FSU Libraries' Celebration of Tenure 2021

Below are the newly tenured faculty and a brief explanation of the books or materials they hand-picked to be purchased and book plated in their honor.

Michael T. Morley

The Prestige by Christopher Priest

The Prestige is my favorite book. I came across it completely serendipitously as an undergraduate in my university library while studying for a politics final. I love how the story is told through primary sources from multiple different first-person perspectives, revealing new secrets each time. Every few years, I reward myself by re-reading the book. I hope some future undergraduate here finds the book as enthralling as I have.

 

Sami Keskek

Warren Buffett Accounting by Stig Brodersen

Accounting is a process of collecting, summarizing, and reporting of financial information that investors analyze to make informed decisions. This book provides an overview of steps used by an influential investor, Warren Buffett, to analyze financial statements information and proves the power of careful analysis of financial information for identifying profitable firms.

 

Jessica Ingram

Picturing Us by Deborah Willis

Dr. Willis' reading of images is instrumental to my teaching and creative practice, and has fundamentally changed how I approach image making and scholarship. Her writing is direct, exciting, and accessible. Picturing Us is required reading for understanding how meaning is created, for better and for worse, in an image saturated culture. She often works from her own questions, drawing the reader in, and not only coming to conclusions, but also teaching the reader an approach to looking in the process.

 

Jian Feng

Good Night Yoga: A Pose-by-Pose Bedtime Story by Mariam Gates and illustrated by Sarah Jane Hinder

Believe it or not, this is the book that I read most frequently in the past several years. In fact, this is my daughter’s favorite book that I am usually asked to read after dinner or before bedtime. Sally, my daughter, was born in 2016, a year after I joined the FSU faculty. Though this Assistant Professor-ship has been demanding, I found it is also rewarding if I can balance it well with family. One joyful moment at home is to watch Sally’s vivid play of each of the dozen Yoga poses illustrated in this book. She is excited and doing better each time. I also shared this book with her daycare pals during a “parent-read-a-book” visit, the only time I strived to communicate with a toddler class. Sally will start school for Kindergarten in August, the same time I will be officially tenured. Though there are numerous moments that I cherish in the past six years, I choose this book to memorize this very period in my life.

 

Liz Hammock

Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge by E. O. Wilson

Prior to solidifying my desire to pursue a career as a neuroscientist, I had dreamed half-earnestly of numerous other careers: a high school English teacher, a musician, a writer, an architect - each career differently tapping into the human experience of creating and communicating. As a fan of E.O. Wilson's other writing, I read this book soon after completing my PhD. What I love about this book is the urgent passion for making connections across disciplines, not just among the hard sciences, but also with the humanities and social sciences, as if the future of humanity depends on it. While some have argued that Wilson's thesis places reductionist approaches on a pedestal, for this neuroscientist trained in reductionist empirical techniques, I have a bit more optimistic viewpoint that this kind of writing and thinking is needed by the hard sciences to better refine our ability to create and communicate value to others outside our disciplines. From Wilson's book: "We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom."... "The right answer to a trivial question is also trivial, but the right question, even when insoluble in its exact form, is a guide to major discovery."

 

Dr. Jenny Root

OK Different by Diane Browder

This book is significant to my career in several ways. The most obvious is that it is the memoir of my mentor, and in the final chapter of the book she describes her last research grant before retirement, which I was a part of as a doctoral student. It launched my research agenda in teaching mathematics to students with autism and intellectual disability. But more broadly this memoir tells the story of how the expectations for people with disabilities have rapidly changed and is a continual reminder to me to keep trying more and fighting for social justice so that people with disabilities can have enviable lives.

 

Noyan Ilk

Data Mining: Concepts and Techniques, 2nd edition by Jiawei Han and Micheline Kamber

The topic of data mining has been a prelude to recent advances in artificial intelligence applications ranging from virtual assistants to autonomous vehicles. The work by Han and Kamber is an elemental textbook in the field of data mining and has served as the primary resource to learn its concepts and techniques for many including myself.

