. “It is good for the association, for GW and for Chris.”

Professor Helps Identify
Victim in 1948 Crash

Forensic Science Professor Edward Robinson used fingerprinting techniques to identify human remains found at the site of a 1948 airplane crash in Alaska. Robinson worked with a team to identify the only human remains recovered from the crash that killed 30 people. The team's investigation took nine years.

Read the article in The Washington Post.

Making Solar Work

Ken Zweibel, a research faculty member at GW's Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, spoke at the National Academy of Sciencies on July 29 at its project meeting, "Making Big Solar Work: Achievements, Challenges & Opportunities." Zweibel's talk focused on how we can use solar energy: how much, how fast, and at what cost. View his presentation.

Check out the latest Columbian College of Arts and Science news in By George!

GW Creates Global Media Institute

Mapping a Volcano's History

Project Sheds Light on Eleanor Roosevelt's Legacy