Found@TU

On this final installment in our Found@TU podcast series, which has explored all manner of faculty research being done here at the University, we welcome Dr. Kristen Tegtmeier Oertel, the Mary Frances Barnard Professor of 19th Century American History. She describes her research on slavery and abolition, especially in relation to race and gender. Growing up on the Kansas/Missouri border, as it turns out, led Dr. Oertel to explore how Native Americans, African-Americans, and women shaped the politics of that region during the Civil War.

On this edition of Found@TU, which is our monthly interview podcast series in which University of Tulsa faculty discuss their research and why it matters, our guest is Dr. Elana Newman. She is the McFarlin Professor of Psychology and Research Director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, and she joins us to discuss her in-depth research on journalism and trauma. Dr.

Our guest for this installment of Found@TU is Dr. Andrew Grant Wood, the Stanley Rutland Professor of American History here at The University of Tulsa. He discusses his research on Mexican society and culture, talking in particular about his current project on colonial Veracruz; the joys and challenges of archival research; myths about immigration; and how history can teach us to challenge taken-for-granted assumptions. We also discuss the dark side of the tourism industry, including the exploitation of people and damage to the environment.

Our guest for this installment of Found@TU is Dr. Erin Iski, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry here at the University of Tulsa. She describes her research in nanoscale surface chemistry, in which she uses an innovative Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) to study the interaction of atoms and molecules on surfaces. Dr.

Our guest is Dr. Akhilesh Bajaj, the Chapman Professor of Computer Information Systems here at TU, who talks with us about his research on the advantages and disadvantages of customizing (rather than using off-the-shelf) information systems in an organization. He also outlines the recent history of office automation, explains what blockchains are, and describes how artificial intelligence is poised to (fairly soon!) transform the world. For more about Dr. Bajaj’s research, please visit abajaj.net.

Our guest is Dr. Mike Troilo, the Wellspring Associate Professor of International Business here at TU. He tells us how learning Korean -- which he began while taking karate lessons as a kid -- eventually led him to do graduate work in business administration and East Asian studies, which in turn led to his learning Mandarin Chinese. Dr. Troilo also describes his ongoing research into the policies as well as practices that can best foster entrepreneurship in a variety of nations, including China.

Our guest is Dr. Jennifer Airey, an associate professor of English at TU and the editor of Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature. Her work connects the politics of the 17th and 18th centuries with British popular and literary culture. Our far-reaching conversation with Dr. Airey explores themes of propaganda, sexual violence, war trauma, women's believability, and even zombies -- with all of the above based on her research into Mary Shelley, 18th century playwrights, and related women writers and their experiences. For more about Dr.

Our guest is Dr. Jeff Alderman, Associate Professor of Community Medicine and director of TU's Institute for Healthcare Delivery Systems. He speaks with us about how palliative medicine alleviates suffering by offering humanistic, person-centered (and sometimes home-based) care. We discuss the value and challenges of this form of medical treatment, as well as ways to improve the health care system so that it can deliver better, safer, and less expensive care.

Our guest is Dr. Portia Resnick, Clinical Assistant Professor of Athletic Training, who talks about her research on how athletes recover from exercise. She describes how measuring heart-rate variability in athletes is used to document balance in the autonomic nervous system, details how sleep and hydration can help athletic performance and recovery, and tells us whether things like compression stockings and cupping really do help with recovery. You can learn more about Dr. Resnick's research at www.portiaresnick.com.

Our guest is Dr. Adrien Bouchet, the Warren Clinic Associate Professor of Sports Administration in TU's Collins College of Business, who discusses his research on -- as well as his evidence-based opinions regarding -- sports, commerce, and culture. Dr. Bouchet describes how his graduate training, along with his deep background in both professional and collegiate sports marketing, helps him document why universities commit to sports programs, and the escalating costs of that commitment.

Our guest is Dr. Jennifer Ragsdale, Associate Professor of Psychology, who discusses her research on how people deal with work stress. She describes what causes stress at work, including information overload, the fight-or-flight reaction, and a culture of overwork. Dr. Ragdale's research explores the notion of work-life balance, identifies activities that help us disengage from work, and considers how technologies like cellphones can make stress recovery more difficult.

Our guest is Dr. Gabriel LeBlanc, the Wellspring Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at TU. He tells us, among other things, how undergraduate chemistry lab classes lured him away from soccer, how 3D printing makes expensive lab equipment easily affordable, and how his research team applies electrochemistry to biomaterials in order to help understand diseases like Parkinson's.