Sharfeddin to read from book on racial and cultural tensions
Author Heather Sharfeddin will read from her novel, “A Delicate Divide,” on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 7:30 p.m. in the Austin Reading Room, in the Nicholson Library.
Sharfeddin’s novel is based on her doctoral research depicting racial and cultural tensions and also deals with post-Civil Rights tensions within the interior West. It draws on a historic event, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ water compact proposal, which threatens to strip land owners within reservation borders of their longstanding water rights.
Sharfeddin is the author of several novels about the Pacific Northwest and numerous essays, articles, and reviews. Her work has earned high acclaim from Kirkus Reviews and Library Journal, has been honored with an Eric Hoffer award, and at the New York and San Francisco Book Festivals, as well as the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association. She holds an MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is completing a Ph.D. in creative writing. She has taught writing at Randolph Macon College and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and is currently an adjunct professor at Linfield College.
For more information, contact Susan Barnes Whyte, 503-883-2517 or swhyte@linfield.edu.
Zimbabwe history, culture focus of lecture
Kuzi Rusere ‘17 will present “Proudly Zimbabwean” on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 3 p.m. in 201 Riley Hall.
Rusere, a physics major born in Zimbabwe, will share why he is proud to be a Zimbabwean, the history and origins of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwean culture.
The event is sponsored by the International Programs Office. For more information, contact Michele Tomseth, assistant director of International Programs and January Term off-campus program coordinator, 503-883-2434 or mtomseth@linfield.edu.
‘Fuels from Sunlight’ topic of talk
Shannon Boettcher, physical chemist and materials scientist at the University of Oregon, will present “Fuels from Sunlight” on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 4:15 p.m. in 100 Graf Hall.
The presentation is part of the iFOCUS Science Colloquium lecture series.
The continued prosperity of human civilization will require replacing fossil fuels with renewable, sustainable, and carbon-free energy sources. More energy hits the earth in the form of sunlight in one hour than civilization uses in one year. The critical science and technology challenge is to develop scalable low-cost methods to convert solar energy into fuel and electricity and to store that energy for times when the sun isn’t shining. Boettcher will discuss efforts to discover and understand catalysts that enable efficient electrolysis systems without using scarce, precious elements. He will also introduce a study of photoelectrochemical devices – where photovoltaic and electrolysis components are integrated – which in principle allow for low-cost hydrogen gas production in a single step, from water, with only sunlight as the input.
Boettcher received his B.A. in chemistry at the University of Oregon in 2003 where he was a Barry M. Goldwater Scholar. He received his Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry with Galen Stucky at U.C. Santa Barbara in 2008 where he was an NSF Graduate Research and U.C. Chancellor’s Fellow. In 2011 he was named one of 18 DuPont Young Professors worldwide, in 2014 a Cottrell Scholar, and in 2015 both a Sloan and a Dreyfus awardee.
For more information, contact gcastill@linfield.edu or visit http://www.linfield.edu/science-colloquium.html
Core Ensemble to present ‘Los Valientes’ (The Courageous Ones)
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Linfield College will present the Core Ensemble in their production of “Los Valientes” (The Courageous Ones).
The performance will be Thursday, Oct. 15, at 7:30 p.m. in Ice Auditorium. It is free and seating is first-come, first-served. It is sponsored by the Lacroute Arts Series, the Department of Theatre and Communication Arts, and the Department of Music.
“Los Valientes” is a chamber music theatre production for solo actor and trio (cello, piano, percussion), exploring the artistic and political passions of Diego Rivera, the commitment to human rights of Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero and the pursuit of social justice by Mexican American desperado Joaquin Murrieta aka Zorro. Text is by Jose Cruz Gonzalez. Music for this show features songs and concert/vernacular music by a wide range of Latin American composers including Astor Piazzolla and Osvaldo Golijov.
Chamber music theatre is a unique performance format developed by the Core Ensemble featuring a marriage of theatrical narrative to chamber music performance. Since 1993, the Core Ensemble has toured nationally to every region of the United States and internationally to England, Russia, the Ukraine, Australia and the British Virgin Islands. The Ensemble was the recipient of the 2000 Eugene McDermott Award for Excellence in the Arts awarded by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has received support from the State of Florida Department of Cultural Affairs, New England Foundation for the Arts, Palm Beach County Cultural Council, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and the Virgil Thomson Foundation.
The Lacroute Arts Series at Linfield College is made possible by the generosity of Ronni Lacroute, Linfield College trustee and arts benefactor. The series, sponsored by the Lacroute Arts Fund at Linfield College, is dedicated to helping the college present art events and activities for the campus and community. It provides programs featuring artists in the areas of music, art and visual culture, and theatre and communication arts. Learn more: http://www.coreensemble.com/shows-on-tour/los-valientes/ or call 503-883-2802.
