CASHP Postdoc Dr. Erin Marie Williams Receives Prestigious Award

We congratulate CASHP post-doctoral scientist Erin Marie Williams (M.A. Anth 2007, Ph.D. HomPal 2011) on winning the 2012 L’Oréal USA Fellowship for Women in Science award. Dr. Williams will be able to study early hominin decision-making through their choice of tool-making materials. She and four other awardees will receive up to $60,000 for their postdoctoral research. This honor is awarded to bring recognition to female scientists working in the U.S. in science and to establish them as role models for young women in science.

National Geographic published an article about the award and the five fellows: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/09/15/researchers-examining-critical-world-issues-receive-loreal-fellowships-for-women-in-science/

More information about the award can be found at: http://www.lorealusa.com/_en/_us/index.aspx?direct1=00008&direct2=00008/00001

Hom Pal Student Wins SAA Award

We congratulate HomPal student Andrew Zipkin for winning the prestigious R. E. Taylor award for the best student poster at the 2012 Society for American Archaeology conference. The title of Andrew’s poster is “On the formation and distribution of ocherous minerals in northern Malawi.”

New M.A. concentration in Medical Anthropology approved

The Anthropology Department is pleased to announce that Columbian College has approved a new concentration in Medical Anthropology for our M.A. Program, joining our successful concentrations in Museum Training and International Development. To support this program, we have also created a new graduate course, Anth 255: Topics in Medical Anthropology, to complement the existing medical anthropology seminar (Anth 254). Several courses in Public Health are options within the concentration.

Medical Anthropology will be a 15-credit hour concentration within the 36-hour MA in Anthropology. It will be a very distinct entity within the world of anthropology graduate study, since very few schools have medical anthropology programs and those few seldom offer an M.A. degree. The program is expected to appeal to people who have earned or are working toward graduate degrees in complementary fields, such as Public Health, Public Administration, or Medicine, and who seek to add training in medical anthropology.

The concentration officially becomes available in fall 2011. Interested students should contact Prof. Barbara Miller, barbar@gwu.edu.

Hom Pal student Tyler Faith published in "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences"

J. Tyler Faith (Hominid Paleobiology doctoral candidate) co-wrote an article in the November 23 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences exploring the mass mammalian extinction of the late Pleistocene. He and Todd Surovell, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Wyoming, examined "Synchronous extinction of North America's Pleistocene mammals" explores the mass extinction during the late Pleistocene. Faith and Surovell's findings indicate the mass extinction took place between 13.8 and 11.4 thousand years ago, a geological instant. Furthermore, the findings support the idea that human overkill, comet impact, or other rapid events caused this massive extinction, instead of a slow attrition.

Alexandra de Sousa (PhD 2008) to run in The Great Gorilla Run

Alexandra Allison de Sousa (Ph.D Hominid Paleobiology, 2008) will be running in The Great Gorilla Run in London on September 26th. Participants don full-body gorilla suits and race through the streets of London in order to raise awareness and funds for the endangered wild mountain gorilla population. Currently there are fewer than 700 wild mountain gorillas left. To support Alexandra's cause or view a video of the race, follow the link below:
http://my.artezglobal.com/personalPage.aspx?SID=271136

We wish Alexandra luck in her race.

Alumni Update: Lauren Deal takes job with the Southeast Children's Fund

Congratulations to recent graduate Lauren Deal (BA Anthropology with special honors 2009) for her new position as Administrative Assistant with the Southeast Children's Fund. She will be assisting with curriculum development and other matters for a new school to be set up in a DC suburb with funding from the Salvation Army. This is more related to anthropology than the job she just left, which was working in a museum gift shop.

Alumni Update: Laura Myford Takes Two New Positions

Congratulations to recent graduate Laura Myford (MA in Anthropology, 2009) on her two new jobs.

She will be working as a Curriculum Development Assistant at the Fairfax-based Falmouth Institute, which collaborates with American Indian Tribes to help them become better informed on issues of law and governance, finance, and gaming.

In addition, Laura is taking a post as Instructor of Anthropology at the University of Maryland in Baltimore County, where she will be teaching two introductory anthropology courses.

Alumni Update: Eight Recent Graduates Accepted for Continuing Education

Congratulations to our recent graduates, several of whom have notified us of their plans to continue their college careers in anthropology or related fields.

Sarah Belkin (BA Archaeology) will pursue a Master's in Historical Archaeology at Boston University.

Estelle Charlu (BA Anthropology): a Master's in Public Health at GW.

Kim Cotterman (MA Anthropology-Intl. Devel.) will continue her studies here at GW as she pursues a second Master's in Public Health.

Rachel Navarro (BA Archaeology): a Master's in Archaeology at the University of Missouri.

Caitlyn Nordehn (BA Anthropology and Intl. Affairs): a Master's in Anthropology at GW with a concentration in International Development.