 

Yuan Wang

Histology of the Nervous System of Man and Vertebrates by S. Ramon y Cajal and translated by Neely Swanson and Larry Swanson

The brain is one of the most complex biological structures. This classical book by Ramon y Cajal began modern neuroscience research and is still a golden reference to the field. The amazing hand-drawings of neurons provide both joys of art and joys of science. I became so fascinated with these specialized cells that allow us to sense and make us to think. There is still tremendously rich information in this book awaiting us to build upon for better and better understanding of our own brain.

 

Sven Kranz

Primary Productivity and Biogeochemical Cycles in the Sea by Falkowski, Paul G., Woodhead, Avril D. (Eds.)

In my research I study the marine environment. Specifically the lower food-web and marine primary producers, the phytoplankton. This book contains information from the most elemental bits and pieces to the very advanced "why would I ever want to know this - oh yeah that is actually pretty cool" content. The information given in this book has guided me through my marine studies, and although 30 years old now, I still use the book for course preparation and general reading.

 

Mariya Letdin

Tao Te Ching by Laozi and translated by Stephen Mitchell

I have referred to this book occasionally over the years when I needed a reminder that many things are out of our control. One should work their hardest and detach a bit from the outcome. I found this wisdom especially helpful throughout my graduate school years. It brought me calm during some turbulent times and helped deal with uncertainty. I am not familiar with other translations of the text, this one was good for me.

 

Samantha (Sam) Paustian-Underdahl

Through the Labyrinth: The Truth About How Women Become Leaders by Alice Eagly and Linda Carli

My dissertation and subsequent body of work have built upon Alice Eagly's foundational research on gender and leadership. This book, along with Eagly's body of research, has contributed greatly to my development as a scholar.

 

James A. Palmer

The Forgotten Story: Rome in the Communal Period by Jean-Claude Maire Vigueur

Jean-Claude Maire Vigueur's book, back then only available in Italian, was my constant companion as I researched the dissertation that eventually became my first book. It was his argument that Rome was a commune like others in late medieval Italy, rather than an exceptional case, that shaped my own approach to the city. It has long been my hope that more of his work might be translated into English and I'd love to have us pick this one up.

 

Jonathan R. Bradley

Probability Theory: The Logic of Science by E. T. Jaynes

Before the start of my academic career my father gave me several books in several different fields of study and encouraged me to read them to help me decide what to focus my studies on. Jaynes’ book was one of the many that stuck out to me and is the first book I read on Bayesian analysis. Jaynes’ style of writing is lively, honest, and opinion-filled, and the excitement in his writing sparked my general interest in statistics. This interest developed into a love for statistics which I feel lucky to have. My research now focuses on Bayesian analysis for high-dimensional multivariate spatio-temporal data. While I have grown to disagree with some of the opinions and philosophies presented in this book, this book undoubtedly impacted me in my early stages. It is also just a good reference and textbook. I encourage you to read it.

 

Christine G. Mokher, Ph.D.

Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies by John W. Kingdon

John Kingdon’s book Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies was one of the first books to spark my interest in public policy as a graduate student. It explores why policymakers pay attention to one issue rather than another, how their agendas change over time, and how they narrow their choices from a large set of alternatives to a very few. This has informed my own understanding of the agenda setting process in the context of education policy. In particular, policies that seek to improve the alignment between K-12 and higher education are often symbolic in nature - particularly, when a state does not have the resources or initiative to address gaps in opportunity and achievement. This helps to explain why there have been persistent problems with misalignment between K-12 and higher education, despite the need to collaborate on common problems that neither sector can solve alone.

 