Panel discussion highlights personal stories
The Linfield College Spanish Club will host a final event in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.
This week, students will present a panel, “Personal Stories of Latinos/Hispanics of Oregon,” on Friday, Oct. 16, at 4:30 p.m. in Nicholson Library.
The panel has been organized to gather state and local community members to highlight their personal stories as Latinos/Hispanics in Oregon. The panelists will share their own personal experiences of either growing up in or moving to the United States with their ethnic backgrounds. The discussion will address the plurality of the cultural elements that embody the richness of the Hispanic community in the US.
For more information, contact Carina Garibay at cgaribay@linfield.edu or Professor Tania Carrasquillo at tcarrasq@linfield.edu.
Crosser to speak about graphene research
Michael Crosser, associate professor of physics at Linfield College, will present “Graphene: The Present and Future of Biosensors,” on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m. in 201 Riley Hall.
Crosser will discuss research he has conducted on graphene, which is a single atomic layer of graphite. For the past four years Crosser has studied the transport properties of graphene, using the material to make sensors. Recently Crosser has collaborated with Ethan Minot, an associate professor of physics at Oregon State University, and his graduate student Morgan Brown, a 2002 Linfield graduate who is currently completing a Ph.D. in material science.
“Graphene, in the presence of electrical signals, will change in a reproducible way,” Crosser said. “Biological cells talk to each other through electrical impulses, so graphene promises to be a good biosensor to detect their activity.”
Crosser, at Linfield since 2006, has worked with a number of Linfield students on the project and devoted his fall 2014 sabbatical to the project. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics and mathematics from Centre College, and a Ph.D. in physics from Michigan State University, East Lansing.
The lecture is free and open to the public. The Linfield College faculty lecture series offers one presentation each month by a member of the Linfield faculty. For more information, call 503-883-2409.
Red Chamber, a Chinese string group, to perform
The Linfield College Department of Music will present Red Chamber on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 7:30 p.m. in Ice Auditorium in Melrose Hall.
Red Chamber is a Chinese string group that takes its inspiration from the traditional Chinese “plucked string” repertoire. Red Chamber creates a unique sound while performing a repertoire that spans centuries, including transcriptions from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) to modern compositions. The group also explores other genres of plucked string music like Bluegrass, jazz and other folk traditions.
Red Chamber is directed by Mei Han, who is recognized internationally as one of the leading virtuosi and authorities on the Chinese zheng (zither). Han has performed and lectured on Chinese music worldwide, recorded two Juno nominated CDs, and created a large repertoire of new music, contemporary chamber music, free improv and world music for the zheng.
Other members of Red Chamber include Guilian Liu, one of the world’s premiere pipa (lute) players, who graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music and was the winner of the Chinese National Instrumental Music Competition in 1989. She was featured in the Oscar winning documentary “From Mao to Mozart – Isaac Stern in China” (1979). Zhimin Yu is a versatile ruan (lute) virtuoso, who immigrated to Canada in 1989, and has since become one of the most sought after Chinese musicians in Vancouver. Yu is also a gifted composer, actively writing for a wide variety of Chinese and Western ensembles. Geling Jiang is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, who started her professional training at age 10 and later graduated from the Wu Han Conservatory of Music. Trained initially as a sanxian (three-string fretless lute) player, she also regularly plays the zheng, pipa and ruan.
The concert is sponsored by the Linfield Department of Music and the Linfield Lively Arts Series, which features guest artists in concerts and outreach activities, including master classes, open rehearsals and “Meet the Musicians” events with students and local audiences. Admission is $10 at the door; Linfield students are free with current ID. For more information, call 503-883-2275 or visit linfield.edu/arts.
Campus Calendar
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 14
7 p.m.: Volleyball at Pacific
7 p.m.: Women’s soccer vs. Willamette
7:30 p.m.: Heather Sharfeddin reading, Austin Reading Room, Nicholson Lilbrary
THURSDAY, OCT. 15
3 p.m.: Kuzi Rusere ’17, “Proudly Zimbabwean,” 201 Riley Hall
4:15 p.m.: Shannon Boettcher, “Fuels from Sunlight,” 100 Graf Hall
7:30 p.m.: Core Ensemble, “Los Valientes,” Ice Auditorium
FRIDAY, OCT. 16
7 p.m.: Volleyball vs. Willamette
SATURDAY, OCT. 17
Today and tomorrow: Women’s golf at Willamette Invitational
10 a.m.: Cross country at Lewis & Clark Invitational
1 p.m.: Football at Willamette
2:30 p.m.: Men’s soccer vs. Puget Sound
SUNDAY, OCT. 18
Noon: Women’s soccer vs. Puget Sound
2:30 p.m.: Men’s soccer vs. Pacific Lutheran
