Dr. Allen travels to Japan, Washington D.C. Dr. Susan Allen, distinguished professor and director, Arkansas Center for Laser Applications and Science, recently attended the 6th International Conference on Photo-Excited Processes and Applications (ICPEPA 208) in Sapporo, Japan. The four-day event was composed of technical, oral, and poster sessions. While there, Dr. Allen served as the chairperson for “Dynamics and Simulation.” Academics from Penn State, Virginia, Japan, and France presented papers and addressed the gathering on laser technology. Immediately following her departure from Japan, Dr. Allen was a guest at the White House for the awarding of the National Medals of Science and Technology and Innovation. The awards, presented by President George W. Bush, were given to eight of the nation’s top scientists in the fields of physical sciences, chemistry, engineering, and biological sciences. In his remarks, President Bush called the honorees "people whose discoveries have changed America and the world." Dr. Hansen presents paper, chairs panel, at conference Dr. Gregory Hansen, English and Philosophy, recently presented a paper, "Commonplaces and Common Places in Fiddle Tunes and Stories from Florida" at the American Folklore Society's annual meeting held in Louisville, Kentucky. This presentation was part of a panel session, "Music and Performance," that Dr. Hansen chaired. This presentation explored the meeting's theme of "The Commons and the Commonwealth" by examining the public presentation of traditional music and storytelling within a workshop presentation at a folk festival in Jacksonville, Fla.  An article derived from this research was recently accepted for publication in a volume of essays on Florida's folklife to be published by the University of Mississippi Press in 2009. Dr. Johnson presents papers at conferences Dr. Warren Johnson, French, recently presented papers at two conferences. He presented “Daudet’s Remappings,” at the annual Nineteenth-Century French Studies Colloquium held this year at Vanderbilt University, discussed the conflation of the representation of Algeria and the south of France in the work of the novelist Alphonse Daudet and how this conflation problematizes claims by Edward Said about Western conceptions of the Orient. Johnson presented “Le rire de l’ogre: comique et grotesque dans le roman et conte québécois,” at the conference of the Association Internationale des Études Québécoises, held at Laval University, Quebec City, Quebec. The paper treated the fusion of comic and grotesque elements in certain contemporary Quebec novels and short stories, creating a loss of the positionality traditionally associated with the comic. ASU 2008 Percussion Ensemble presents concert The ASU Percussion Ensemble will present a concert Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the Don Minx Rehearsal Hall, Fine Arts Center. The concert is free of charge and open to the public. Under the direction of Craig Collison, Music, the ensemble will perform three  pieces: “Layers” by Lynn Glassock; “Mudra” by Bob Becker, featuring soloist Janet Rooney; and “Eye Irascible” by Steve Riley. For details, contact Craig Collison, call the music department at ext. 2094, or see the NewsPage release. Department of Languages announces Dardashe ASU's Department of Languages invites all speakers of modern standard Arabic to attend Dardashe, the Arabic Conversation Table. Dardashe is held every Wednesday at 12 noon in the Student Union, first floor. For details, contact Myrna Abdallah, Arabic, at ext. 3887, or e-mail languages@astate.edu. Back to the top