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Robinson Professors

Spencer R. Crew, Robinson Professor of American, African American and Public History, was the historical consultant for “Songs of Freedom,” an educational film that uses storytelling and contemporary music to teach the history of the Underground Railroad. “Songs of Freedom” has been nominated for the New York State Emmy Awards, and was named to the American Library Association’s 2011 Notable List. He also wrote “Public History: Past and Present,” a chapter in “The Organization of American Historians and the Writing and Teaching of American History,” edited by Richard S. Kirkendall.

Robert Hazen, Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences, presented a lecture on “Unanswered Questions in Deep Carbon Research” at the Japanese conference on deep carbon science, held in Sendai, the day before the great earthquake. He also presented lectures on deep carbon research and on the origins of life at the University of Southern California; at the Space Telescope Science Institute; and at a deep carbon conference at Airlie House in Warrenton, Va.

Hugh Heclo, Robinson Professor of Public Affairs, presented a lecture on “Is America an Exceptional Nation?” at Michigan State University.

Harold Morowitz, Robinson Professor of Biology and Natural Philosophy, wrote “When PPLO Became Mycoplasma,” which was published in the March-April issue of the American Scientist.

John Paden, Robinson Professor of International Studies, presented “Religion and Conflict Resolution in Nigeria” at the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University.

Robinson Professors

Robert M. Hazen, Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences; and James Trefil, Robinson Professor of Physics, wrote an essay, “Scientific Literacy: A Modest Proposal,” which appears in the book “Science and the Educated American: A Core Component of Liberal Education,” edited by Jerrold Mainwald and John G. Hildebrand; American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2010; 57–69. The volume resulted from the academy’s project on Science in the Liberal Arts Curriculum. Hazen was a keynote speaker on “Deep Carbon Observatory” at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C. He also delivered the Linnaeus Prize Lecture at the University of Uppsala in Sweden. The three-day event included a formal dinner with the president of the university, the public prize lecture on origins of life, and a symposium at the university, where he presented a second lecture on his research. He recorded segments on origins of life research for Japan Public Television and National Public Radio.

Hugh Heclo, Robinson Professor of Public Affairs, presented “Varieties of American Exceptionalism” at the Sixth Annual Ronald Reagan Symposium held at Regent University.

John Paden, Robinson Professor of International Studies, lectured to the U.S. Department of State on “Islamic Identity Factors and the Upcoming Nigerian Elections.”

Robinson Professors

Spencer R. Crew, Robinson Professor of American, African American and Public History, published “The Saga of Peter Still” in New Jersey History, vol. 125, no. 2, 2011. He also served as one of the historical consultants on “President’s House: Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation,” an exhibit in that opened in Philadelphia on Dec. 15, 2010.

Robert Hazen, Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences, organized an all-union session on Deep Carbon Science at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco. He was also the keynote lecturer at origins of life conferences in Austria and Holland.

John Paden, Robinson Professor of International Studies, met with the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria to discuss the upcoming national elections in April. He also met with officials of the National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei to discuss closer collaboration with Mason’s Center for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation. He met with officials of Tsinghua University in Beijing to discuss partnering on a proposed Mason undergraduate minor in Global Problems and Perspectives.

James Trefil, Robinson Professor of Physics, wrote book reviews that appeared in the Washington Post under the title “An Up-Close Look at Two Heavenly Bodies.” The reviewed books were “Moon” by Bernd Brunner and “Choosing the Moon” by Richard Cohen. Trefil also wrote a dust jacket blurb for the newly published book, “Quantum Physics for Poets,” by Leon Lederman and Christopher Hill.

Robinson Professors

Spencer R. Crew, Robinson Professor of American, African American and Public History, was a session leader for the Seminar for Historical Administration sponsored by the American Association for State and Local History held in Indianapolis.

Paul D’Andrea, Robinson Professor of Theater and English, had his play, “Nathan the Wise,” produced at the Bay School in Blue Hill, Maine, as part of a project to make classic plays available to students at the pre-high school level.

Robert Hazen, Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences, presented four papers and was the organizer of a special symposium on mineral evolution at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Denver. Hazen was also the Distinguished Scientist Lecturer at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas; the keynote lecturer at the Vienna Bioscience Center Conference on Origins of Life in Austria; and presented lectures at Rutgers University on the Deep Carbon Observatory and on mineral evolution.

Carma Hinton, Robinson Professor of Visual Culture and Chinese Studies, spoke at a contemporary Chinese art exhibit, “The World of Joyblins” by Liang Changsheng, at Northeastern University’s Gallery 360.

Harold Morowitz, Robinson Professor of Biology and Natural Philosophy, wrote a chapter titled “Teilhard’s Two Energies” with Nicole Schmitz-Moorman and James Salmon, SJ, in the new book, “The Legacy of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.”

John Paden, Robinson Professor of International Affairs, participated in a discussion group at the Council on Foreign Relations on the upcoming Nigerian elections.

James Trefil, Robinson Professor of Physics, lectured on “The Scientific Method,” “Introduction to Molecular Biology” and “Human Prospects: The Case for Optimism” at the Science in the Courts Conference in Captiva, Fla. He also lectured on “Galileo: Scientist and Popularizer” at the NOVA Galileo Festival.