Shanyn Ronis (BA Anth and Latin American & Hemispheric Studies): a Master's in the Social Sciences at the University of Chicago with partial funding.

Lyra Spang (MA Anthropology): a Ph.D in anthropology at Indiana University with four years of full funding.

Ashley Stinespring (MA Anthropology): a Ph.D in anthropology at the University of Illinois-Champaign with partial financial assistance.

We wish these students much success with their diverse and ongoing studies, and ask that other graduates keep us updated on their own endeavors.

New Hall Renamed Philip Amsterdam Hall

Philip Amsterdam, the GW alumnus for whom the main Anthropology Department building is named, has had an additional building re-named in his honor. The University's Board of Trustees approved a measure early last May to rename New Hall to Philip Amsterdam Hall based on a request made by his son.

Amsterdam, who passed away in 2008, left a $5 million bequest to the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration in addition to renovating and renaming the department's Hortense Amsterdam House, which until then was Building WW.

Alumni Update: Bonnie (Richard) Dixon completes her first year in UCLA doctoral program in anthropology

Bonnie Dixon, who earned her MA in Anthropology and Museum Training in 2007, has completed her first year in the Anthropology doctoral program at UCLA.

She reports:

"I am really enjoying everything here so far. It's a great department and good environment. It is a 4-field department, and even if you enter with a Master's in anthropology, they make students take core courses like the proseminars at GW. Thankfully, they waived ALL of them (except sociocultural, which can't be waived) for me after seeing my GW syllabi. ... that says something positive about the GW program."

Alumni Update: Geoffrey Cain publishes articles in the Economist and Far Eastern Economic Review

Geoffrey Cain (BA Anthropology and International Affairs 2008) reports on his recent publication:

"For eight months, I've been working on a story about Cambodia's fight against sex trafficking, which many times has faced criticism for its brutality against sex workers. This article details one government 'rehabilitation' center, where detained sex workers are supposed to learn cooking and sewing, but have been beaten and raped, and at least eight people have died.

Published in The Economist: http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13832459

"I also encourage you to buy the June issues of the Far Eastern Economic Review and support a phenomenal magazine. I've written an article in it titled "An Oil Curse Looms for Cambodia," after six months of research into Cambodia's secret oil concessions -- and China's race for the oil without regard for its ill social effects. This article is not available online."

Alumni Update: Kathryn Rhine publishes article in AQ, will teach at University of Kansas

Kathryn (Katie) Rhine published an article in the Anthropological Quarterly (volume 82, no. 2, spring 2009) on "Support Groups, Marriage, and the Management of Ambiguity among HIV-Positive Women in Northern Nigeria." The article relates to the anthropology doctoral dissertation she is completing at Brown.

In August, she will join the Anthropology Department at the University of Kansas at Lawrence as an assistant professor.

Katie earned her BA in anthropology, graduating in 2002 with honors for her thesis "Francophone African Immigrants and Maternal Health: A Cultural Analysis" directed by Barbara Miller.

Alumni Update: Lindsey Massoud takes job at Center for Applied Linguistics

Lindsey Massoud has left GW for a new job at the Center for Applied Linguistics in the Tenleytown neighborhood of DC.

Lindsey earned her Master's in Anthropology in 2007 (no concentration). While studying, she was a research assistant in the department's discourse lab and co-authored the 2009 paper “Interdiscursivity as “transfer”: Language and learning in a Middle School Science Classroom" with professor Joel Kuipers.

Alumni Update: Letizia Alto MD takes job with the Seattle Indian Health Board

Letizia Alto, MD, is working with the Seattle Indian Health Board.

Letizia received an MA in anthropology (no concentration) in 2004, received her medical training at the University of Vermont Medical School, and is able to combine these two fields in her new job as she works to support culturally sensitive medical practices. She believes that health care is a human right and that a patient's cultural background is an important part of providing complete care. She is attracted to the broad range of opportunities in family medicine and the ability of the family medicine practitioner to handle a large variety of disease pathology and patient population diversity.

Her special medical interests include international medicine, tropical disease, OB/GYN women’s health, the health of immigrant communities and under-served populations.

Alumni Update: Kaarli Sundsmo takes job at USAID

After months of waiting for her security clearance to be processed, former TA Kaarli Sundsmo (MA with a Development concentration, 2006) was able to start her new job at the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

USAID is the US government agency that is responsible for providing international aid to developing countries. Kaarli's new job is East Africa Regional Coordinator and Knowledge Management Focal Point for the President's Global Food Security Response. This position will help to coordinate efforts among the different U.S. government offices that deal with food security issues.

Congratulations to Kaarli on her professional success.

Alumni Update: Nicholas Bluhm takes position with Cooley, Godward and Kronish

Nicholas Bluhm has taken a position with the local agency Cooley, Godward and Kronish, working as a Litigation Case Assistant. He earned a BS in Biological Anthropology in 2007, as well an MA in Anthropology (no concentration) in 2008.

