PHILOSOPHER RECEIVES
NSF GRANT



University of Missouri–St. Louis Assistant Professor of Philosophy Gualtiero Piccinini (pictured) has received a $120,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to study what it physically takes for the human brain to think and compute – much like a computer. With his research, "Computation in the Brain: Towards a Mechanistic Theory of Cognition," Piccinini is creating a theoretical framework for combining both psychological and neuroscientific theories into a unified account of cognition. The research will cover a wider range of scientific and philosophical literature than any philosophical study conducted in this area. A neuroscientist and electrical and computer engineer will be consultants for this project and co-write some of the resulting papers. "The NSF grant is a wonderful opportunity to make progress with my research – much more progress than I would have made without the grant," Piccinini said. The grant began Sept. 1 and runs through Aug. 30. It's an NSF Scholars' Award.

NIXON, FORSEE DISCUSS TUITION



Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon talks to UMSL students, faculty and staff on Tuesday at the university's Millennium Student Center. He announced a proposed agreement to hold tuition steady during the 2010-11 academic year for in-state undergraduate students.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon announced Tuesday morning that he wants tuition and academic fees at Missouri's public, four-year universities to remain frozen during the 2010-11 academic year. "We all understand that making sure these folks [pointing to students] get educated – and get educated in a timely and affordable fashion – is really the key to the future of this state and this country," Nixon said. "I'm proud to stand with these leaders and this community and once again put a stake down and say, 'This is where we will win this huge challenge and move our state and country forward.'" He made the announcement, which applies to in-state undergraduate students, during a press conference at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. UMSL and Missouri's other four-year universities support the proposed tuition freeze in return for fiscal year 2011 state funding that will be about 95 percent of 2010 funding, or a reduction of about 5 percent. The agreement still needs the approval of the universities' governing boards and Missouri General Assembly. If approved, 2010-11 will be the second consecutive academic year that in-state Missouri undergraduates have benefited from a tuition-freeze agreement. Nixon was joined at the press conference by UMSL Chancellor Tom George and University of Missouri System President Gary Forsee. "[The agreement] is a very clear indication of this governor's support for public, four-year higher education," Forsee said. "It's a clear indication of the importance we are all placing on access and affordability for Missouri students to get to school, to stay in school and get that degree." Forsee remained on campus Tuesday to hold a town hall meeting in the afternoon. He talked with students, faculty and staff about current and projected economic conditions that are impacting the state and higher education. KMOV (Channel 4) reported on Nixon's announcement. Click here to download a 3.3 MB of the story that aired. (QuickTime Player is required.)

HISTORIAN WRITES BIOGRAPHY ON LBJ
Kevin Fernlund, associate professor of history and secondary education at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, was only four years old when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Seeing the news unfold on the black-and-white television in his family's living room in Aurora, Colo., and the introduction of Lyndon B. Johnson as the new president were his earliest news memories. "[Johnson's] name meant nothing to me, of course, but his large frame struck me, as did that somber face, burdened with responsibility," Fernlund wrote in his new book, "Lyndon B. Johnson and Modern America," which was published nearly 46 years from the fateful day when the 36th U.S. president was hastily sworn in aboard Air Force One. For the Johnson biography, Fernlund focuses on the president's liberal agenda being linked to the West. The book follows the president from being born in a Texas Hill Country farmhouse to his stint as Houston schoolteacher to the western sensibility he later brought to the White House. "I knew Johnson played up his Texas roots, but I didn't know how much of that was just political theater, or if there was something more substantial to it," he said. "But the more I learned about Johnson, the more I realized how important where he came from was. Texas really grounded him, shaped his view of the world and influenced what it was he wanted to accomplish in Washington." University of Oklahoma Press released "Lyndon B. Johnson and Modern America" on Oct. 30. It's volume 25 in the Oklahoma Western Biographies Series. The 175-page hardback is available at http://www.amazon.com/. (More information)

UPCOMING EVENTS

Nov. 18: Lecture and film screenings, "Whitaker St. Louis Film Festival’s Bosnian Sidebar," Edward Serotta, producer and director for "Nightline" on ABC, 6 p.m., Lewis Room, Fontbonne University Library, 6800 Wydown Blvd. in Clayton, Mo., free, http://www.umsl.edu/services/media/newsrel/nov5film.html

Nov. 18: Lecture, "Landscaping Conflict: Language and Politics in the Middle East," Yasir Suleiman, chair of Modern Arabic Studies at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, 7 p.m., Century Room A, Millennium Student Center, free, http://www.cfis-umsl.com/

Nov. 19: Child Trauma Colloquium Series, "Traumatic Childhood Experience and What it Does to Our Brain," Patricia Hill, nurse at Children's Advocacy Services of Greater St. Louis, 8:30 a.m., auditorium, Kathy J. Weinman Advocacy Centre, free (RSVP requested), catesj@umsl.edu

Nov. 19: Opera, "Brundibar," 10 a.m., Anheuser-Busch Performance Hall, Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, $12-$18, http://touhill.org/

Nov. 19: Open house, Faculty Senate and University Assembly, 2-4 p.m., 507 Social Sciences & Business Building Tower, free, 314-516-6769

Nov. 19: Radio broadcast, "Planet Money Live," Adam Davidson, international business and economic correspondent at National Public Radio, and Alex Blumberg, producer at "This American Life" on Chicago Public Radio, 7 p.m., Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square in St. Louis, $15-$20, 314-516-7482

Nov. 20: College of Business Administration Research Seminar Series, "Use of Web 2.0 tools to facilitate scholarly research," Raymond Schroeder, professor emeritus of communication at the University of Illinois Springfield, 11 a.m., 401 Social Sciences & Business Building, free, 314-516-7354

Nov. 20: Colloquium, "Deuterium Enrichment in Comets as a Test of Exogenous Delivery of Water and Pre-Biotic Organic Matter to Early Earth," Boncho Bonev, research professor of physics at The Catholic University of America in Washington, 3 p.m., 328 Benton Hall, 314-516-5933

Nov. 21: Concert, Country music legend George Jones, 8 p.m., Anheuser-Busch Performance Hall, Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, $33-$100, http://touhill.org/

Nov. 24: Concert, Genesis Jazz Project, 7:30 p.m., E. Desmond and Mary Ann Lee Theater, Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, free, http://touhill.org/

Creative Services at the University of Missouri-St. Louis publishes The Messenger every Wednesday. The online and e-mail publication contains university news. Also included is event information for the upcoming week. Recipients are UMSL students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends. Send content to hockett@umsl.edu. Submission deadline is 5 p.m. Monday prior to publication.

© 2009 University of Missouri-St. Louis