Walking down Belk Hall I see someone has posted a sign
“The first year you celebrate silly things, like your first kiss, your first date and her birthday.”
While that may be a bit satirical it got me thinking about how this very weekend is my girl, Davidson that is, and I’s one year anniversary. Continue reading
Dr. Jonathan Berkey, Chair of the History Department
Dr. Jonathan Berkey, chair of the history department, received his undergraduate degree from Williams College and his Doctorate in History from Princeton University. Dr. Berkey has taught at Davidson since 1993, focusing on the full range of Middle Eastern history since the rise of Islam. In addition, he participates in Davidson’s Humanities Program. His research and writing focus on Islamic religious culture and medieval Egypt and Syria. He is the author of multiple books, including his most recent work, The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600–1800, which received the top annual book prize from the Middle East Studies Association (MESA).
Dr. Berkey’s session is entitled “Where did Islam Come From?” In this session attendees will explore the origins of Islam in Arabia and in the broader context of the Near East in late antiquity. Islam is still rather unfamiliar, even opaque, to most Americans. In fact, however, it shares a great deal with both Judaism and Christianity, and its origins and early development cannot be understood outside the framework of Near Eastern religious history which also produced the other monotheistic faiths. Dr. Berkey will explore these issues by looking at the biography and career of the prophet Muhammad, the Muslim scripture (the Qur’an), and the sources available for the study of early Islamic history.
Dr. Durwin Striplin, Associate Professor of Chemistry, received his undergraduate in Mathematics and Chemistry at Eastern New Mexico University, his Ph.D in Material Science-Chemical Physics from Washington State University and completed his Post-Doctoral at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. His research is focuses on photophysical studies of bioinorganic light-harvesting peptides, optical spectroscopy, and relativistic effects in heavy metal, inorganic complexes. Take a peek at Dr. Striplin’s Decision Davidson lecture after the break.
Greetings! I am Dr. Durwin Striplin and I have been a professor here at Davidson for almost fifteen years now. The lecture I will be presenting is titled Energy and the Chemistry of Fuels. This talk is an introductory lecture for a new course that I’m excited to be offering this Fall called CHE 302: ENERGY. The course addresses questions that have preoccupied my scientific curiosity ever since I stepped into a research lab at Eastern New Mexico University as an undergraduate over twenty-five years ago.
What is energy and how have we managed to harness the resources at hand to produce useful forms of it? What are the limitations to its production and what are the maximum efficiencies we can hope to achieve when we utilize it? What are the current advantages and disadvantages of the resources and technologies that fuel our societies at present? As these resources diminish, what will take their place? Can we envision what changes will be necessary to take advantage of this new energy future?
The work of my research students is centered on the development of chemical systems that can harvest light and create fuel for energy production. The ability to apply what you hear in lectures and the skills developed in the teaching labs to a world-class research project of your own is a real priority in the dynamic scientific life and teaching at Davidson.
I am excited about this opportunity to give you an insight into what I do here. Hope to see you!
Anyone who has spent time on Davidson’s campus will confirm that the Davidson experience is an untraditional and exhilarating acquisition of knowledge.
Dr. Douglas Ottati, Craig Family Distinguished Professor of Religion and Ethics
Learning occurs in all the aspects of Davidson life. Some of the most stimulating and revolutionary discussions and discoveries happen far from classrooms and academic hallways. That is not to say that the classroom is secondary. Davidson academics are beyond compelling and invigorating. Continue reading