Robinson Professors

Robert Hazen, Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences, was named the 2011 Linneaus Lecturer of the University of Uppsala, Sweden. The lecture and awards dinner will take place in February 2011. Hazen also gave the 2010 Distinguished Scientist Lecture on “Mineral Evolution” at Trinity University in San Antonio, Tex. He also lectured at the University of Tennessee and at Rutgers University on “Mineral Evolution,” “The Deep Carbon Cycle” and “The Origins of Life.”

Carma Hinton, Robinson Professor of Visual Culture and Chinese Studies, presented “U.S. – China Relations and Development in China” at the Workshop on Advanced Hydrology and Climate Change, which was sponsored by Mason’s Environmental Science and Technology Center and Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute.

John Paden, Robinson Professor of International Affairs, lectured at the U.S. Department of State Ambassadors Seminar on “Northern Nigerian Economy, Politics and Religion: Muslim Practice, Activism, and Interfaith Relations.” He also lectured at the State Department’s National Foreign Affairs Training Center on “Islam in Africa: The Nigerian Case.”

James Trefil, Robinson Professor of Physics, presented “Scientists and the Media” at the Jackson Hole Symposium held in Denver.

Robinson Professors

Spencer R. Crew, Robinson Professor of American, African American and Public History, was the historical advisor for “Songs of Freedom,” a children’s hardcover book and DVD published by Blue Sky Project, a nonprofit media-development organization. Crew also presented “The Role of the Underground Railroad as a Cause of the Civil War” at the second Signature Conference sponsored by the Virginia Sesquicentennial Commemoration of the American Civil War and held at Norfolk State University in September. Crew also wrote “Striking a Blow for the Ideals of a Great Nation” in the Sept. 19 edition of the Free Lance-Star newspaper, Fredericksburg, Va.

Robert Hazen, Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences, presented the opening keynote address on “Mineral Evolution” at the quadrennial meeting of the International Mineralogical Association in Budapest, Hungary, as well as lectures on “Mineral Surfaces and the Origins of Life” and “The Deep Carbon Observatory.”

John Paden, Robinson Professor of International Affairs, lectured at the Foreign Service Institute on “Islam in Nigeria” and at the U.S. Department of State on “Ethnicity in Africa: Implications for Development and Stability.”

Robinson Professors

Paul D’Andrea, Robinson Professor of Theater and English, had his play, “The Einstein Project,” produced in August at the Junction Theatre in Los Angeles to memorialize the explosion of the atomic bomb in Japan in 1945. His play, “Two-Bit Taj Mahal,” was read at New Dramatists in New York City. D’Andrea also spoke at the Class of 1960 Reunion at the 2010 Harvard Commencement on “‘Do You See This?’: Recognition in Shakespeare.”

Robert Hazen, Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences, presented the opening keynote address, “Mineralogical Co-Evolution of the Geo- and Biospheres,” at the quadrennial meeting of the International Mineralogical Association in Budapest, Hungary.

Harold Morowitz, Robinson Professor of Biology and Natural Philosophy, cowrote “Ligand Field Theory and the Origin of Life as an Emergent Feature of the Periodic Table,” which was published in the Biological Bulletin 219, 2010. He also cowrote “How Life Began, the Emergence of Sparse Metabolic Networks,” which was published in the Journal of Cosmology 10, August 2010.

Robinson Professors

Hugh Heclo, Robinson Professor of Public Affairs, had his first book titled “Modern Social Politics in Britain and Sweden” re-published with a new introduction in the European Consortium for Political Research’s “Classics” book series. He also gave a presentation titled “Obama and Executive Power” at the conference on President Obama, National Security and Executive Power at the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy at Boston College.

John Paden, Robinson Professor of International Affairs, gave a presentation titled “Can the Religious Center Hold in Nigeria? Muslim Establishment Responses to Violent Extremism” at Johns Hopkins University, SAIS, conference on Religion and Politics in Africa. He also participated in a conference at the Fund for Peace on “Niger Delta Partnership Initiatives”; the Council on Foreign Relations discussions with the acting president of Nigeria; and a Council on Foreign Relations forum discussing “Nigeria: Dancing on the Brink.” He also gave lectures titled “Islam and Politics in Northern Nigeria” at the U.S. State Department and “Can the Religious and/or Political Center Hold in Nigeria” at the Academy for Educational Development.

James Trefil, Robinson Professor of Physics, gave a keynote address titled “Scientific Literacy: A Story in Three Heresies” at the American Chemical Society in San Francisco. He also reviewed three books for the Scientific and Technology section of the Washington Post.

Robinson Professors

Robert Hazen, Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences, gave lectures titled “How Evolution Works” at Loyola Marymount University, the Cosmos Club and the Carnegie Institution, and “The Deep Carbon Observatory” at the Institut de Physique du Globe, the U.S. Department of Energy of CalTech. He also served on the National Science Foundation’s Biosciences Directorate Advisory Board.

John Paden, Robinson Professor of International Affairs, gave a presentation titled “Is Nigeria a Hotbed of Islamic Extremism?” at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C.

John Trefil, Robinson Professor of Physics, gave a centennial lecture titled “Science, Its History and Its Future” at St. Anne’s-Belfield School in Charlottesville, Va.

Robinson Professors

Robert Hazen, Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences, presented a lecture on mineral evolution at Scripps Research Institute, as well as a keynote lecture on evolution at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Diego.