Diana Teresa Dumlavwalla

Concerti, piano, orch, cadenzas, selections by Ludwig van Beethoven

For decades, scholars, performers and educators have commented on the development of Beethoven’s compositional style and how his personal struggles had an impact on his writing throughout his life. As one compares his works from the various stages of his career, there is a notable progression of style and emotion. For me, I hear a transformation from the tempestuous energy, humor and vibrancy of youth to the soulful contemplation, angst, hope and insight that comes with maturity. Beethoven’s music is a meaningful metaphor for life and gives us another way to look at how we develop as humans. This metamorphosis can be identified in the five concerti Beethoven wrote for the piano and orchestra. These seminal works lie at the heart of repertoire for the piano and for me, the Third Concerto has a special place in my heart. This facsimile contains his cadenzas for four of his piano concerti, his Violin Concerto and a concerto by Mozart. The facsimiles of Beethoven’s compositions give us insight into his thought process. He was known to constantly revise his work and was rarely satisfied with his first attempts. In other words, it was not always easy for him and he often struggled. Seeing the way he scribbled out his first thoughts to make way for something better can be an inspiration for us; one of the greatest composers that ever lived had to change, correct errors, work hard and strive for excellence. It was not an easy journey for him, but it was certainly worthwhile. With this in mind, it is no wonder why Beethoven’s music continues to have an impact on humanity.

 

Eric Hsiao

The Hubble Atlas of Galaxies, 1961 by Allan Sandage

Astronomers have been measuring distances since antiquity. Their ingenuity and observations have helped us understand the enormous scales of our Solar System, Galaxy, and Universe and our place within them. From Eratosthenes to Henrietta Swan Leavitt, I am fortunate to be following in the footsteps and standing on the shoulders of these intellectual giants. The Hubble Atlas of Galaxies, published in 1961 by Allan Sandage, signifies an important milestone in this endeavor. Through painstaking observations and the application of Leavitt’s period-luminosity relation for Cepheid variables, Hubble determined that “spiral nebulae” are galaxies in their own right. Distance and velocity measurements of these galaxies also established the Hubble-Lemaitre Law, revealing that the Universe is dynamic and expanding. Following Hubble’s work, Type Ia supernova surveys, many of which I am a part of, have discovered and confirmed the acceleration of that expansion (or dark energy). Today, I continue to work on improving the use of Type Ia supernovae as distance indicators.

 

Qian (Jackie) Zhang

Introduction to Statistical Mediation Analysis by David MacKinnon

Introduction to Statistical Mediation Analysis was the first book introduced to me by my advisor when I began to learn statistics. Since then, statistical mediation analysis has become one of my major research interests. Extending from the statistical modeling techniques discussed in the book, I have been developing new statistical models and studying features of existing mediation models to better understand the causal processes in behavioral and medical sciences.

 

Dr. Meredith McQuerry

Clothing: The Portable Environment by Susan M. Watkins

I selected Clothing: The Portable Environment as it was and still is a pivotal resource in my area of research. It laid the foundation for my work surrounding material and garment level modifications to personal protective clothing that enabled significant improvements to structural firefighter physiological responses. Susan Watkins was a pioneer for designing functional clothing and provides concrete, objective tools for selecting the most appropriate features of a garment that work in harmony to optimize the protection and comfort of our first responders, military, occupational workers, athletes and many others. Although published in 1984, the groundwork Watkins laid almost 40 years ago is very much still relevant today. I hope this book will inspire inquiring minds to think about the clothing they and others wear in a more utilitarian way.

 

Youneng Tang

Environmental Investigation and Remediation: 1,4-Dioxane and other Solvent Stabilizers, Second Edition by Thomas K.G. Mohr, William H. DiGuiseppi, Janet Katherine Anderson, and James W. Hatton

1,4-Dioxane is a probable human carcinogen that is found above the health-based reference level in 7% of the U.S. public water systems. I became interested in removing this contaminant from water at the beginning of my professor career. This book systematically describes the occurrence, contamination, and remediation of 1,4-dioxane, and has been serving as a springboard for many of my research project proposals and publications.

 

Rachel L. Bailey

The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception by J. J. Gibson

Gibson's The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception presented ideas that have been central to my work and development as a scholar. I continue to come back to this piece and find provocative thoughts relating to human interactions with media and related behaviors.

 

Bryan Quaife

Boundary Integral and Singularity Methods for Linearized Viscous Flow by C. Pozrikidis

Boundary Integral and Singularity Methods for Linearized Viscous Flow introduced me to the field of integral equation methods for Stokes flow. This reference is fundamental to both my research and my special topics courses. I still reference it regularly and find new interesting facts each time I open the book.