Nick reports:

"Barbara Miller’s high standards for compositions have most certainly helped in preparing me for this job, which frequently requires me to write 2-page summaries (no passive constructions, obviously!) for my boss, Roel Campos. He's a great guy with a strong moral compass and an example of how good people can effect change in government. In November, then President-elect Obama invited Roel to serve on the Economic Transition Team. I have been working with Roel on strategies for the economic recovery. Roel and I both agree that the government needs to focus on the foreclosures and defaults on home loans. We culled the think tanks for ideas and worked together on a memo that Roel presented to Obama, in person, in Chicago, on November 7! I am really excited about this job and being able to contribute to and learn about some of the great things that are possible through law and government regulation."

Faculty Update: Peter Lucas and Paul Constantino for their recent publication

The Anthropology Department wishes to congratulate Peter Lucas and Paul Constantino on the publication entitled "Remarkable Resilience of Teeth" in the April 2009 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Their research evolved through an interdisciplinary collaboration between anthropologists from The George Washington University and physical scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, MD.

This research resulted in the discovery of several features in enamel--the outermost tooth tissue--that contribute to the resiliency of human teeth over a lifetime of chewing and biting. The research team found that the major reason why teeth do not break apart is due to the presence of tufts--small, crack-like defects found deep in the enamel. Tufts suppress the growth of these cracks in teeth by distributing the stress amongst themselves.

"This is the first time that enigmatic developmental features, such as enamel tufts, have been shown to have any significance in tooth function," said Constantino. "Crack growth is also hampered by the "basket weave" microstructure of enamel, and by a 'self-healing' process whereby organic material fills cracks extended from the tufts, which themselves also become closed by organic matter. This type of infilling bonds the opposing crack walls, which increases the amount of force required to extend the crack later on."

The team also studied tooth enamel in sea otters, mammals with teeth showing remarkable resemblances to those of humans.

Undergraduate Spotlight: Two Students Win Fulbright Awards

Rachel Snyder(BA Anth candidate 2009) has been awarded a Fulbright Student Research Grant for her project entitled "The Oral Tradition of the Zapara Nationality of Ecuador."

She will be working with NAZAE, an organization of the Zapara Nationality in Puyo, Ecuador. There she will be investigating the oral tradition of Zapara families in and around the urban setting of Puyo in comparison to the oral tradition of Zapara families in rainforest communities. As part of this research, she will relate the group's myths to their daily experiences, identity, and political participation in the Ecuadorian state. Furthermore, as the Zapara language is disappearing, she will be creating a collection of myths in collaboration with the Zapara that will be translated into Zapara, Spanish, and English to be used as a didactic tool in the future. The research will be conducted over a 10 month span.

Lauren Deal (BA Anth w/ Honors 2009)has been awarded a Fulbright Student Research Grant for her project entitled "Singing Self and State: Language, Thought and Politics of Opera Pedagogy in Argentina."

She will be investigating the relationship between Argentina and Italy via the institution of Opera and the participants in opera pedagogy. Lauren will conduct the majority of her research over the course of 9 months in Buenos Aires, splitting her time between the Carlos Lopez Buchardo National Conservatory and the University of Buenos Aires. This research will be a continuation of a 2007 study Lauren conducted through Cotlow Research Funding.

The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the U.S. State Department, and was established in 1946 by the U.S. Congress and continues to receive its primary funding annually via Congressional appropriation to the Department of State. The Fulbright Program awarded approximate six thousand grants in 2008, funding U.S. students, teachers, professionals, and scholars to study, teach, lecture, and conduct research in more than 155 countries.

Alumni Update: Chris Wong teaching in China

Chris Wong (BA Intl Aff/Anth 2007) is teaching English for a second year in Hunan Province, China, and is enjoying his job and his life very much. The photo below shows Chris with his students.

Professor Brian Richmond Recently Featured by NPR, Science

Professor Brian Richmond was featured on the February 26 edition of NPR’s (National Public Radio) “All Things Considered” discussing an article he co-wrote in the February 27 Science reporting the discovery of a set of 1.5 million-year-old human ancestor footprints in Kenya. These footprints show the earliest direct evidence of modern human bipedalism.

Ancient hominin footprints are extremely rare and the new prints fromthe site of Koobi Fora are the second oldest in the world after the 3.7-million year-old prints in Laetoli, Tanzania, making them one of the most important discoveries regarding the evolution of human walking.

The international team determined that the shapes of these prints significantly are more like those formed by modern humans compared to the prints from Laetoli, Tanzania, which are dated to 3.75 million years and are believed to have been formed by Australopithecus afarensis.

The article, "Early Hominin Foot Morphology Based on 1.5-Million-Year-Old Footprints from Ileret, Kenya", is available online here

"All Things Considered" is available for listening via the National Public Radio website here and iTunes.

Associate Professor of Anthropology Brian Richmond is the graduate advisor for the Hominid Paleobiology Doctoral Program and associate editor of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.