 

Alexandria Meyer

Maggot Brain by Funkadelic

I chose the album Maggot Brain by Funkadelic. It is an album that I find myself going back to over and over again. I listen to it when I am happy. I listen to it when I am sad. The guitar on the opening track is famously gut-wrenching and still brings tears to my eyes whenever I listen to it. The story goes that George Clinton told Eddie Hazel to play guitar and think about the saddest thing he could think of, which was his mother dying. They recorded the 10 minute guitar solo in one take. This album represents an unprecedented merging of funk, blues, gospel, rock, soul, and psychedelic sounds. Considering the album's class and race consciousness and it's bleak, frustrated, and frenetic energy, it feels like a good representation of our current social and political climate. That, and the fact that George Clinton lives in Tallahassee, made me feel this was a good album to pick. Also, the cover art is amazing.

 

S. Kathleen Krach, Ph.D., NCSP

The Eden Express by Mark Vonnegut

As a first-generation college student, I did not always know the correct pathways to reach my goals. In my junior year of college (not FSU), I went to seek advice on how to get into a psychology graduate program from a university advisor. This individual told me to, "go home and have babies because you will never be a psychologist." I had always been taught that I could be anything as long as I set my mind to it, but this woman slammed the door to my future without a single thought. I was lost. I had no other plans for what I wanted to do. Should I go into business or teaching? Maybe, or, should I consider something else? During this time, I was looking to read something by Kurt Vonnegut, and I found Mark's book instead. His story solidified my desire to become a psychologist. It was clear that psychology was my passion and calling. My path to get there was different from most, but I found a way.

 

Dr. Eugenia Flores-Millender

The Science of Health Disparities Research edited by Irene Dankwa-Mullan, Eliseo J. Perez-Stable, Kevin L. Gardner, Xinzhi Zhang, Adelaida M. Rosario

Dr. Millender's research focuses on mitigating mental health disparities among minority and underserved groups. As an Indigenous Afro-Latina nurse scientist, Dr. Millender's career is dedicated to increasing access to quality care, decreasing physical and mental disparities, and providing culturally appropriate care. This selection speaks to the critical concepts and principles of researching health disparities and minority health. I hope that this selection continues to move the needle toward health equity by developing innovative interventions to eradicate health disparities.

 

Martin Bauer

Topics in Differential Geometry by Peter W. Michor

This book was a constant guide throughout my journey from being a PhD-student to being a tenured faculty member.

 

jmr

Complaint by Sarah Ahmed

How do we engage each other within institutions to create new knowledge and create community? Ahmed draws on histories of Black feminist pedagogy to remind us how.

 

Sean McGinley

The Collected Tales and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe by Edgar Allan Poe

The first poem, rather the first piece of literature, that I read independently, enjoyed, and understood was "The Haunted Palace." Reading that poem in my 7th grade school's library inspired me to read every work of Edgar Allan Poe, the only author to which I can make such a claim. In reading Poe's works and learning about his life made me realize that often it is better to let the flame of your life blaze rather than to try to control and nurture your spark so that your fire may burn ever so slightly longer. It is because of Edgar Allan Poe that I began to trust myself and take risks believing in my own abilities and understanding that failure is a part of a beautiful life lived well. Passion, fear, excitement, joy, love, loss, death, beauty, obsession and life are often all a matter of perspective assigned within the eye of the beholder and it is within our power to cross that thin line between them - Poe did so in his works through phantasmagoria and so too can we in our lives. This book inspired me to go forth into the world like a lion and hopefully in doing so, I have been able to deliver my gifts to help nudge the world into an ever more compassionate, beautiful, and loving place.

 

Rachel Fendler

Transpositions: On Nomadic Ethics by Rosi Braidotti

Braidotti's work guided me through my master's and doctoral research, and continues to serve today as a beacon of inspiration and a call to action. In her philosophy, Braidotti centers creativity as the cornerstone of criticality. She undertakes a "creative redefinition of philosophical reason as imagination and affectivity," and in doing so, she invites scholarly and artistic work to participate in the ethical project of social transformation. I chose this book in the hopes that it will invite future readers, as it did me, to continue to position their research as a form of world building, within a commitment to developing better possible futures.